Snowdin

- The first section of Snowdin is a series of cut scenes which will introduce you to two new characters, Sans and Papyrus. They’re so wacky. (Those fonts, amirite?)

- The area begins in earnest to the east, where you’ll find a save point at a crossroads. Near a sign at the crossroads is a Box; you can use this Box to store items you’d rather save for later. Inside is a Tough Glove, which is stronger than the Toy Knife you may have picked up in the Ruins, and allows you to hit multiple times if you keep tapping the Z button. In this area you’ll start running into the following enemies:
  • Snowdrakes. Wacky comedians par excellence, Snowdrakes try to hit you with slow-moving, densely-packed projectiles. Don’t move around too much. Give a Snowdrake one round to practice its puns, then Laugh at it to appease the beast. You can Spare it from that point on.
  • Icecaps. The greatest hat wearers evar. Icecaps launch ice into the air, easily avoided, and create small, spiny mazes which you can weave through by moving slowly up and down. If you Ignore an Icecap until it is desperate for attention you can Steal its cap, turning it into harmless Ice. Sparing is inevitable.
- To the north from the crossroads is a fishing line. It, uh, yeah. Try it out if you want. To the east is a cut scene, and on the next eastern screen is a battle with a dude named Doggo. Doggo is incredibly easy so long as you don’t move so much as an inch during his attacks. They won’t hurt you. The same goes for all attacks that are coloured blue. Pet Doggo in order to Spare the poor guy. After this you’ll start running into another new enemy:
Lesser Dogs.

- The next screen has slidey ice, but you can ignore it if you want. To the north is a snowman; he’ll give you a Snowman Piece and ask you to deliver it somewhere far away. (He just wants you to have it on you when you beat the game, thereby adding another scene to the credits. It's a good healing item, so if needed, toss it in yer gob.) To the east is a cut scene, and a… ‘puzzle’. Follow the tracks to avoid getting shocked.

- There’s a vendor who will sell you Nice Cream on the next screen to the east. Near him is a large snowball. You can kick this snowball along the lighter path that winds to the south. Kick it into the hole down here and you can earn some gold. To the northeast is an odd little area that appears to be an outdoor bathroom; to the northwest is the exit.

- There’s another ‘puzzle’ past here, as well as a save point. And… spaghetti. Beyond is another open area, including some new foes, most of them appearing in clusters:
  • Chilldrakes. Their attacks are pretty similar to Snowdrakes. These dudes are looking for their friend Snowy. Agree with them and they’ll become uncomfortable enough to be Spared.
  • Jerries. They don’t… seem… to do anything. Not on their own, anyway - they just make the attacks of other enemies last longer. You can Spare ‘em immediately. If a Jerry is on its lonesome you can also Ditch it.
  • Gyftrots. Appearing largely outside the mystery door, noted below, Gyftrots drop snow on you from above. Stay low, and weave to the left and right. You can Undecorate Gyftrots three times to get them to leave you alone.
Getting through here is simple enough. Head east from the entrance and you’ll find a barren, square patch of ground. Check the middle of it to find a switch. This will remove the spikes from the southern path. Be ready, though - bosses be coming.

The Dogi, warriors supreme of Snowdin. They can't believe
that dog can pet dog. Make them believe.
Dogamy and Dogaressa

Collectively known as the Dogi, Dogamy and Dogaressa are a pair of canine warriors in love. Their joint attacks involve hopping axes - stay low, and move when they hop - and whirling hearts, similar to other enemy attacks. They’re not that hard to beat physically, but you should do it in a particular order. If you defeat Dogaressa first, Dogamy’s attacks will get weaker. Beat Dogamy first, though, and Dogaressa gets much stronger. She has less HP, so she should go first.

Merciful combat is a bit weirder. The Dogi won’t let you near unless you smell differently. Start by Rolling Around in the dirt to change your smell, then have one of the Dogi Re-Smell. Doesn’t matter which. They’ll decide you’re a puppy. Pet both of them once, then Spare to end the battle.

