| DELTARUNE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Chapter 1 & 2 Review | Chapter 3 & 4 Review |
| Release Date | |
|---|---|
|
Chapter 1 October 1, 2018 (Windows) February 28, 2019 (PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch) June 4, 2025 (Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5) Chapter 2 September 17, 2021 (Windows) September 23, 2021 (PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch) June 4, 2025 (Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5) Chapters 3/4 June 5, 2025 (Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Steam Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4) Chapter 5 2026 (Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Steam Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4) More Details | |
| Genre | |
| Adventure, RPG, Indie | |
| Platforms | Price (MSRP) |
  |
$24.99 (Chapters 1-2, Free as Demos) |
| Developer | Publisher |
| Toby Fox | Toby Fox |
| Number of Players | Age Rating |
| 1 | ESRB T |
| Time to Finish | Cross Platform |
| Chapter 1 3-4 Hours Chapter 2 4-5 Hours Chapter 3 3-4 Hours Chapter 4 4-5 Hours |
No |
| Official Website | DELTARUNE Website |
DELTARUNE News
⚫︎ Toby Fox confirms that DELTARUNE Chapter 5 is "on track" for a 2026 release, along with looking at the game's translation sheet. The lines hint at potential future story elements, particularly artifacts called Shadow Crystals.
⚫︎ DELTARUNE Chapter 5's development is progressing very well, says creator Toby Fox, but is still several months away from release. He also shared new details on what the team has accomplished so far for the upcoming chapter.
⚫︎ Toby Fox does not believe that the release of Deltarune chapter 5 will be in the first half of 2026. The release is likely to be in July or later.
⚫︎ Toby Fox announces a two-day livestream event for the 10th anniversary of Undertale and confirms that Deltarune will not likely release in the first half of 2026 (Toby Fox), noting that the team is still currently in the production phase of development.
⚫︎ According to new data from Newzoo, Deltarune was the best-selling digital title on the Nintendo Switch 2 in June, surpassing Mario Kart World during the console's launch month.
DELTARUNE Overview
DELTARUNE is the highly anticipated new title created by Toby Fox, the creator of the widely-beloved indie game UNDERTALE. The game's Chapter 5 is releasing on 2026 for Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. DELTARUNE bears many similarities with UNDERTALE, such as its artstyle (albeit more refined), TouHou series-inspired bullet hell combat, the ability to choose between ACT and MERCY in battle, and a few identical UNDERTALE characters.
However, the similarities end there, as the new game is primarily a classic turn-based RPG with a party of characters. The biggest difference is that DELTARUNE is split up across several chapters, each with its own plotlines and conclusions. This hugely contrasts UNDERTALE, which was released as one single game with a clear narrative from start to finish.
DELTARUNE centers around Kris, a silent HUMAN high-schooler in a world full of MONSTERS. Under Professor Alphy’s class in school, Kris partners with another MONSTER for a class project, the bully named Susie.
As the two enter the school closet to retrieve supplies, they suddenly find themselves in a mysterious world where they can wield weapons, use magic, and encounter MONSTERs who possess the same powers.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
PS |
Switch |
Switch 2 |
||||
| $24.99 (Chapters 1-2 are free-to-play as a demo) |
|||||||
DELTARUNE Gameplay
DELTARUNE is a 2D turn-based RPG where you control a party of members during combat, where each character can be issued a variety of commands such as FIGHT, ACT, MAGIC, DEFEND, and MERCY. FIGHT, MAGIC, and DEFEND are your typical RPG actions where players can either deal damage to enemies or reduce damage to their party. However, DELTARUNE continues UNDERTALE’s unique gimmick of being able to convince enemies to cease the fight. They could either ACT make them lose the will to fight, thus granting the ability to provide MERCY, or they could tire them out and lull them to sleep, thus PACIFYing them.
Also sharing a similarity to UNDERTALE, enemies’ attacks are bullet hell attack patterns where players must dodge attacks to survive the onslaught and achieve victory by whichever means they wish.
DELTARUNE Review
DELTARUNE Chapter 1 Reviews
A Strong Start for the Series Going Forward
DELTARUNE comes hot off the presses with a strong start, as described by Nintendo World Report, which praises its attention-grabbing characters and story setups, along with its solid music. Nintendo Life also touts the storytelling as "so compelling" due to the "hefty dosage of sarcastic and witty humor used along the way," mentioning how the game doesn’t insist upon itself and opts to delight players with its goofiness.
Looking at Chapter 1’s Metacritic scores, not enough critics have reviewed the game yet, leaving only viewers to rely on user ratings. The masses vote an aggregated 8.6/10 rating, where a few already claim the game to be their favorite of all time, just from the first chapter. However, many point out that it IS only the first chapter of an unfinished game and therefore it’s hard to rate and gauge the importance and impact of said chapter, disallowing them to judge within the big picture.
DELTARUNE Chapter 2 Reviews
Consistently Good While Setting Up for Something Grand
DELTARUNE Chapter 2 continues and expands upon the first chapter's world and mechanics, now allowing for most of your actions to have actual consequences for the chapter’s finale. This major point is what Screen Rant praises when comparing to the first chapter, where, alongside the notable improvement, still delivers "many laugh-out-loud moments spread through the game" .
Polygon offers a different point of view, saying how welcoming the game is by offering players a "brief reprieve in a world that’s still healing." They also praise the game’s narrative, citing how it "This is not the conclusion of the conversation, but rather the start of one." However, due to being early in its infancy, Nintendo Life points out how it still feels like the game "is struggling to form its own identity," due to how early it is in the story as well as the inclusion of numerous UNDERTALE aspects.
Its Metacritic scores, once again, only from users, average an 8.7/10 rating, where the majority deem the chapter a large improvement from the previous, building off on, emphasizing, and slowly solidifying various features, mechanics, and the unfolding plot as the series progresses.
DELTARUNE Chapter 3 & 4
Satisfying Character Arcs and Inventive Gameplay
DELTARUNE Chapters 3 and 4 received praise for delivering on the setup built by the previous ones, giving the protagonists substantial character development, new gameplay mechanics, new mysteries, and a new soundtrack that carries over the same quality as seen in Chapters 1 and 2.
Here at Game8, we gave Chapters 3 and 4 a score of 86, praising their richer storytelling, creative gameplay shifts, and well-written character development. On the other hand, we also raised that Chapter 3’s lighter tone and scattered structure can make it feel like it’s meandering at times.
Chapters 3 and 4 received a user score of 7.8 and 9.1 in Metacritic, respectively. Players criticized how Chapter 3 thematically detracted from the serious and epic tone of the other chapters, before Chapter 4 would turn it back up a notch. Fans warmly welcomed the new gameplay mechanics, character development, soundtrack, and more exploration in the Light World.
DELTARUNE Announcement Trailer
DELTARUNE Nintendo Switch 2 Announce Trailer
DELTARUNE Chapter 1 Spoiler-Free Trailer
DELTARUNE Trivia
⚫︎ DELTARUNE was shadowdropped out of nowhere by UNDERTALE creator Toby Fox, disguising it as a ‘SURVEY PROGRAM’.
⚫︎ DELTARUNE is a different world/universe from UNDERTALE, which has most of its characters but in widely different situations
⚫︎ DELTARUNE is an anagram of UNDERTALE
⚫︎ One of the major new characters in DELTARUNE is Ralsei, whose name is an anagram of Asriel, a major character in UNDERTALE
⚫︎ The 'Delta Rune' is the symbol found across UNDERTALE, most notably on Toriel’s robe
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