Deltarune (Chapter 5)

I'm always reluctant to play the latest chapters of Deltarune.  Not because they're not great (they definitely are) but because they're over with so quickly and I'm always left wanting more of these wonderful adventures.  In a way, though, I'm also glad they're as short as they are - you just know if this franchise was being released by a giant corporation they'd demand it be some super dry open world game with tons of collectibles and fifteen times as many fights; not because it benefits the story in any way, but because they need to fill out some publisher's arbitrary length quota.  In addition to a fantastic and imaginative game designer, Toby Fox continues to be one of the most instinctively clever, funny and charming creative talents out there.  His characters are consistently unique, memorable and funny; even when they're meant to be intentionally obnoxious they still get a ton of laughs from me.  They also manage to be surprisingly touching during the more dramatic moments, which is no small feat considering how outlandish the whole scenario and many of the designs are.  The game mechanics continue to surprise too, with Chapter 5 working in puzzle-platformer elements and even a clever parody of Phoenix Wright's trials during one memorable combat sequence.  All that, plus the consistently beautiful 2D art (even a full-blown anime sequence at one point) and fantastic music make this yet another memorable entry in the episodic adventures of Deltarune.  I'm still hooked, and the months or years it'll take to bring this story to its conclusion are going to pass really slowly.

Developer: Toby Fox
Publisher: Toby Fox, 8-4
Released: 2026
Platform: PC, macOS Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4

Deltarune (Chapters 3 and 4)

Four years later and we finally get more Deltarune.  Was the wait worth it?  I think so.  The passage of time (nearly seven years since the first chapter dropped) has done nothing to deter Deltarune's unique charm. Toby Fox's world and characters are as supremely creative and delightfully unhinged as ever, with one chapter taking part as a demented TV game show with a surprisingly tragic bent, and the second continuing to build up the unique world and characters present.  The character chemistry is brilliant, the dialog is consistently hilarious and the emotional beats all land; simply put, the writing is phenomenal on every front.  The games also contain some of the most beautiful spritework I've ever seen, with incredibly expressive characters, incredible use of lighting and shockingly fluid animation.  Combat retains the same gimmick but remains as fresh as ever, with every battle (even with mundane enemies) finding new ways to surprise me and implement new ideas, never becoming monotonous.  The fact that it does all this in chapters that only last about 4-5 hours apiece is commendable too; they pack more personality and charm into those few hours than every Ubisoft open world content-for-contents-sake turd combined.  Really, the only negative aspect is I know I'm going to have to wait many long months to see more, but the memories these chapters have made are more than enough to tide me over.

Developer: Toby Fox
Publisher: Toby Fox, 8-4
Released: 2025
Platform: PC, macOS Switch, Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4

Deltarune (Chapters 1 and 2)

The companion game to beloved indie darling Undertale, Deltarune actually began development several years before it, and appropriately for a game still yet unfinished, it goes for much greater scale in both its gameplay and narrative design.  But does Deltarune manage to capture the magic of its sister game even in its unfinished state, or does it simply get overshadowed by it?

2015's Undertale is a game that attracted an enormous following despite its humble origins, low budget and being built in Game Maker, even being nominated for numerous awards in shows usually almost exclusively reserved for big-studio productions, and even winning a few (with IGN awarding it their 2015 award for Best Story and even naming it the 20th best game of all time).  So, when a followup was finally publicly announced, it of course generated a lot of buzz and high expectations; moreso when it was revealed to have begun development well before Undertale and, as of early 2022, remains unfinished.  Toby Fox saw fit to release the first chapter of the game as a free demo and, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, released the second one as well, giving people a chance to see just what it had to offer in comparison to Undertale.  

