Undertale’s neutral endings are not good or bad, but shades of gray, requiring the player to spare some characters and kill others to unlock them.
Undertale is widely known for its impressive gameplay variety and decisions that have consequences. As the player is thrust into the Underground as a lone child, it is up to them whether they want to solve conflict through fighting or talking. The two endings that have been getting the most attention are genocide and pacifism, opposite extremes on the spectrum, but they are not the only outcomes the game offers.
If the player chooses to experiment and kill some monsters, while sparing others, they will get a neutral ending based on their choices. All neutral endings follow the same structure: After defeating Asgore (and Photoshop Flowey, if this is the first run after a true reset), the player supposedly leaves the Underground and later receives a phone call from Sans that goes over the current state of the realm. With that in mind, these are the best neutral endings in Undertale.8 Dog Ending
Conditions: Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, and Mettaton are killed; no other monster is killed.
If the player only kills the game’s four bosses, while sparing everyone else, this is the ending they will get. Sans will inform them that a strange dog rose to power in the vacuum that emerged. All it does is sleep on the throne throughout the day and this seems like a good arrangement, with the monsters being happy with their new way of life.
This is largely a joke ending for a specific condition the player is unlikely to get on their first playthrough. The dog is a recurring character in the game, acting like a mascot and a representation of the creator, Toby Fox, in the game’s world. The ending doesn’t hold any emotional weight, but it’s good at getting a chuckle out of the player.7 Leaderless Ending
Conditions: Toriel, Papyrus, Undyne, and Mettaton are killed, at least one other monster is killed.
This is the first ending that the players who chose to kill everyone but are unaware of the game’s intricacies necessary for achieving the genocide ending are likely to get. It has a very bleak phone call with Sans saying that the Underground is a quiet place with no one to fill the power vacuum, leaving the realm leaderless.
It is the most depressing neutral ending, and shows how much the player’s actions affected the people of the Underground.