| DELTARUNE | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Chapter 1 & 2 Review | Chapter 3 & 4 Review |
A quirky turn-based RPG with bullet hell combat, where your choices seem to matter. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying.
DELTARUNE Review Overview
What is DELTARUNE?
DELTARUNE is a turn-based RPG with bullet hell elements, developed by Toby Fox, creator of UNDERTALE. You play as Kris, a quiet kid pulled into a strange parallel world alongside classmates, where battles can be won through violence or compassion—and where your choices matter in ways that aren't always clear.
DELTARUNE features:
⚫︎ Hybrid Combat
⚫︎ Slow Building Narrative
⚫︎ Expressive Character Designs
⚫︎ Genre Hopping Soundtrack
⚫︎ Puzzles and Hidden Secrets
⚫︎ Choices That Affect Encounters
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about DELTARUNE's gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 PlayStation |
 Switch |
 Switch 2 |
||||
| Price | $24.99 (Chapters 1-2 are free-to-play as a demo) |
||||||
DELTARUNE Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Dynamic Combat Memorable Characters Deep World Building Stellar Soundtrack |
Slow Momentum of the Main Mystery No Real Branching Endings (Yet) Lower Replay Value Compared to UNDERTALE |
DELTARUNE Overall Score - 84/100
DELTARUNE Chapters 1 and 2 are full of charm, clever design, and moments of brilliance, but they don’t yet reach the emotional or mechanical highs that UNDERTALE did. There’s clear ambition here—a grander story in motion, smarter combat, and richer character work—but the experience is still incomplete and, in places, uneven. Chapter 2 in particular slows the pace down too much, with a narrative that doesn’t quite deliver on the momentum of Chapter 1’s cliffhanger. Still, what’s here is compelling and lovingly crafted, and it’s already doing more than most games twice its size. It’s excellent work-in-progress storytelling, but we’re still waiting on the "wow" moment to tie it all together.
DELTARUNE Story - 7/10
The story is full of emotional depth and sharp dialogue, but the mysterious hooks and momentum haven’t quite landed yet. Kris is more of an enigma than a protagonist, and while that’s intentional, it can limit the player’s emotional connection to their arc. Chapter 1 sets up intriguing questions, but Chapter 2 stretches that mystery without offering many satisfying answers, making the pace feel lopsided. The character writing shines—Susie, Ralsei, and Noelle are standouts—but the overall narrative still feels like it’s in prologue mode. There’s promise here, but the payoff hasn’t arrived yet.
DELTARUNE Gameplay - 8/10
Combat is intuitive, responsive, and constantly evolving, thanks to enemy-specific patterns and the ACT system that encourages nonviolence. The game avoids grind-heavy loops by making every encounter feel deliberate and expressive. However, because we’re still early in the full game’s arc, the mechanics haven’t deepened much beyond what was introduced in both chapters. Difficulty is well-balanced, offering challenge without ever feeling unfair. It’s a strong gameplay foundation, just not yet a revolutionary one.
DELTARUNE Visuals - 8/10
DELTARUNE may use a retro pixel aesthetic, but it leverages it with flair—each character is instantly recognizable, and the world bursts with expressive animation. From tiny smirks to boss transformations, the game conveys personality through every frame. The environmental design is clean and thoughtful, though not always visually dense. There are no noticeable technical hiccups, and the minimalistic approach feels intentional rather than budget-driven. It’s stylish and cohesive, if not visually groundbreaking.
DELTARUNE Audio - 9/10
Toby Fox’s soundtrack is still one of the strongest elements of the experience. Tracks like "You Can Always Come Home" and "A CYBER’S WORLD?" are already iconic, blending emotion and adrenaline with an uncanny sense of tone. Sound effects are snappy and satisfying, and even without voice acting, the game delivers strong character beats through music and timing alone. The absence of voice work doesn’t hinder the story—it arguably enhances the game’s unique rhythm and pacing. It’s a soundtrack-driven experience, and one that excels at what it sets out to do.
DELTARUNE Value for Money - 10/10
It’s impossible to beat free, especially when that includes 8 hours of polished, replayable content with multiple interaction paths and secrets to find. For zero cost, players get a charming and complex experience that holds up against many full-priced indie games. There are alternate routes, hidden character moments, and enough detail that revisiting it can still yield surprises. No microtransactions, no paid DLC—just a high-quality slice of a bigger story. It’s as generous a demo as you’re ever likely to get.
