Undertale (Genocide): The Hero’s Journey *SPOILERS*

Hello.

So, recently I’ve learned about Campbell’s Hero’s Journey.  I’ve seen it applied to books and movies, but not video games. This prompted me to google if anyone had done a Hero’s Journey interpretation of Undertale, a new game I’ve played.  I’ve seen a Reddit post on the Neutral-Pacifist run (Post), but I haven’t seen one on the Genocide run.  In this post, I’ll be fitting the Genocide run into the Hero’s Journey.

(For those who don’t know, Undertale is a role-playing game “where nobody has to die.”)
See the trailer:

Of course, interpreting the plot of the video game will include spoilers, so I suggest buying the game and playing it before reading this post. (Website)

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The Call to Adventure: Like the Pacifist run, the call to adventure happens when the protagonist, Frisk, falls down Mt. Ebott.  However, since the main goal of genocide is to kill every single monster, the call to adventure could also be the very first Froggit kill.

Refusal of the Call: The refusal of the call could happen when Frisk decides to spare a monster, aborting the genocide route.

Supernatural Aid:  Once Frisk has progressed further into the Genocide route, Chara starts to possess Frisk’s body, causing her to kill more and more.  Some descriptions are changed because of this.

Crossing the First Threshold: This would be Frisk killing Toriel.  After her death, Frisk is now free to kill everyone else in the underground.

Belly of the Whale: This is after Frisk kills every monster in the Ruins.  Once this happens, the Genocide route is triggered and the game is significantly changed.

Road of Trials: This starts at the end of the Ruins and ends at the end of the Sans fight. The two main trials here are Undyne the Undying and Sans.

Meeting of the Goddess: Frisk meets Undyne and tries to strike her down, causing her to transform into Undyne the Undying.  Here, Undyne is comparable to a god, and she is trying to stop Frisk from destroying every monster and human.  Even after this transformation, she is killed by Frisk.

Woman as Temptress: There is no character that acts as the temptation for Frisk. However, this could be the temptation to spare a monster and abort a genocide run.

Atonement with the Father: This could be when Flowey is trying to befriend Frisk, thinking that she’s Chara.  However, Flowey eventually runs away, knowing that Frisk would kill him without any hesitation.

Apotheosis: When Undyne transforms into Undyne the Undying, this could be considered an apotheosis because she ascends into a god-like figure.

The Ultimate Boon: Frisk defeats Sans and finally gets to level 20.  She has killed most of the monsters and reached the highest “Level of Violence” possible, which is her reward. This could also be when the world is destroyed, which ends the Genocide run.

Refusal to Return: In order to bring back the world, Frisk has to sell her soul to Chara.  If she doesn’t want to do this, she refuses the offer to return to the underground.

Magic Flight: Not really sure about this one.

Rescue from Without: It seems that the world is gone forever until Chara makes a deal with Frisk.  This deal rescues Frisk from being trapped in emptiness, and instead lets her return to the underground.

Crossing the Return Threshold: This is when Frisk sells her SOUL to Chara, allowing her to return back to the underground.

Master of Two Worlds: Frisk has “conquered” and destroyed the previous world, allowing her to do whatever she wants in the new one.  If she completes a Pacifist run this time, she would be the master of both worlds.

Freedom to Live: Frisk is free to do whatever she wants in the new world.  However, she can’t truly escape her consequences.  If she completes a Pacifist run, it’s assumed that Chara possesses her and kills the rest of her friends.

Thanks for reading,
-Anton