An independent developer has expressed surprise and delight as their largely unnoticed game, Crashphalt, has experienced an unexpected resurgence in popularity. This revival is directly linked to a mod that allows players to experience Toby Fox's acclaimed RPG, Undertale, in online co-op.
Cold Pressed Games, the developer behind Crashphalt, noticed a peculiar trend when examining their game's Steam reviews. While the free-to-play title, which originally released on Steam in October 2018, had received a modest 20 reviews by December 2022, its reception dramatically shifted starting in January 2023. The game began accumulating hundreds of new reviews, with nearly all of them referencing Undertale and contributing to an "Overwhelmingly Positive" score.
Further investigation by the developer revealed the cause: a mod named Undertale Together. This mod enables local co-op for Undertale, but a YouTube video posted in December 2022 detailed a method for using Crashphalt as a proxy to enable online co-op through the mod and Steam Remote Play. This workaround effectively gave Crashphalt a new purpose and a significant boost in player engagement.
Despite the game not being the focus, Cold Pressed Games has embraced this turn of events. In response to player comments on Steam, the developer shared on Reddit that they are "cool with it." They have long since moved on to other projects and find it "really cool" that Crashphalt has found a "second life." The developer also noted that Undertale was a significant inspiration during their early game development journey, making the indirect impact on the Undertale community particularly meaningful.
Crashphalt itself is described as a game with gameplay akin to a blend of TowerFall and Nidhogg. The unexpected attention may also serve to highlight the other projects Cold Pressed Games is currently developing.