"Undertale" Anniversay

Courtesy of TOBY FOX

By Irene Kim, Staff Reporter

On Sept. 15, 2025, the hit indie game “Undertale” celebrated its 10th anniversary. Initially released by Toby Fox in 2015, the game quickly became popular for its incredible soundtrack and charming character writing.

“Undertale” is an indie, story-based RPG. Most of the game’s content lies in character interactions and exploring the world. However, there are also turnbased battles with enemies and bosses. The battles are in the style of “bullet hell” games, in which the player controls an avatar which must dodge “bullets” that fly toward it. “Undertale” became very wellknown and amassed a large fanbase soon after its initial release.

The fanbase itself helped shape the modern “fandom” with the many creative works they made based on the game. This included fan art, fan fiction, animations, and even fan songs. Many of these works have millions of views and boosted “Undertale”’s popularity even further.

“I discovered ‘Undertale’ when I was in second grade. I learned about Undertale first through the fan works being produced at the time,” Cal State University Northridge freshman Finch McGougan said. “It’s still crazy to me that Undertale is now a decade old. It’s kind of grown up with me if that makes sense.”

“Undertale” has had a huge impact on many lives. For the anniversary, Fox put up a website where fans could submit a short paragraph about what “Undertale” means to them. On the weekend following the anniversary, Fox and two friends livestreamed a playthrough of “Undertale”. During the stream, the messages submitted by fans on the anniversary website were read out. The playthrough also included brand-new content and other unmentioned changes to background characters and environment.

Many of the messages sent were heartfelt and expressed positive sentiment toward the game and gratitude toward Fox for his work.

“‘Undertale’ means a lot to me since it made up so much of my childhood,” Copenhagen University freshman Ele Beck said. “I feel like it’s kind of stuck with me forever now, since I often go back to the game to replay it and also listen to the soundtracks often, and it’s always a great time. It’s an amazing game and I’m glad 11-year-old me found it and experienced it.”

Many of the small changes to the background of the game during the playthrough involved references to “Undertale”’s successor game, “Deltarune”. “Deltarune” gained popularity upon its initial incomplete release in 2018 and recently had a resurgence when chapters 3 and 4 came out together on June 5, 2025.

“I have nothing to say other than ‘Deltarune’ is one of the best successor games,” Saint Joseph Convent junior Kanidt Shaichana said. “Not only did it feed ‘Undertale’ fans more high-quality content, but it also introduces new players to the fandom.”

“Deltarune” also celebrates it’s seventh anniversary on October 31 this year with the game’s next chapter release planned for 2026.