This article contains spoilers.
I am a big fan of “Undertale” and have been since I first played it during the pandemic. The release of the “Deltarune Chapter 2” demo in 2021 made me excited for its full release, and Chapters 3 and 4 in 2025 were worth the wait. However, Chapter 5 left me feeling disappointed. I don’t think it’s terrible, but I do think it fails to adequately follow through on the last chapter’s promises.
Chapter 5 of “Deltarune” has many strengths, one of which is the overworld gameplay. In the first chapter, this gameplay felt like the weakest link, but here it’s genuinely fun and energetic. The new overworld is vibrant and colorful, populated by a unique assortment of antagonists who get in the way. The platformer mechanic felt like a fun change of pace from the standard gameplay, spicing it up in a way I had not anticipated while providing a new sense of energy. Meanwhile, as is to be expected from a Toby Fox game, the music is amazing. I am especially fond of many of the new overworld themes, and I intend to buy the original soundtrack as soon as I am able.
The new set of antagonists were worthwhile. The main villain, Flowery, is introduced as soon as you enter the main section of the chapter (known as the “Dark World”), and he remains a presence throughout. Unlike the previous antagonists of this game, his behavior is not malevolent, nor is it motivated by ignorance or selfishness. His main motivations are to be free with his friends while also keeping Asgore, a supporting character obsessed with uncovering the truth about the Dark World, happy. The rest of his flower gang have unique personalities, from the playful Aqua to the constantly annoyed bookworm Seth.
The battles are mostly the bullet hell experiences to be expected from “Deltarune,” and they don’t disappoint. However, the final fight against the new antagonists is probably the most difficult fight in the game thus far, with the steep difficulty curve probably being the worst part of the chapter’s gameplay. Up until this point, it felt mostly fair, but the final fight unexpectedly amplifies the difficulty. It’s not impossible, by any means, but I think it could be made ever so slightly easier, and the game would be improved.
If I am this supportive of the experience of playing it, why do I describe feeling a sense of disappointment? You may have noticed I have yet to talk about the story, and that is where my problems come in. The overarching plotline of Asgore learning to stop obsessing over the past and care about his family in the present is solid, and I do like many of the character interactions between the main trio of Kris, Ralsei and Susie. However, the problems lie not with this chapter specifically, but with how it fits into the overall context of “Deltarune.”
By the time Chapter 4 ended, “Deltarune” had come to encompass many plot developments, which I will categorize as follows: one major, one minor, one side route and two big questions. The major plot point is that of the epic prophecy, in which the supposedly horrendous ending is seemingly known to everyone but the player. A notable subplot in the game is the burgeoning romance between Susie and the sweet girl next door, Noelle. Players are also left to uncover the mystery about what happened to Noelle’s sister, Dess, as well as the identity of the Roaring Knight (the game’s main antagonist). Furthermore, Chapter 2 introduced the “Weird Route,” a side route where the player emotionally manipulates Noelle into getting stronger at the expense of murdering many Dark World monsters and nearly killing a childhood friend of hers.
Chapter 5 only really develops two or three of these at most. Noelle and Susie come out as being in love with each other early on, and the Weird Route is given a genuinely bone-chilling new scene involving Kris and Noelle (the game uses this as a cliffhanger which evidently will not be paid off until the seventh and final chapter). Those are really the only plot threads which the chapter substantively advanced, however. Asgore’s obsession with the Dark World is heavily implied to be related to the Dess incident, but this information was already in side-quest content during Chapter 4 and not entirely a new revelation. The Roaring Knight appears but is not elaborated on in any substantive way.
Those both are fine decisions, given they had been relatively minor threads up until this point, but what I think was a genuine mistake on Toby Fox’s part is a lack of elaboration on the prophecy in any way. I can’t recall any mention of it in the new chapter, and the fact that Chapter 4 ends with a big moment of despair about the contents allegedly being shocking to the main trio makes this decision baffling.
In all, “Deltarune’s” fifth chapter is a fine stand-alone experience, but it’s disappointing as a follow-up to the preceding installments. I don’t think it’s enough to ruin the game, as I believe most of the problems could be handled adequately if the next two installments double down on advancing the aforementioned plot threads. However, I can’t help but see this chapter as contributing to a minor loss of forward momentum in the storyline and see that fact to be disappointing. While I remain excited for subsequent installments, I do hope these issues will be addressed.
