Deltarune: Game Review

Deltarune is a great top-down RPG. It has a variety of gameplay, well-designed characters, great music, vibrant locations and philosophy. Also, you don’t have to kill anyone. But to better understand this philosophy, we must turn to the first game from Toby Fox. This is Undertale.

Undertale

In the world of Undertale, monsters and humans lived together until war broke out. Coming out victorious, people sent the monsters to conclusion. The mountain became a prison for these creatures. And so that the prisoners would never again see the light of the sun or stars, a magical barrier was erected over the mountain. It lets you in but doesn’t let it out. And our story begins with a lonely child falling into this prison. Now he must do his best to survive. And find a way to freedom.

The game gives the player a lot of freedom of action. We can solve riddles. Play mini games. Lie on the floor and do nothing. Cooking with a fish woman. Go on dates. But what really makes Undertale unique is the combat. In other RPGs, this system is simple: we kill monsters, we get experience and resources for this. We repeat until we win.

In Undertale, every monster has a character. Each opponent has its own unique approach. You study your opponent, survive the attack, and study again. Until you find what he likes. Sirene – sing. Seahorse – play with muscles. Creepy deer is angry that garbage is hanging on his antlers. After performing certain actions, you will make friends with the monster. And you will have the opportunity to spare him by ending the conflict in a peaceful way.

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Or you can kill everyone who gets in your way. Or even cut out everything alive in the game. After all, you have absolute freedom of choice! At least the game wants you to think so. If you do not want to be kind, then you will be punished. Cruelly, painfully, with fiction. And there are several tools for this:

1. The characters Deltarune are beautifully written. They feel like individuals. It’s nice to spend time with them. And they are cute. Therefore, there is no desire to kill them. Especially considering that aggression is not always answered with aggression, making you regret your actions.
2. If you behave well, then a wonderful adventure awaits you among friends. Games, dates, riddles. The bad guy is waiting only for emptiness, death and loneliness. You will be feared and avoided. You will become a true monster. And not everyone likes this perspective.
3. The Deltarune remembers all your actions. Such a function will help to conduct some dialogues in a different way, to make original decisions. But if you kill a monster, especially a boss… You can be sure that you will be reminded of this. Save and load? Starting from scratch? It won’t help! The blood of the slain will forever remain on your hands. True, it works both ways. If the monster killed you, then you can remind him.
4. But what if you didn’t kill anyone, but wanted to see a different version of the passage? Toby Fox thought of that too! One of the characters sarcastically speaks about such people. That they are afraid to get their hands dirty, so they watch others do it. And that they are no better.

In such an original way, the game makes you feel the gravity of the murder. Describes the consequences of this choice. The importance of someone else’s life and yours. Deltarune is a truly unique and atmospheric game. With its very existence, Undertale inspired its fans to create fanart, comics, pornography, a wide variety of videos. Many alternative universes. Be it Altertale, Underfell, Crazytale, Horrortale. Or Futuretale, with its divine videos on YouTube. And how did Toby Fox react to it? Create your own alternate universe! And he called her Deltarune (An anagram of Undertale).

Deltarune

At the moment, two parts of Deltarune have been released. And you can download them absolutely free! If you believe the log of Toby Fox, then this is a completely different universe. All the characters that were in Undertale live a different life. And your decisions will not affect the original universe in any way. Like decisions in Undertale will not affect Deltarune.

Deltarune Chapter 1

Deltarune Chapter 1 became available for download in 2018. In it, from the first minutes we see Toby’s talent, his ability to tell a story through the design of characters and premises.

We play as a man named Chris. He has an untidy look. The shelves above the bed are empty. His half of the room is empty. The other half is much neater. The shelves above the bed are littered with awards. This half looks more cheerful. And it belongs to his brother: Azriel Dreemurr.

Together with Chris’ mother, Toriel, we go to school. On the way we see local people. They are all monsters. There are no people anywhere. Except for us… Already at school, we adapt a little to an unusual environment. And we have an unpleasant acquaintance with Susie – an aggressive purple dinosaur. Together they are sent to the pantry for chalk. Where do they get to another world.