The answer, as it turned out, was quite a lot.  While its exact relationship to Undertale still isn't entirely clear (it retains numerous characters from it, though whether it's a sequel, prequel or alternate universe is left ambiguous, at least so far), it retains many elements from its sister game.  The warm characters, the simple-yet-stylish visuals, interesting gameplay and the sense of fun it carries all remain intact.  However, Deltarune also aims for much greater heights on every front - all characters show much more fluid and technically-proficient animation, with little to none of the "floating joints" style that was evident in the first game, and its use of lighting effects and shows are surprisingly effective even with the minimal color palette.  The combat screen is also given a Final Fantasy style side-view rather than a more basic Wizardry-styled UI, allowing the player character and his allies to show off their own animations.  The music, as ever, is phenomenal, perfectly highlighting the epic combat as well as any mood the story attempts to go for, and stands as proof that well-composed electronically-generated music is as timeless as any other.

Even in its unfinished state, Deltarune's gameplay also shows quite a bit of depth and polish.  Rather than simply controlling one character, you now control up to three as the story dictates, and they're given distinct abilities to match.  Kris serves as the protagonist and the one primarily responsible for non-violent interactions with enemies (though they can also order the other two characters to participate as well, using one/both their turns that round to move enemies closer to "Tamed" status).  Ralsei, as a compassionate and friendly character, serves as the party's healer and can knock enemies out harmlessly with Sleep spells, which also offers an alternate way to Tame them.  Susie, being a more hot-headed and violent character, uses primarily offensive moves and acts on her own for a good portion of the first chapter, with the other two having to warn enemies of her attacks in advance if you wish to remain on a pacifistic route (though she will eventually become more of a team player and start to take orders). And of course, your choices do actually make a difference; not so much the dialog choices (which seem to actively poke fun at the lazy flat good-or-bad-choice plot branching present in so many modern RPGs), but in pursuing a pacifistic or deadly route through the story, events and story outcomes for each chapter will change substantially.

Combat retains the minigame-based approach that Undertale implemented, with basic attacks and specials alike playing out as minigames based on timed button presses, and avoiding enemy attacks playing out by having the player move a small heart icon around within a box to avoid patterns of projectiles.  (This also comes into play outside of battle, where the player must avoid traps or hazards by keeping their player's heart icon outside of their hit zones).  Spells and special techniques now operate off a "TP" bar that is shared between the three characters, and which can be boosted by using the Defend command (effectively skipping a turn), or by narrowly avoiding projectiles during the dodge minigames - a second outline appears around your heart icon, and any projectile passing through that outline (while not hitting your heart) will boost the TP gauge slightly.  So, in effect, doing well requires not just avoiding attacks as they come, but having enough confidence to let the attacks narrowly miss you so you can build meter, similar to a mechanic in Radiant Silvergun where you'd gain points by narrowly avoiding a fatal shot.  Items can also be used in a pinch to recover HP or TP without requiring meter to be spent, though these are quite limited in how many you can carry at a time, they're best used as a last resort.

Of course, Deltarune wouldn't be nearly as memorable or captivating as Undertale if it didn't have a great cast of well-written characters.  It certainly does not disappoint there; yes, much of the cast from Undertale returns as the inhabitants of the player's hometown, but they mostly serve as ancillary characters, with care taken so that they don't upstage the main characters of this story.  Thankfully, the new cast is just as brilliantly realized as Undertale's - vivid, expressive, with some great well-written dialog and genuinely funny jokes, and never once falling into being lazy cardboard-cutouts.  Even the story's antagonists are very well-realized, three-dimensional characters with their own histories, motives and personalities, and show genuine emotions throughout, including that very human yearning for acceptance that all of us have.  Similarly, the story isn't afraid to show its emotional side, running the gamut from hilarious to disturbing to tender as events warrant while never once feeling forced or out-of-place.  Basically, Deltarune has a sense of energy, fun and warmth I've not had with a game since the likes of Chrono Trigger and Earthbound, and that's saying a lot considering the sheer number of RPGs I've played.

