Deltarune, the pseudo-successor to the 2017 indie hit, Undertale, has prompted a lot of conversation lately about where exactly the game is going. Since the release of Chapter 2 back in September 2021, fans of the game have been on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens next, and it’s easy to see why. Deltarune isn’t your ordinary RPG. It’s a multi-chapter beast with a cryptic and captivating story, drawing players in with developer Toby Fox’s signature sense of humor. So, why is it releasing so slowly? Why are there so many open ends in chapters 1 and 2? Let’s recap and speculate together on what we know and what Deltarune might have in store for us in Chapter 3.
What is Deltarune About?
Chapters 1 and 2 of Deltarune follow a cast of quirky characters including several from the Undertale universe, but the game focuses mostly on the iconic trio, Kris, Susie, and Ralsei. Kris, the character we control, appears on the surface to be the standard gender-ambiguous human RPG protagonist, but more on them later. On a seemingly typical day of school, Kris winds up involuntarily partnered with the ever-intimidating monster character, Susie, the school bully. After unexpectedly wandering into another dimension called the Dark World inside a storage closet, Kris and Susie meet a mysterious dark prince named Ralsei. Ralsei tells the duo about the Legend of Delta Rune. The legend explains that the Light and Dark worlds must live in harmony, otherwise, a “terrible calamity” will occur. In order to keep this from happening, three heroes must seal the “dark fountains” and maintain balance. Conveniently, the three heroes in the legend happen to be a human, a monster, and a prince.
The Story So Far
Throughout the story of Chapter 1, The Beginning, our characters travel through the Dark World to reach the first fountain, meeting interesting characters and fighting unique foes along the way. Chapter 1 takes on a board game aesthetic with toys and game pieces acting as enemies like Rudinns, Hathys, and Jigsawrys. The colorful world seems to be drenched in the theme of card suits, with the chapter’s big bad, King, taking the shape of a spade. King’s son, Lancer, equally spade-shaped, follows our protagonists throughout the chapter, attempting to prove his worth as a “bad guy” by stopping the heroes from reaching the fountain. After a series of zany failed attempts to thwart the group, Lancer befriends the protagonists instead, joining them in their quest to restore balance.
After defeating King and sealing the first fountain, Kris and Susie find themselves back in the Light World with everything seemingly back to normal. They’re surrounded by toys and games strewn about the room, remnants of the time spent in the Dark World. This isn’t the end of the story, though. Chapter 1 ends with one of the most chilling and unexpected scenes in the series. We focus on Kris waking up in the middle of the night in an eerie zombie-like trance. They then do what can only be described as removing their human soul and throwing it into a birdcage in the corner of the room. The chapter closes with a shot of Kris drawing a knife with red eyes and a creepy smile splayed across their face. What on Earth was that?
What About Chapter 2?
Chapter 2, A Cyber’s World, sees our “Lightner” protagonists once again finding their way into the Dark World, this time through the computer lab at the library. Two new side characters are along for the ride this time, Noelle, a polite softspoken reindeer, and Berdly, an overbearing and obnoxious bluebird. Within the Dark World this time, our heroes find themselves in a vastly different area than the one in Chapter 1. Instead of toys and games, the entire world is themed like the inner workings of a computer. Chapter 2’s cheeky new antagonist, Queen, captures Noelle and we get our first taste of how irritating Berdly can be, as he takes Queen’s side voluntarily. Eventually, the group splits up, leaving Kris to find and team up with Noelle.
This is a pivotal part of the game, as it is the first time in Deltarune that we can choose our own branching path. Taking the game’s intended path sees Noelle learning to be less fearful with Kris as her loyal friend to lean on throughout their journey. The main path also sees the development of Berdly becoming a less arrogant bird and a better friend to Kris and the gang. The darker path, the “Snowgrave” route, sees Kris manipulating Noelle into using her ice spells in dangerous ways. The Snowgrave route doesn’t allow the player to finish the chapter as normal, though, so for the purpose of this recap, we will continue talking about the main ending.
Finally, the group reforms for a final boss battle with the Queen in a Punch-Out style fight. After a swift victory and another fountain sealing, Kris, Susie, Noelle, and Berdly return to the Light World. They find themselves back in the library where it all began. After making their way home, Kris’s mother, Toriel, invites Susie to spend the night. She then instructs the pair to wash their hands in the bathroom before making a pie together. When Kris enters the bathroom, we’re met with the same type of eerie ending scene as Chapter 1.
After Kris turns on the water, they fall to the ground. They rip out their soul just like before, locking it in the cabinet under the sink. Kris trudges to the window, opens it, and exits the house. We’re left with a shot of the empty bathroom and a conversation between Toriel and Susie with Kris still out of sight. Moments later, we see Kris re-enter the window, retrieve their soul from under the sink, and return to the rest of the house, but it doesn’t end there. Time passes as Kris and Susie watch TV. The pair fall asleep on the couch and we cut to a scene of Toriel telling the police her tires have been slashed. So, that’s what Kris was doing out there.
With Toriel joining the pair, asleep in her armchair, the night progresses. Kris wakes up in that same zombie-like way. They pull out their soul a final time and hide it in the couch. With Susie and Toriel still fast asleep around them, they brandish the knife seen in Chapter 1 and proceed to open a new dark fountain. Kris hobbles back to their seat, replacing their soul as the room fills with black smoke, leaving us with the final scene in Chapter 2. Nothing is visible except the static fog of the TV, where a creepy smile forms on the screen.
What Comes Next?
It’s fair to say that Deltarune is harboring a lot of secrets. It’s impossible to think about the game without highlighting each chapter’s incredibly strange ending. Furthermore, there was a three-year gap between the release of each chapter with Chapter 1 releasing in 2018 and Chapter 2 releasing in 2021. So, what reason do we have to believe Chapter 3 is on the horizon? Well, that’s where the Deltarune newsletters come into play. The game’s developer, Toby Fox, periodically releases these updates as a way to show fans the progress of upcoming chapters. In February 2024, the newsletter informed us that Chapters 3, 4, and 5 were all being worked on simultaneously. With that being said, they are set to be paid releases this time instead of free. The most recent newsletter released in July 2024 explains that Chapters 3 and 4 combined are definitely longer than the entirety of Chapters 1 and 2, meaning there will be a lot more games to explore when these are released. Also, the newsletter states that Chapter 4 is being playtested now by Toby’s friends. The game is functional. It seems we’re just waiting for the final touches.
So, what about the lore? What have we learned in the first two chapters? Well, we know that there’s certainly something strange going on with Kris. We saw them open a dark fountain. Does that mean they’re the cause for the unbalance of the Light and Dark Worlds? That’s something only time will tell, but there are some simpler conclusions we can draw from the end of Chapter 2. The chapter ended with a creepy smile on the TV. This likely implies that the third Dark World adventure will take place in a television-themed area. It might even make way for a TV-themed boss. It’s also safe to say that with the existence of the Snowgrave route, we as players might see the option for other branching paths.
Previous chapters left us with a lot of unanswered questions. Is Kris possessed? Who or what is Spamton and what’s his deal? Who is Ralsei, really? Is the Dark World even real? Is Deltarune connected to Undertale in some deeper way? The truth is we are at the mercy of the developers until Chapter 3’s release. Whatever Toby’s vision is though, it’s sure to be worth the wait. Undertale is a masterpiece and Deltarune is undeniably an amazing game so far. No matter how you feel about the wait, Toby Fox and his team are dedicated to creating something worth talking about. And it’s bringing the fan community together to theorize in the most unexpected ways.
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