A motherly figure created as an embodiment of excessive video game tutorials, she is a member of the monster race with hanging ears, small horns, white fur, and a purple robe.

She was designed by the game's creator, Toby Fox, as well as artist Temmie Chang, with her role inspired by Myria from Breath of Fire III.

[1] During the development of Undertale's battle system, Toriel was envisioned as "some kind of overprotective humanoid goddess," who was inspired by the character Myria from Breath of Fire III.

[3] Her initial design did not have horns, but Fox changed this due to the resemblance to the Mimiga from Cave Story, though he felt that he must have been partially inspired by them.

Writer Maria Christina Jørstad drew comparisons to teyodawa-kotoba and onna-kotoba, believing that this was chosen to reflect her motherly and mentor personality.

[5] The player meets Toriel shortly after they fall into the Underground, where she is seen as a motherly figure who desires to protect the human, the game's player-character, from its dangers.

When Asriel died, she gave up her crown due to her disgust at Asgore's decision to kill human children for their souls in order to break the "Barrier" keeping the monsters trapped in the Underground.

[6] Near the end of the True Pacifist story route, Toriel arrives at "New Home" (The Underground's capital) and stops Asgore and the human from fighting.

Later on, after the player has fought Asriel, who uses the human souls and his immense power to break the Barrier, Toriel and the other monsters leave the Underground, returning to the Surface.

Toriel offers to provide a home for the human; the player can choose to accept or reject this, which leads to a differing post-credits scene depending on the choice.

In the game's second chapter, she can be seen conversing with Alphys about Kris' well-being during the prologue; in the epilogue, she invites Susie into the Dreemurr household, and suggests that she spend the night after she realizes that her car tires had been slashed.

[11] Kill Screen writer Jess Joho described the character as "relying on the inhumanly selfless portrait of motherhood", but doing so with a purpose, praising the boss encounter with her as respecting the player's ability to think through a problem, as well as their basic instincts as a human being.

He discussed how the encounter with her before her fight made to feel "awry" due to the above-mentioned "uncharacteristic behavior" and the "atmospheric, intermittent, and low-pitched percussive sound," stating that it conveyed to the player that this was a "crucial decision-making moment."

[6] Kotaku writer Nathan Grayson stated that while he killed Toriel during his playthrough, his encounter with her made him cry due to her friendliness and relatability as a character.

They speak of how, after defeating Toriel, a long hallway and a moment of silence punctuates it, which is contrasted with the battle against Asgore, where the same thing occurs.

They also spoke of how Toriel's soul breaking, visually represented as a broken heart, may invoke memories where players hurt their own mother, stating that it makes her death "universally recognizable" and "personal.

[21] RPGSite writer Elizabeth Henges discussed having killed Toriel because she felt she needed to "prove [herself]," calling it an "eye-opening moment" when Flowey chastised her after resetting.