So, with only two chapters publicly released and five more to be released at some indefinite point down the road, is it safe to say that Deltarune lives up to the hype?  I certainly think so.  It's a game with a lot to offer on every front - its polished gameplay, heartfelt writing, stylish visuals, amazing music and sound design and a sense of fun and passion that few other games I've ever played have captured all make it an incredible experience that proves budget ultimately has very little to do with a game's quality.  AAA Games only seem to be concerned with getting larger and prettier, with gameplay and storytelling relegated to a shallow, heavily-compromised afterthought at best, and most just bore me to sleep within only a couple hours of starting them up, leaving me wonder why I even bother to keep up with current gaming tech.  Then comes a game like Deltarune to remind me of why I love video games and RPGs in particular.  Even with only two chapters done, it's a brilliant experience; hell, even if it never gets finished it'll still be one of the best games I've ever played.  In an era where 99% of all time and money in the medium of video gaming goes into pretty-yet-empty 3D backdrops, models and textures that'll age about as well as milk, and algorithmically-generated bland filler just to meet some arbitrary publisher-mandated length quota, with another 3 years of multi-gigabyte patches to follow just to make it slightly resemble an actual, finished product, it's nice to see developers who still remember what really makes gaming great.  And since the demo is currently free, there's little excuse to not at least give it a chance to win you over too.  Some games really are worth the wait.

Developer: Toby Fox
Publisher: Toby Fox, 8-4 Ltd.

Platform: PC, macOS, Switch, Playstation 4

Released: 2018, 2021

Recommended Version: I'd say play the PC version if you can; according to the developer the console versions have had some issues with updates breaking things, and patching for them may come slower than the PC version.

Undertale

A small-budget indie RPG made in Gamemaker Studio that draws much inspiration from Earthbound and even has some CRPG-like elements to its design. But does Undertale provide a memorable experience on par with the game that inspired it, or does it just fall prey to its engine's limitations?

In an era where the term "innovative" gets thrown around to describe any weak gimmick a generic first person shooter uses to distinguish itself from the 347 other FPSes released that year, it probably doesn't immediately draw anyone's eye when Undertale is touted as an innovative game.  That said, Undertale is one of the few games truly worthy of the moniker; while it does follow the JRPG format with its heavy emphasis on character development and the overall style of its combat system, it puts so many twists on both elements that it creates something truly distinct and memorable.

This is probably most prominent at first in the game's combat system.  While at first it appears rather mudane with its basis in random encounters and its turn-based nature, the actual mechanics of it quickly show themselves to be very unique.  The ability to do more damage with well-timed attacks (with the player pressing them as they sweep across the center of a large target) isn't particularly new, but the means by which the player avoids damage certainly is.  Each turn, the player is placed in the center of a "bullet board" and must evade patterns of projectiles for a few seconds; each time the heart representing them touches one, they will take damage.  These projectile patterns for each type of enemy the player encounters, and when encountering two enemies of a different type their bullet patterns will often be combined together, making their attacks more challenging to avoid.  Other elements are gradually introduced as well, such as green projectiles that will actually heal the player, blue projectiles that the player can only avoid by keeping their heart icon still, or orange projectiles that require them to be moving in order to avoid damage.

This element gets played up in various creative ways throughout the game, most especially in the boss battles; not only do these frequently force you to contend with fast-moving waves of bullets (oftentimes reminiscent of a bullet hell shooter), but they work in other gimmicks as well; the battle with Undyne, for example, locks your icon in place and forces you to "block" incoming attacks by placing a shield between yourself and them.  These are inevitably easy to pick up at first, but the game quickly ramps up efforts to keep the player on their toes; while it is easy enough to block a series of incoming attacks from four directions, Undyne will quickly start firing "backwards" projectiles at you as well, forcing you to quickly switch to the other side in order to successfully avoid damage.  The patterns also progressively get faster as the battle goes on, with projectiles and backwards ones being intermixed together, requiring some truly honed reflexes and memorization to succeed.  Numerous gameplay change-ups occur throughout the other boss battles as well, and I'd be doing a disservice to list them all, as they give each of the fights a very distinct challenge and feel.

