Undertalehas become a cultural touchstone. I was in my very first year of university when the indie RPG released back in 2015 and sent creator Toby Fox into the stratosphere. But despite critical acclaim, commercial success, and every other person in my life begging me to play it, I never did.
Perhaps I was stubborn because it was the ‘next big thing’ or afraid it wouldn’t live up to the immense expectations I now had for it. Fast-forward a decade, and things haven’t changed. It’s a glaring black hole in my backlog I’ve meant to address again and again and again, but there is something in my ADHD-addled brain that stops me every single time. That is, until now.
I’ve Never Played Another Game Quite Like Deltarune
Okay, maybe I lied a little bit. There was a time a couple of years ago when the calendar was quieter than usual that I finally took the plunge, playing a few hours as I encountered famous faces like Sans and Papyrus before once again walking away. I still know most of the songs, a bunch of beloved characters, and the themes of valuing who you are and want to be, even if the world puts you through hell. Despite everything, it’s still you. That statement alone is a powerful expression of identity that few other games can match, and when you consider this through the context of Undertale, it becomes unstoppable.
This brings me toDeltarune, a sister story to Undertale that released its first chapter for free way back in 2018. The second chapter followed in 2021, once again releasing for free as a way to reward everyone for making it through the pandemic. These two parts alone can be justified as premium experiences, and I wouldn’t bat an eyelid, offering up a new narrative, excellent lead characters, and mechanical evolutions that built upon everything Undertale did so well. But it wasn’t until the Nintendo Switch 2 launch and the release of Chapters 3 and 4 that we’d actually had to throw some pennies at Toby Fox. I did just that, and over the past week I’ve been slowly working my way through it.
You begin the game by creating your ideal character, picking from a variety of body types and hairstyles, before the game laughs in your face and throws it into the ether, replacing it with a teenager called Kris who doesn’t talk or emote much at all. But they have a heart, and this is the beating centre of this story from the very beginning. You live in Hometown, a place that, true to its name, is home to a number of familiar Undertale characters living normal lives I’m assuming will come into play later on. For now, we head to school and quickly get caught up in a series of otherworldly shenanigans.
The music and presentation are immediately charming, but if you’ve already played this first chapter, which came out seven years ago, you already know that.
After being asked to receive some chalk for the blackboard with the help of Susie, a school bully who seems awfully keen to rip your face off, Kris is whisked off into a magical world in which they are destined to become a legendary hero. I’m only a couple of hours in right now, having met Ralsei as I made my way to the first castle and tried to come up with a cool name for my gang. Every character interaction and line of dialogue is utterly charming.
And You Don’t Need To Know Undertale To Fall In Love With It
What surprised me, though, is how Deltarune is framed, so anyone can enjoy it, not just fans who know Undertale back to front after multiple playthroughs. There are going to be definite moments of fan service where characters show up and talk like you should be familiar with them, or similar themes that are explored in equally compelling ways that Imightappreciate more with the proper context. But even without them, it’s still hitting in all the right ways.
The party of characters I’m building are all lovably flawed, made up of building blocks that are bound to be explored through complex character arcs in the adventures to come. I’m also enamoured with the battle system and know that decisions to spare or kill each of the enemies I face could have tangible consequences. I’ve also heard whispers of what a selection of fans have called the ‘Weird Route’ alongside a bunch of out-of-context spoilers on my social media feeds that only serve to pull me further into this universe.
I can already tell a bunch of the villains I’ve met are going to end up being my best friends, which is so, so cute.
It’s weird, though, how, despite never playing Undertale to completion, it still feels like a game I’ve absorbed through cultural osmosis. The impact it had on indie developers, RPGS as a whole, and how we tell stories in this genre all come home to roost in Deltarune, and I’m so happy I finally get to be a part of that experience.
