Paperback
Befriend monsters or destroy them: a game that changed everything.

Undertale

Can a Game Give Hope?

$41.09

  • Paperback

    112 pages

  • Release Date

    2 November 2025

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Summary

What makes a real game? Who is a gamer? And what type of play do we value?

On the surface, the 2015 game Undertale didn’t seem like much, supported by fan funding and with minimalist retro graphics. But despite its pixelated monsters and dated role-playing mechanics, Undertale invited fans and players to rethink their very relationship with gaming and game characters. Players encountered an extraordinary range of possible play experiences, with paths…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780226830803
ISBN-10:0226830802
Author:Anastasia Salter
Publisher:The University of Chicago Press
Imprint:University of Chicago Press
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:112
Release Date:2 November 2025
Weight:172g
Dimensions:18mm x 140mm x 216mm
Series:Replay
A-Format
B-Format
Undertale by Anastasia Salter - ISBN: 9780226830803
140 × 216 mm
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“For game studies scholars and fans alike, Undertale offers an important new perspective on conversations about violence, choice, and design in games.” – Bo Ruberg, author of “How to Queer the World: Radical Worldbuilding through Video Games”
“As we know from musicology and film studies, even artforms not primarily dependent on writing have associated literacies—histories, reflections, commentaries, celebrations. At their best these writings reveal the kairos and cultural reach of significant works. In this beautifully concise book, Salter confirms both the importance of this ingeniously quirky game and the luminous potential of game criticism. Salter is a first-rate cultural commentator, and this book is one of Salter’s best.” – Stuart Moulthrop, Distinguished Professor of English, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

About The Author

Anastasia Salter

Anastasia Salter is professor of English at the University of Central Florida. Salter’s most recent books include the coauthored Playful Pedagogy in the Pandemic, Twining: Critical and Creative Approaches to Hypertext Narratives, and Adventure Games: Playing the Outsider. Salter currently serves as president of the Electronic Literature Organization.

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