Published , by TJ Denzer
Published , by TJ Denzer
When it comes to Undertale, the soundtrack is one of the best parts, but just as the path branches based on the evil or good choices you make throughout the game, so does some of the music you’ll experience along the way. An Undertale concert could just pick the greats from the soundtrack and call it a day, but it seems an upcoming Undertale Live concert will take choice into the equation, allowing audiences the choice to enjoy a branching path in their musical experience.
Undertale Live is a tour of concert performances set to begin in 2020 with the first show taking place on January 11. The show is set to feature live performances of Undertale music alongside imagery from the game. That said, one of the most interesting of the concert by far is a “choice-driven” aspect in which the audience will vote to decide what direction the concert goes. The concert is set to diverge along paths relating to the actual in-game routes of Pacifist, Neutral, or Genocide. It’s an artistic choice that even got a nod of interest from Undertale creator TobyFox himself.
Produced by AWR Music Productions, the show is set to be performed by the Fifth House Ensemble, who previously performed an arrangement of the soundtrack to the artistic indie game Journey. In correspondence with Kotaku, artistic director Dan Visconti said that, “no two performances of Undertale Live will ever go down quite the same way.”
“Let’s just say that Undertale Live (while faithfully following the events and choices in the game) is nevertheless a new experience,” said Visconti. “And it may be possible to jump timelines, get a better ending, unlock secret encores... who knows?”
It’s most certainly an ambitious and interesting approach to a video game music concert and a cool way to keep the spirit of Undertale intact all the way down to its core progression mechanic. It is, after all, a game that has captured the hearts of tons of fans from its initial launch on PC in 2015 to its more recent release on Nintendo Switch. Even so, it’s also worth noting that many of Undertale’s best tunes are separated by some key choices. You’d likely have to have an audience collectively mean enough to push on to Sans’ iconic Megalovania track, while a full Pacifist run is the only way you’d get to hear the awesomely dramatic Hopes and Dreams.
It will be interesting to see how Undertale Live plays out in its debut at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago on January 11, 2020.