A free multiplayer game from 2018, Crashphalt, has experienced an unexpected surge in popularity, driven by its use as a prerequisite for an online multiplayer mod for the popular RPG Undertale. Despite its original limited impact, Crashphalt now boasts an "overwhelmingly positive" user review score on Steam, largely thanks to players who acknowledge its utility for the Undertale mod rather than its own gameplay.
Most of Crashphalt's current Steam reviews, which number over 500, were posted more than five years after its release. These reviews frequently disregard the game itself, with many stating their intention to play only for Undertale. One such review reads, "10/10 Funny Undertale game, will never play this."
This situation has become the primary driver for Crashphalt's revival. The mod in question is Depa's Undertale Together, which adds local co-op features to Undertale but lacks native online support. Players discovered a workaround that involves integrating Crashphalt's game files with Undertale and renaming the executable file. The specific choice of Crashphalt for this purpose appears to be arbitrary, though its status as a free game likely contributed to its selection. "I dunno why they chose Crashphalt," commented Crashphalt's creator, RetroSpecter. "The only requirement for the hack is that the has Remote Play enabled, and I guess it does help that Crashphalt is free. But I imagine there are tons of games that fit that bill. Crashphalt was just the lucky game chosen for the honor."
RetroSpecter, who developed Crashphalt as one of their initial game development projects, has expressed a positive outlook on this unconventional resurgence. "I think its really cool that it's found a way to impact the community even if in a small way and act as a way for friends to play the game together," they stated. They also noted that Undertale was a significant inspiration during their early game development journey. RetroSpecter remains unfazed by their game being repurposed, particularly as it allows friends to experience Undertale collaboratively online.
Crashphalt, originally designed as a local multiplayer platform fighter in the vein of games like Towerfall and Samurai Gun, features a core mechanic where players use ground-pounds to create seismic ripples, aiming to knock opponents off-screen. RetroSpecter, who now works on games full-time, initially released Crashphalt to learn the development process from start to finish and build connections within the industry. While they don't frequently check on Crashphalt's status, the recent influx of activity provided a surprising update.
RetroSpecter concluded their account with a lighthearted appeal to Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale, suggesting a potential collaboration. "Toby Fox. if you read this, let me know if you... like.. wanna make a game together. Thanks." They also promoted their latest game, Draftula, a roguelike-Tetris hybrid where players construct a vampire fortress.
Despite the unusual circumstances, the developer sees the positive impact of Crashphalt's repurposing, allowing more players to connect and enjoy Undertale together, provided Steam does not object to the mod's implementation. "So as long as Steam doesn't take any issue with how Crashphalt is being used, have fun playing fighting Sans with your friends."