Welcome Time Wasters!
This week there was a bit of a surprise for me. Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale, which I reviewed, released a new game. That game is called Deltarune and it has some connection to Undertale.
I’m going to be light on the spoilers so as to not ruin the experience, but know that Deltarune uses many of the same characters that are in Undertale. With that being said, don’t expect to go in knowing what is going on. On that same note, don’t expect to leave knowing much more either.
The story of Deltarune isn’t completely told in this game. That’s because this is only the first chapter of a multi-part series. Still, there are some clear connections between this and Undertale, but not enough to really know exactly how the games are connected. This results in a bit of mystery and theorycrafting, which is something I always enjoy.
Deltarune also isn’t just a small game or side project. While it doesn’t come close to the roughly 12 hours it takes to beat Undertale, the game does last for about three hours. That’s not bad at all. Especially when you consider that the game is completely free.
Undertale fans that are looking for more of the same will find that in Deltarune. However, it also takes some of the concepts in Undertale and moves them forward. For example, this game is no longer about a single individual out to Save the World. Instead, it features a party of three characters. As a result, the combat is now much more focused on this party.
Deltarune still allows players to Attack or Act with enemies. This can lead to both violent and pacifist ways to combat. How it differs is with the other party members. These party members can Act together for combo moves. The player will also have to deal with a party member that doesn’t want to listen to commands. If attempting a Pacifist run, the player will actually have to warn enemies about this party member’s attack to keep them from getting hurt. It adds a nice mix of gameplay to Deltarune while still making it feel similar to Undertale. It represents a good example of gameplay undergoing a natural evolution in its sequel, or whatever Deltarune is.
The same art style of Undertale is present again in Deltarune. As before, it relies on some retro looking sprites, but it also has its own feel to it. This includes the somewhat strange facial expressions characters can have, as well as the simple, but enjoyable look of the world. The game’s graphics also feel just a bit smoother to me than Undertale’s, but that just might be the fact that I’m more familiar with the style now.
The audio in Deltarune is another great aspect of the game. Toby Fox is great at composing music and does so in such a way that players will still feel like the tunes in the game are familiar, but aren’t just repeats of songs from Undertale. The sound effects also stand out as great and bring some extra charm to the game.
Overall, Deltarune is a must play for any fans of Undertale. I honestly can’t recommend playing it without playing Undertale first, though. While the connections between the two are still somewhat unknown, players will get much more out of this game if they already have Undertale under their belt. If they do, then this is another pleasant experience that can help fill that gap that Undertale left behind.
Deltarune earns 4.5 GiN Gems out of 5!