with Patrick R. Dolan (host), Kevin Ghouchandra, and Alexander Hurezeanu

Broadcast Date: February 26, 2024

Writer: Patrick R. Dolan

Producer: Jeremy Andriano

“In this world, it’s kill or be killed.” So says the first character the player encounters in the Underground in the role-playing game, Undertale. But the player’s options turn out to be not so starkly simple. The Unarchived crew excavates thoughts and theories on narrative, compassion, genre, game mechanics, equity, and fandom that arise from exploring the depths of developer Toby Fox’s breakout title.

All audio clips in the podcast quoted from Undertale.

Sources and Resources:

• Undertale website: https://undertale.com/
• Undertale Fandon Wiki: https://undertale.fandom.com/wiki/Main_Page
• Elvery, Gabriel. “Undertale’s Loveable Monsters: Investigating Parasocial Relationships with Non-Player Characters.” Games and Culture, vol. 18, no. 4, June 2023, pp. 475–97. SAGE Journals, https://doi.org/10.1177/15554120221105464.
• Hernandez, Patricia. “Undertale’s Surprise Concert Got the Internet in Its Feelings.” Polygon, 16 Sept. 2020.
• Seraphine, Frederic. “The Rhetoric of Undertale: Ludonarrative Dissonance and Symbolism.” Proceedings of the 8th Conference of Digital Game Research Association, Japan. Japan, 2017.
• The Cursed Judge (director). “The games we forget.” YouTube, April 9, 2023.
• Silicon Studio. Barely Second. 2016