Undertale’s Toriel might not be as mysterious as some of the other characters in Toby Fox’s iconic indie RPG, but she’s no less important to the overarching storyline. So, in this guide, we’ve got everything you need to know about Toriel, including her relationships with other characters like Sans and Asgore. Just be wary, there are spoilers ahead.
For more in-depth lore from Toby Fox’s modern classic, be sure to check out our character guides for Undertale’s Frisk, Undertale’s Chara, and Undertale’s Papyrus. Or, if you’re looking into the future and can’t wait for the next instalment of Deltarune, check out our Deltarune chapter 3 guide for all the freshest information on the conclusion of the saga.
Understanding Toriel’s Significance in Undertale
Toriel is essentially Undertale’s maternal figure, and she’s one of the first characters you run into while playing. Though it doesn’t become clear until later in the game, Toriel is also the wife of Asgore, the ruler of Undertale’s underworld, and the grieving mother of Asriel. It’s a pretty sad story, but still, Toriel seems happy enough reading in her home when you first meet.
You later find out that Toriel and Asgore adopted a human who had fallen into the underground years before Undertale’s protagonist. After becoming ill, potentially on purpose, the fallen human merged spirits with Asriel, Toriel’s son, so that they could go back to the human world. It’s here that Asriel cannot face harming the humans, unlike actual human Chara who is more than willing and is killed by the humans.
This makes sense as to why Toriel is so maternal and protective at the start of the game. She knows that if her husband, King Asgore, finds any humans he will happily take them out as revenge for his fallen son. You find out in one of the rarer endings that this is also the reason for Sans following you around, having been asked by Toriel to look after you on your quest, with the pair striking up an unlikely friendship.
Strategies for Defeating Toriel
The battle with Toriel comes very early in the game, and the decisions you make while taking her on affect the rest of your playthrough, so it’s a pretty big deal. Below, we’ve got instructions on how to approach this battle depending on which route you’d prefer to take.
Neutral Route: How to Approach the Fight
If you’re headed down the neutral route, it doesn’t matter all too much whether you kill or spare Toriel, so long as you don’t then either kill all other monsters or spare all other monsters. There are some slight changes to the text at the end of the neutral route if you kill the character, and you lock yourself out of the possible Toriel ending, but if you’re aiming for something different, it doesn’t matter all too much.
Pacifist Route: The Non-Violent Option
If you’re heading down the pacifist route, you need to just keep opting to spare Toriel until she finally calls it quits. Compared to what you face further down the line, this is one of the easier pacifist battles, and shouldn’t take you too long to complete.
Genocide Route: Facing the Toughest Choice
Assuming that you’ve already completed either the neutral route or potentially the pacifist route, the genocide route starts as it means to go on by making you take down Toriel in cold blood. This is possibly one of the most heart-wrenching moments in all of Undertale, and even if you try and forget, Flowey will never let you live it down.
Toriel's Age and Background
While Toriel is one of the few characters who is explicit in her gender, she still doesn’t have a particular age assigned to her, and as a non-human character, it’s very difficult to make any assumptions. In the depths of Reddit, fans have her as anything from middle-aged, 40 or 50, to a millennia-old, thanks to what they interpret as little clues in the game’s dialogue, but in all honesty, no one but Toby Fox, and maybe Temmie, can be sure.
Toriel's Presence in Deltarune
Undertale’s Toriel is in Deltarune, kind of. This time rather than acting as the player’s mother, Toriel actually is your mum in Deltarune, and she sends you off to school with a smile and a wave. Toriel has much more of a sideline role in Deltarune chapters one and two, and we still don’t actually know if this Toriel is the same as the one in Undertale, or if this is some sort of alternative universe Toriel. Either way, she still gives a mean hug.
There you have it, that’s all you need to know about Undertale’s Toriel and her tragic backstory. Once you’ve seen all the endings in Toby Fox’s title, find something similar to jump right into with our list of the best games like Undertale on Switch and mobile. Or, if you’re eager for another engaging indie, check out our Stardew Valley characters and Stardew Valley fish guides.