DELTARUNE Review: Brilliant Setup That's Still Waiting For The Punchline
There is a world where monsters roam the planet. Kind ones. Mean ones. Evil ones. All but one are monsters—just one is human. This world… is DELTARUNE.
It’s been years since we last set foot in this parallel universe. Chapter 2 dropped during the height of the pandemic, back when everything felt weird and timeless and uncertain. That was also when Toby Fox, in true chaotic benevolent fashion, decided to release it for free—despite plans for it to be a paid chapter. That feels like a lifetime ago now.
With Chapter 3 & 4 officially arriving on June 5, I found myself back in the Dark World. Not just out of curiosity—but out of necessity. It’s easy to forget the details of something you haven’t touched in years. I remembered loving DELTARUNE, sure, but I had to ask: was it really as good as I remembered?
So I replayed both free chapters, and let me tell you… they still hit. Not exactly in the same way, and not always with the same emotional high, but they hit. For those who haven’t played it, DELTARUNE is a narrative-driven RPG with bullet hell combat and light puzzle-solving. You play as Kris, a human living in a monster town, who falls into a mysterious Dark World alongside classmate Susie—and from there, things spiral into strange magic, prophecy, and puppet metaphors. It’s got quirky characters, branching choices (kind of), and that signature mix of comedy and existential dread that only Toby Fox can pull off. Structurally, it’s divided into chapters, with the first two available now for free, and the rest—eventually—arriving as paid packages. So, let’s get into it.
Not Quite UNDERTALE, But Not Entirely Separate Either
Let’s get one thing out of the way: yes, you’re going to compare this to UNDERTALE. You just are. And how could you not? The fonts, the faces, the weird dogs—they’re all here. But DELTARUNE isn’t a sequel, and it’s not a prequel either. It’s a… parallel universe, apparently. Toby Fox said it himself: the connection between the two is that they share characters and themes, but otherwise, they’re not narratively linked. That hasn’t stopped fans from spiraling into wild-eyed theories and red-string corkboard nonsense, but officially, we’re supposed to treat them as separate stories.
That’s easier said than done, because DELTARUNE gleefully reintroduces you to familiar faces—but with a twist. Take Noelle, who was a footnote in UNDERTALE, and here she’s a whole character, nervous and sweet and hiding something just under the surface. Alphys is still awkward, but now she’s a teacher instead of a scientist. Toriel’s still the GOAT Mom of our dreams (some things never change), but the dynamic is different. There’s a sense that all these people are living alternate versions of lives we already knew, and that dissonance is fascinating. Not unsettling exactly, but uncanny in a way that makes you lean forward. Like you’ve entered a dream about a place you used to live.
The Puppet Strings We Pretend Aren’t There
The first thing DELTARUNE does is make you feel like you matter. The second thing it does is laugh in your face for believing that. You’re asked to create a vessel—your "self," complete with a favorite food, blood type, and personality. You name them. You give them meaning. And then the game deletes it. "Your choices don’t matter." Yeah. Okay. Thanks. That won’t come back to haunt us later or anything. Welcome to DELTARUNE, where free will is just a story you tell yourself to feel better about pushing the buttons.
The recurring theme of "your choices don’t matter" isn’t just a narrative thread—it’s a meta-narrative threat. Characters remind you of it. The world seems built to ignore you. But then… it doesn’t. It feels like your choices don’t matter, but if you’re paying attention, they absolutely do—just not in the big, obvious A or B sort of way. There are no branching paths leading to entirely different conclusions (yet), but your actions shift the tone, the responses, the relationships. You see little flickers of warmth—or distance—based on whether you fought or spared.
Yes, you can be a pacifist. You can spare every enemy with stylish ACT commands that have you dancing, calming, teasing, or flirting your way through encounters. And if you don’t? If you choose to fight, to control, to twist the world into your shape? The game lets you. It even rewards you with extra power and narrative weight—but it doesn’t change the ending. Not yet, anyway.
