At one point in time, there wasn’t anywhere you could go on the internet without running into a reference to the little indie RPG game called Undertale. The quirky writing, even quirkier gameplay, and memorable soundtrack made Toby Fox a global name in gaming to the point he’s since had guest contributions to the soundtracks of games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Following that level of success was always going to be a tall order, yet that is what Fox has been attempting with Deltarune, a successor title that takes place in a similar but alternate world. Now with the release of chapters 3 and 4 of Deltarune, we now have the best look yet at how this episodic follow-up adventure stacks up so far.
It’s TV Time!
Deltarune sees Kris as its protagonist, a human teenager who of course goes to high school with a class made up of interesting creatures, including the angsty outsider dinosaur/dragon-looking Susie. The duo are tasked by the teacher to get supplies from the store room and unknowingly fall into “The Dark World”. Here you meet the third member of your party, Ralsei, who is the prince of The Dark World.
It seems there is a war going on between the world of Light and Dark, disrupting the delicate balance it once had. People from Light have the ability to open Dark Fountains that help the Dark World seep into the Light. Kris as luck would have it has the ability to close the aforementioned Fountains, but of course, there is the mystery of who has caused all of this and why.
As I write this, Deltarune is split across 4 chapters, 2 of which are playable in the demo (with transferable save data) and 2 which are included in the paid release of the game, with another 3 chapters to come in the future. I would wager we are just crossing the halfway mark with the story, and as good of a hook as Chapters 1 and 2 are for a demo, the latest chapters start to ramp things up for the “Fun Squad” and their messed up adventure.
Spamton is so Cool and Funny
The main narrative has quite an engaging hook to its mystery. For those who played Undertale, there are also quite a lot of shared characters and nods to that title to enjoy, though it is considered a completely separate game. After being drawn in by those aspects, I found the character development for just about every character you come across, both hero and villain was surprisingly in-depth.
Kris, despite being your conduit into the world of Deltarune is surprisingly animated and deep with quite the enigma about them. The fact they can separate their soul from their body and act independently is just one of the many things that will have you questioning just what is going on. Still, the real star of the show is the blossoming friendship between the main party and how that slowly changes the characters and the way they interact with both worlds as the chapters go on.
Susie and Ralsei are like chalk and cheese, night and day. Still, as time goes on they pick up bits of each other’s personality, Raisel becoming more confident and Susie less of an act-first-think-never kind of monster. As the ancient prophecy gets unveiled and more familiar faces are dragged into the Dark World, the party finds themselves questioning destiny and trying to hold onto what little “normality” they have in the Light World as the frequency and intensity of the Dark World bleeds through.
Much like Ralsei and Susie, Chapters 3 and 4 are also quite polarized, with Chapter 3 leaning much further into being a genuinely fun and quirky adventure. It features the new fan-favourite character Tenna, who seemingly symbolizes the fall of family TV viewing in favor of the more on-demand, instant gratification world of streaming media. Then Chapter 4 stretches the Fun Squad further than ever before before leaving Susie reeling in some of the most hard-hitting scenes for their character, both in terms of their part in the ancient prophecy and also why they were so withdrawn and angsty when you initially met them.
All that being said you really have to remember that the game is episodic and as such isn’t in a rush to unveil its secrets. Even late into Chapter 4, it is still providing more and more mysteries, so if you’re eager to find out what exactly is going on in the world of Deltarune, you’ll be waiting quite some time with Chapter 5 of 7 currently being touted as releasing in 2026.
Do Not Do Crazy Things Like Having An Opinion
Like Undertale, Deltarune fits the pattern of offbeat indie RPGs like Lisa: The Painful, OFF, Suits, and Fear & Hunger. They’re all quirky and generally more linear games than a traditional RPG might be. You’ll instantly find that this game challenges your expectations.
The world of Deltarune is split into two halves. One side is the light world, which features light exploration around the “real world” with no combat and usually pushes the story forward. The other is the Dark World, which features dungeon-style areas along with a castle town that you reach post-Chapter 2 with shops, mini-games, and additional NPCs to drop some more of that sweet, sweet lore.
When you’re in the Dark World, you will come across all kinds of monsters who want to do battle in Deltarune’s snappy combat system. It features a quick time bar to hit the attack button at the right time to do the most damage, or you can use an ACT that is unique to that character. This will eventually allow you to spare the monster. If you do this enough times that monster will join your Castle Town eventually, which unlocks more stuff. Unlike Undertale, there isn’t currently a true genocide or pacifist route across the whole thing, but there is a secondary route that is quite a pain to unlock.
It’s Still You
Where Deltarune excels is just how quirky and unique every fight can be with the ACT features. Much like Undertale, when you’re being attacked you turn into a heart and have to dodge attacks à la shmups. No two monsters will attack the same way either. Some actually take damage using this technique instead and often you’ll trigger more dialogue and even change the fight completely. It’s absolutely engaging.
Chapter 3 specifically features the inclusion of Tenna who is very much poised to be the new favorite Toby Fox creation, as well as a fun Zelda-style romp where you’ll be playing a game within a game alongside entering a quiz show. It’s a wild trip and had me grinning from ear to ear. It’s just as much absurd fun as Chapter 2 which ended up with a wacky mecha fight. Chapter 4 on the other hand was both much darker in tone and more traditional in its presentation and gameplay.
But Nobody Came
Visually Deltarune looks very similar to Undertale, if not quite the same. Its locations are eerie and dark with vague shapes, and the game’s overworld is structured rather linearly with narrow spaces rather than heavily fleshed-out or expansive areas. But there is so much more detail in the backgrounds and character animations. Tenna (yes again!) himself has a 3D model that gives off wicked 16-bit era vibes and even has a cheeky CGI intro. It’s such a unique art style that is so hard to describe. At times it can look so messy but then look so beautiful in the next scene.
If you have played Undertale you’ll know to expect that the soundtrack is going to be full of bangers, and heck you aren’t wrong. The soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal across the board for Deltarune, from real voices and animal sounds to some absolute chiptune mastery. While I don’t feel we have quite hit the heights of Undertale’s highs (e.g. Megalovania), we get close, and with another 3 chapters on the horizon I foresee it’ll be surpassed by the time we call it a day with the Fun Squad.
Verdict
Is Deltarune worth purchasing? Yes, 100% yes. It’s such a unique and quirky title with so much to discover in its more than 20 hours of gameplay across the two routes currently. In addition, that purchase is your down payment on another 3 chapters of the game, a game that is getting bigger and quirkier with every chapter to the point I wouldn’t even be able to hazard a guess at where the game will end up.
While the world is still lavishing praise for several recent releases being a return to form for the JRPG genre, why not take a walk on the wild side and join the fun squad with the anti-RPG, rebellious teenager who has an obsession with anime, monsters, and bullet hell? Deltarune is one helluva drug.
DELTARUNE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
If you are looking for another RPG, you might want to check out our review of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector.
Many thanks go to TobyFox for a Nintendo Switch review code for Deltarune.
Pride of utopia & greatest thing ever, I found the One Piece, Collected the Dragon Balls & won the Mortal Kombat Tournament in one night, it was quiet for me that night! Follow me on Twitter @powahdunk
