She suffers from social anxiety, depression, and self-harm tendencies, and the depiction of her struggles with these have been the subject of praise and commentary by critics.

Alphys overcoming her issues was particularly cited as a strong example of Undertale's message of characters finding courage in themselves by Destructoid writer CJ Andriessen.

Alphys was originally conceived as a man, but Fox eventually disliked that, making her female and adding eyelashes to her design.

[11][12] Afterward, the player visits her true lab, discovering experimentation she conducted on monsters who died to keep them alive by injecting them with "Determination" derived from six human souls, which leads to their bodies fusing together.

[19] A soundtrack compiling music related to Mettaton and Alphys was also produced by Fangamer, as well as being featured in sets of stickers and pins.

[22] Kotaku writer Jason Schreier noted that he could not stand Alphys' "nerdery," stating that Undyne could do better than her, but the final boss fight helped him appreciate her somewhat.

They discussed how the "overeager left hand" caused it to "[rush] the tempo and [trip] over itself," creating "clumsy, half-step intervals on the first beat.

Pop Matters writer Nick Dinicola found Alphys' constant communication annoying, but appreciating that she was making an effort.

He also discussed her self-hatred over being "painfully shy," believing that others hate her for it as well, and how that lead to her trying to show her confidence in ways that could prove harmful to others.

"[26] Writer Eric Walsh discussed how Alphys represented a "negative depiction of unhealthy fandom," tying that to her lack of self worth.

"[28] Eurogamer writer Natalie Flores related to Alphys the most out of the Undertale cast due to her also being "a socially anxious and shy woman who has a crippling fear of failure," also praising the scene where she confesses to Undyne as the best in the game.

She felt that the scene was both "sweet and touching" and "silly" due to Undyne both praising Alphys and dunking her in the trash can, stating that "we deserve to grow to love who our real selves are.

"[12] RPGFan writer Stephanie Sybydlo felt that the relationship between Alphys and Undyne was among the best of LGBTQ+ representation in RPGs, encouraging players to help "a lonely couple enjoy anime together".