- The next area has a tiny puzzle where you need to turn the Xs on the ground into Os. Easily done - just step on each of them once, then hit the switch. This gets a bit trickier on the next screen, however, as you need to step on the multitude of Xs in the right order. There are a few ways to do this correctly, and here’s one:
  • Step onto the second X from the bottom
  • Go down one X
  • Go right three Xs
  • Go up one X
  • Go right one square, then up to the next X
  • Go right one X
  • Go up two Xs
  • Go left two squares to the next X
  • Go down to Xs
  • Go left to the next X
  • Hit the last X in the northwest, then step on the button
- On the next screen is a save point. Use it. Beyond you’ll find more Xs… though these ones are encased in slidey ice squares. Heeere we go. (It’s not as hard as it looks, actually.)
  • Step onto the lower-left X
  • Slide right
  • Slide up
  • Slide left
  • Move down one X
  • Slide right twice
  • Slide down
  • Slide left
  • Move up one X
  • Slide right
  • Move up one X
  • Slide right to the switch
The path on the other side of the puzzle splits. To the south is a cave, leading to a door, which you can’t currently open. If you wander 'round this tiny cave long enough - like, say, four or five minutes? - you'll run into a new enemy:
  • Glyde. This one-time-only semi-boss is quite powerful, and sprays a ton of projectiles vertically down the field. Don't move too much or you're more likely to get hit. To Spare Glyde you'll need to Applause twice, then do Nothing until Glyde gets tired of your shenanigans.
-Back outside. To the east is a field of snow poffs. If you check all of them you'll earn 30 G. Nice. Try to cross through here and out the eastern exit and one of the poffs will become the cutest damned boss ever.

The Greater Dog in Undertale. Look, even its spear has a face. D'aw.
Greater Dog

Buff! Greater Dog attacks with homing barks and a sweeping spear that alternates between white (always deadly) and blue (deadly if you’re moving, harmless if you’re still). Not too difficult. If you decide to Spare the Greater Dog you can either Call, Play With, and Pet the Greater Dog until it has a nap, or just Ignore it until it gets bored of you and wanders away.

- Continue east. After a conflicting encounter with Sans and Papyrus you’ll end up in a cozy little burg.

Snowdin Town

- First thing’s first: there’s a Shop and an Inn right by the entrance, as well as a save point and a Box for storage. The only thing you’ll probably want to buy in the Shop is the Manly Bandanna, since you can get the Tough Glove from the Box. The Inn costs 80 gold, but you don’t actually spend any money, since… you don’t stay the night. Shrug? Staying at the Inn will give you a temporary boost to your max HP by ten points, which is especially nice if you're playing a Pacifist run and don't have much health.

- There are plenty of people to speak to in town, including a slew of former bosses in Grillby’s, down the street. Halfway through town is a northbound path; you won’t find much down it right now, aside from some odd jokes and an epic wrong answer in the far north. There’s a ‘Librarby’ further east, and a locked house beyond that which may belong to some familiar chaps. (If you want to skip all of the detailed story stuff between the beginning of town and this house you can hop in the igloo near the entrance, though I recommend visiting homes and talking to NPCs at least once.)

- Keep wandering east out of Snowdin Town. A battle awaits.

Papyrus, Royal Guard trainee. That is a heroic pose, it is.
Papyrus

This battle is full of jokes, but you should still take it seriously. Papyrus starts off by deploying a series of tiny bones along the bottom of the screen. No big deal - until he uses his ‘blue attack’, which drops you to the ground and forces you to hop over his lines of bones. From this point on you’ll have to rely on hopping to avoid his sliding bones, which get more and more frantic as time goes on. They’re hardly difficult to avoid, and aren’t terribly painful, but it takes so long to beat Papyrus that attrition can set in if your jumping is sloppy. Mind that the longer you hold down the jump button, the higher you’ll jump. This is especially important during his ‘final attack’, where massive amounts of bones start scrolling in.

Do enough damage and Papyrus will claim that you can be ‘Spared’, which is a sign that you can end the fight here. Unlike the previous area boss, you can permanently kill Papyrus here if you decide to hit him one last time. Do this and he will disappear from the story. If you don’t strike him, however, he will stick around, give you his phone number, and continue to pop up periodically.

If you Flirted with Papyrus during the battle - and, you know, didn't murder his bony butt - you can also go on a date with him. Once the fight is done you can find him at his home in Snowdin Town, back to the west. It's, uh... it's an interesting date. Even if you don't Flirt you can still 'hang out', with roughly the same effects: getting his number for your Cell Phone.

(Also? Don't worry too much about losing to Papyrus. You don't get a Game Over. You just get 'trapped' inside his shed. Do this enough times and he'll stop fighting you altogether, which... I suppose... is another way to get your merciful win...?)