Another unique element for the game, and especially for Japanese-styled RPGs, is the fact that the player can effectively be a pacifist throughout the adventure and not kill a single monster or person they encounter.  This extends even to the game's minor enemies, who can all be "spared" through various dialog interactions.  One example is Aaron the seahorse; the player defeats by flexing, eventually causing him to "flex himself out of the room" and fly offscreen, effectively leaving the fight.  The process of sparing varies heavily for each enemy one encounters, but all of them (even bosses) can be defeated non-lethally by puzzling out a selection of dialog choices, or simply lasting long enough in the fight.  During the Undyne fight, for example, the player cannot run away while their heart icon is purple, so they must avoid attacks until Undyne releases them from that status, at which point they can flee from the fight.

Fitting the general quirkiness of the game's design, Undertale is replete with a very colorful cast of characters.  Fitting the Earthbound inspiration, they each manage to be very over-the-top and silly while also retaining a surprising sincerity and charm to them.  From the pun-cracking skeletons Papyrus and Sans (who each talk in their respective typefaces) to spiders that run a bake sale to dogs wearing huge suits of armor (somehow...) to murderous flowers, Undertale's world is a wild one that is a joy to experience throughout.  Also similarly to Earthbound, the game retains an overall simple visual style seemingly inspired by newspaper comic strips but still puts it to great use, utilizing the minimal color palette and a sense of depth to deliver some very distinct and eye-catching visuals throughout.  The soundtrack draws much from its inspiration as well, delivering a plethora of simple, yet distinct and memorable songs for each location as well as some amazing battle tracks that perfectly complement the crazier fights (my personal favorite being Muffet's).

Undertale takes another unique step by offering a true sense of freedom and consequence that few other RPGs do; even big-budget games that claim to offer such choice these days rarely do, usually not even garnering an alternate line of dialog from NPCs in most circumstances.  However, Undertale most definitely succeeds at this experience; the game tracks all of your actions throughout the game, giving you some very different dialog in some scenes.  Similarly, characters will react differently to you depending on dialog choices you've made and whether you've spared or killed past bosses, which can result in some fights and scenes you wouldn't normally see if you'd made the other choice.  Ultimately, this tailors the experience quite differently to the player's game style and giving them one of three distinct endings (with a few different variations of each).  Choices the player has made in previous playthroughs will even carry over into new ones, resulting in some different scenes and lines of throughout and giving an otherwise short game some significant replay value.

In an era of cookie-cutter JRPG games that prey on nostalgia and "choice-driven" RPGs that mostly just boil down to which character you're going to romance in a particularly cringe-worthy manner or what color the screen will be tinted during the one ending cutscene, Undertale providing a gaming experience that beats out both camps' defining features.  While still recognizable as a Japanese-styled RPG, it provides enough of a twist on the format that it remains a fresh and engaging experience throughout, roping the player in with the sincerity of its characters and an overall positive mood, and it never falls into the trap of forcing the player into tedious grinding to pad out game time.  Big-budget "choice-driven" games are equally beaten at their own gimmick by giving the player the freedom to explore this world as they see fit, with their choices having a genuine change on the story they see unfold and even allowing them to drastically alter the fate of the world they find themselves in.  Hell, it even effectively lampoons the awful, stilted romances of other games with some ridiculous "dating scenes" of its own, turning that entire lousy trope on its head and providing plenty of laughs to boot.  A game that perfectly balances the "video gamey" element of its design with its strong storytelling, Undertale is a standout title and, I dare say, one of the finest games in the genre.

Developer: Toby Fox, 8-4 Ltd (PS4/Vita ports)
Publisher: Toby Fox, 8-4 Ltd (PS4/Vita ports)
Platform: PC, Linux, Playstation 4, Playstation Vita
Released: 2015, 2017
Recommended version:   The PS4 and Vita ports have a slight bit of added content in the "Dog Shrine", an optional area that just provides a few extra jokes as well as the majority of the game's trophies.  Otherwise, all versions of the game are pretty much identical.