The world Deltarune is like a cross between “Alice in Wonderland” and fantasy. Chris becomes a warrior and Susie becomes a barbarian. On the way you meet Ralsei. This kid is a bunch of kindness and decency. It even has a fluffiness scale! And yes, you can hug him. Concurrently, he turned out to be the prince of this place. His kingdom has been taken over by a cruel king. And the fountain of darkness rages in the castle. If it is not closed, then the balance between light and darkness will be destroyed. Therefore, we grab our legs in our hands and go to save the world, deciding the fate of the enemies we meet along the way.

In Deltarune we are given the opportunity to test new mechanics. Now you can roll down vertical surfaces. Now, if we are attacked, we do not always go into combat mode. Some attacks can be dodged in real time. Puzzles have become a little more difficult. But the combat system has changed the most!

This time, three characters are participating in the battle instead of one. Like in Undertale, the player still dodges attacks with their soul. But when receiving damage, it is distributed among the members of the group. We can still befriend the enemy, but here comes the problem. And her name is Susie. She doesn’t care about friendship and magic. She just attacks. Those who choose the path of a pacifist, it is better to warn the enemies, otherwise they will get an ax in the head. At Chris’ request, the characters can take action together, which emphasizes the importance of teamwork.

Deltarune Chapter 2

Deltarune Chapter 2 released after 3 years of waiting. The story finally got a sequel. And we are in a new location. If last time another world was in the pantry, where we were confronted by chips and cards, now it is in the computer room. Accordingly, it resembles the insides of a computer. Everything around is permeated with neon aesthetics. The walls of buildings periodically lag. Our opponents are computer mice, spam bots, antiviruses, an anthropomorphic fox with a whip.

There are more mechanics in the Deltarune, as well as interactions between characters, puzzles, mini-games, ways to peacefully deal with enemies. But the task remained the same: to close the dark fountains. And the Queen will interfere with this. And she does a great job as the final boss. Especially in comparison with the King in the previous chapter.

The fact is that the King did not show up until the very end. He was just an obstacle to be overcome. The queen interacts with our group throughout the game. She builds tricks, declares a truce, generates memes. Feeding Chris bananas. He truly enjoys his role! And he has a pair of gorgeous legs! And Toby Fox deliberately emphasizes this.

During the journey in Deltarune, the characters from our group change noticeably. They overcome their negative qualities, learn to work in a team, grow up. Everyone except Chris. A parasite lives in his body – the player. Because of him, Chris can only move and speak when he is allowed to. He is forced to watch what is happening from the prison of his body. And it is not known how this will affect him in the end.

Deltarune rule

From the very beginning in Deltarune, we are told that our choice does not matter. We create a character for ourselves, but they immediately get rid of it and settle us in the body of Chris. Throughout the game, our opinions are brushed aside. The characters go through some areas on their own. Enemies can no longer be killed. Being rude towards them will only affect some dialogues and the ending. The plot will remain unchanged, regardless of our actions.

But with the release of the second chapter Deltarune, a loophole appeared in this rule. Yes, our actions don’t matter. But the actions of comrades do. And a day has not passed since the release of the second part, as the players found a way to arrange a genocide. They forced Noelle to commit murder: a kind and helpful classmate of Chris. And this is much worse than the genocide in Undertale. If at that time it was our choice, now it is done by someone else. Taking advantage of those who believe in us.

Conclusion

At the moment, all elements of Deltarune are at a very high level. Whether it’s music, design, characters or story. It is unknown if the game will be able to maintain a similar pace throughout the chapters. But if she succeeds, then she will even be better than Undertale. Even the available two chapters are worth buying the whole game. When it goes on sale, but it will not be soon.

Pros Deltarune:

• Great music
• Interesting characters
• Intriguing story
• Humor
• The freedom of action

Cons Deltarune:

• None