So many people seem to think that the killing/sparing thing is the reason to play Undertale, the driving force, the Whole Point.

It isn't even the major *theme*. It just happens to determine the story branch but it's really just there to show alternate possibilities. I'm 95% sure the theme actually supposed to be "if you are kind to people, you will have friends to support and help you out when you need it." Most of the pacifist endgame stuff is this. It's fairly standard Power Of Friendship stuff, just well done so that it is natural and doesn't feel like a lesson. But this is rather moot because the theme is *not the point*.

You don't play Undertale to have a moral lesson. You play it because it's funny and engaging. The gameplay is good. The characters are ridiculous in a way that's funny, but kind rather than mocking. You fricking *enjoy the game*, as games are meant to be enjoyed.

Fandom rarely reflects an accurate picture of what is good about a work. Fandom is a reaction to what *isn't* in a work. What is good in it has already been done, and well done, by the work itself. Fandom doesn't repeat that; it reacts to it. Fandom is like what you say coming out of the theatre-- you know what you all saw, and if it was well done you don't need to repeat it as if your friends didn't all see it too. Your conversation won't reflect what was actually there. It's nothing like a review.

Deeper into the fandom you'll have people who were affected by various themes and do have things to say about them, perhaps enthusiastically. But an analytic take is *also* not a review of whether or not the work is a fantastic experience that's loads of fun for nearly everyone, and not something you'd want to miss.