10 Video Game Genre Flips That Blew Our MIND
9. Undertale
What starts out feeling like a DIY version of SNES cult classic Earthbound quickly evolves into something much deeper and more compelling - memorable not only for its scrappy charm, but for the sheer number of genres it flips through, all propelled by the way players choose to approach its flexible narrative structure.
The gamer must pilot adolescent main character Frisk, navigating the monster-filled Underground from the opening moments, where they meet a colorful cast - none more memorable than Toriel, a kind, motherly figure, and Flowey, a talking flower with a real chip on his shoulder who taunts players about save-scumming.
From that fork, players can choose how they want to reach the end goal: kill everyone, kill only some, or kill no one. It seems simple enough, but based on the gamer's actions, the game can veer from a charming fantasy world sim, where the player chat their way out of conflict (and even go on a date or two), to an ominous survival-horror title complete with a battle-for-the-ages final boss.
What makes Undertale so unique is that these mental genre flips are all driven by the player’s choices, and no one else’s - making the switches feel organic, and making them work.