Deltarune: Chapter 1
Publisher: Toby Fox Developer: Toby Fox Platform: PC Release: 2018 Players: 1 Genre: RPG Rating: 9.5 \ 10.0: Masterful
Above are Kris, Ralsei and Susie engaged in a battle.
WARNING: This review will feature minor story spoilers for Deltarune and Undertale. Readers are advised to have previously played Undertale.
In 2015, Toby Fox's Undertale was released, and it quickly became one of the most acclaimed indie games ever released thanks to its clever meta-narrative, memorable characters, fantastic soundtrack and its unique combat system that combined traditional turn-based systems with bullet hell. It's one of my favorite games of all time, and I never expected it to receive a follow-up. When Toby Fox announced out the blue that there would be surprise awaiting his fans on October 31, I was beyond excited, and I immediately downloaded Deltarune knowing nothing about it other than it was somehow related to Undertale. Deltarune is not a full game - it's a two to three hour-long demo, and Fox later revealed in an FAQ that the full game may never come out, but that he will attempt to assemble a team to complete it. If the final game manages to maintain the level of quality of this introductory chapter, it is bound to be one of the best games I've ever played.
The game begins with you creating a character, with each cosmetic choice being accompanied by an ominous question. Once this process if complete, your character is discarded because "in this world you don't get to choose who you are". You then wake up as a character who bears a striking resemblance to the previous game's protagonist Frisk in the familiar setting of Toriel's house. Things don't remain familiar for long as you are driven to school, as it becomes apparent that this game is not set before or after the events of Undertale. many familiar faces are present, but the cast from Undertale is now living peacefully above ground, and details such as Asriel being away at college don't line up with the events of the previous game's plot.
After being tasked by their teacher to retrieve chalk with their menacing classmate Susie, Kris (the name your character is identified as at this point), they fall into a hole and awake in a mysterious underground area. They soon enter an empty village and encounter a hooded figure claiming to be the prince of this kingdom of darkness and explains to them a prophecy foretelling that the three of them are destined to stop an incoming cataclysm resulting from an imbalance of light and dark in the world. A mischievous skeleton named Lancer appears and initiates a battle once the tale is finished. Once the battle is over, the prince removes his hood and reveals himself to be goat named Ralsie. Now the trio begins their quest to find the fountain of darkness at the center of the kingdom which threatens the aforementioned balance.
Throughout the brief adventure, Ralsei, Susie, and Lancer all become endearing characters. Kris is as silent as a protagonist gets, Ralsei is a typical shy nerd, Susie is a typical bully who thinks everything is lame, and Lancer is basically a combination of the personalities of Sans and Papyrus from Undertale, but solid writing elevates everyone (with the exception) to a higher standard than mere archetypes. although their development feels slightly rushed due to the demo’s length, I was pleasantly surprised by several surprisingly poignant moments that I would have expected to occur later in the plot.One of my main sources of excitement for the final product stems from my desire to see these characters interact with each other again.
When the the game's first battle began, I was taken off guard by the smooth transition into the new battle UI combined with the opening notes of the wonderful battle theme "Rude Buster". During combat, the game now has the same perspective as typical typical turn-based JRPGs. That is in order to account for the newly introduced party system, a change I was not expecting but quickly became a fan of. As would be expected of a party system, Kris, Ralsei, and Susie all have special traits. Kris can perform special actions on enemies and spare them like in Undertale as well as boost the party’s stats, Ralsei can cast healing spells, and Susie can use offensive. Everyone has the ability to attack normally as well as to defend. Defending reduces damage taken as you would expect, and it also fills a portion of the team’s TP meter, which is consumed when using the aforementioned special abilities and spells. The meter is also refilled a small amount if you narrowly dodge an enemy attack, which is one again performed by navigating a soul around a box in bullet hell style. These additions may be quite common in the RPG genre, but they help greatly to ease the repetition of combat. An aspect of this game that is unique is Susie - she attacks on her own whether you want her to or not, and sparing every enemy without allowing her to harm them poses an interesting challenge that I wouldn’t have expected to be imposed on me by a party member. Another fantastic change that I did not expect but was overjoyed by is the removal of random encounters. These were not highly obnoxious in Undertale, but I have never played a game that I enjoyed because of random battles rather than in spite of them. Enemies do respawn upon revisiting a room, but being able to see and avoid them in the overworld is an excellent change. However, the combat can become tedious after awhile. Like with Undertale, sparing an enemy requires performing a series of actions on the act menu, and although the conditions to make an enemy willing to surrender are unique for each one, they are the exact same for each of a type enemy. Because of this, I often became slightly bored after battling the same enemy ten or so times, as discovering the path to victory was only ever a puzzle the first time I encountered them, and their attacks had become predictable. However, the first few battles with each enemy type were always incredibly entertaining, and much of the dialogue resulting from using an action on an enemy was very amusing. The magic of the combat in this game and it’s predcessor comes from discovering the peaceful path to victory and learning how to dodge previously unseen attacks, but this system could have immensity benefitted from a greater number of unique foes.
If you choose to explore and interact with every object an area, it soon becomes apparent that Toby's sense of humor is as strong as ever. The game consistently had me laughing, and jokes were spaced just far enough apart that I was never worn out by them. Additionally, like its predecessor, having curiosity and persistence when interacting with Deltarune's environment is often rewarded with dialogue so amusing that it's a shame many players may never come across it. Exploring the environments is made enjoyable not only by humor, but by a series of simple puzzles and an hidden quest that is well worth seeking out for players who find the game’s combat to be too easy.
Many people criticized Undertale for its simplistic art style that caused some areas of the game to look bland, and this issue has been fully addressed. The level of detail has been notably increased, especially in regards to animation. I especially loved the moves performed by each character at the beginning and end of each battle. Each area you visit has a unique aesthetic, and all of the character designs are as charmingly bizarre as in the game's predecessor. The soundtrack is unsurprisingly phenomenal. Like Undertale before it, the music uses a combination of synthetic instruments, chiptunes, and several prominent leitmotifs are present.
One of Undertale’s claims to faim was its inclusion of numerous endings that were influenced by which characters the player chose to kill or spare. Interestingly, there is no longer a pacifist or genocide route, let alone any changes that result from killing or sparing monsters. This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Deltarune being a demo - from the very beginning, the game reinforces the idea that your choices are irrelevant. This is done in a variety of subtle ways, from the game offering you dialogue choices only to cut you off to monsters running away from battle when their health bars are depleted rather than dying outright (“killing” them does not reward XP, either). This leads to a surprising predetermined ending that left me desperately wanting to know how the story continues.
If this first chapter is any indication, Deltarune could end up being a masterpiece. It has addressed almost every criticism that I had of Undertale, and has even improved upon many of the gameplay aspects that I found to be satisfactory in that game. There isn’t a single area in which this game more than slightly falters, whether it’s the music, visuals, combat, humor, or what part of the story is present. Given that this demo costs nothing and can easily be beaten in one sitting, I could not recommend it enough to anyone seeking an enjoyable RPG experience. I have no idea when or even if the full game will release, but I am more excited for it than I have ever been for another game in the genre.
Ups
Combat that greatly improves upon its predecessor
Charming animations and pleasant environments
Wonderful soundtrack
Fantastic writing
Many amusing details and hidden dialogue pieces
Surprising and intriguing ending.
Downs
Combat still can become tedious after repeat encounters
ESRB: NA Content: NA Price: $0.00 (Download)