Because this is a game in progress. Chapters 1 and 2 end the same way, no matter how you played them. But those endings… those endings feel different, depending on how you got there. Especially in Chapter 2, where the alternative Snowgrave route—the closest thing we currently have to a Genocide path—turns Kris into something colder, manipulative, and mean.
That’s where DELTARUNE hits differently than UNDERTALE. UNDERTALE wore its branching paths like a badge of honor: "Kill or spare, and face the consequences." DELTARUNE whispers "It’s not about what happens. It’s about who you become along the way."
Combat Is A Dance, and DELTARUNE Keeps Changing The Steps
DELTARUNE’s combat is a strange, glittering thing—half dance, half bullet hell. You don’t just stand in a line and trade numbers like in some other RPGs. No, you're dodging, weaving, skating across enemy attacks like your life—and rhythm—depends on it. It’s elegant chaos. You control a tiny red heart, your soul, and every enemy has a different idea of how to break it. Floating tears, bouncing balls, screaming faces, each one is its own micro-puzzle, and you learn their language through movement.
At first, Chapter 1 seems simple. The combat’s familiar if you’ve played UNDERTALE—you FIGHT, you ACT, you SPARE, you use magic if you’re Ralsei. Your team of misfits includes Kris (quiet), Susie (violent), and Ralsei (soft and squishy), and you get into a rhythm. You explore a map that feels like a storybook in motion. Fights happen in bursts, not waves, so there’s no grind. And even in those early battles, there’s a personality to every encounter.
Chapter 2 changes things a bit, now, enemies you SPARE can be recruited, added to your town in a soft system that mimics collection without turning it into busywork. Each ACT command becomes more elaborate. One moment you’re blowing on a creature to fluff it up; the next, you’re performing synchronized dances with a group of boomboxes. The bullet patterns grow more intricate. The game starts experimenting more. Suddenly, combat isn’t just about surviving—it’s about style and precision.
What makes it shine is how Toby Fox and his team never let the systems stagnate. There’s no autopilot here. No combat fatigue. Even if the structure—encounter, ACT or FIGHT, end encounter—remains the same, the experience doesn’t. There’s constant reinvention, constant remixing. You feel it in the enemy designs, in the animations, in the way each new chapter teaches you a slightly different dance.
And unlike traditional RPGs, there’s no real party build strategy. You don’t spec into magic, you don’t equip stat-boosting gear to create a tank or DPS. It’s not that kind of game. The depth isn’t in loadouts—it’s in adaptation. It’s in how you read a fight, how you read a character, how you try to find peace in a world that doesn’t always want to give it to you.
Traversal Puzzles and World Design That Clicks
There’s a kind of quiet joy in the way DELTARUNE asks you to move through its world. Each area is more like a diorama than a map, carefully built with purpose, with puzzles tucked into corners like secrets waiting to be noticed. The satisfaction of progression here isn’t measured in checklists or fast travel points. It’s in that moment where a path opens once you’ve hit the tree in a sea of darkness, or when a pattern clicks into place and the path forward unspools like a reward. It’s in the rhythm of the world reacting to you—lights blinking on, platforms shifting, rooms realigning. The puzzles aren’t brain-breaking, but they’re just clever enough to make you feel smart for solving them. Which is, let’s be real, the best kind of puzzle.
Traversal itself has a rhythm too. You’re often weaving through narrow walkways, dodging moving hazards, sneaking past flames, or bouncing between zones that each feel distinct—not just visually, but mechanically. Each zone introduces a new wrinkle, a new trick, a new idea that it plays with just long enough before moving on. It keeps the act of movement fresh and satisfying, like turning a new page in a pop-up book you didn’t know had layers.
Chapter 2 especially ups the ante with how it handles spatial puzzles and world gimmicks. You’re not just solving puzzles—you’re interacting with the world in increasingly playful ways. At one point, you’re guiding your party through a rhythm puzzle. Even if some of these ideas are one-offs, they stick with you because they fit. They make the world feel curated but not constrained—surprising, but not random.
DELTARUNE understands that even small acts of discovery, like spotting a crack in the wall, checking a strange object, looping back to find a door that’s now mysteriously unlocked, are what make exploration fun. There's no empty space. Every room has personality, every corner a quirk. This isn't world design built for efficiency—it’s world design built for delight.
The Vibes Are Immaculate
You can talk about combat systems, branching routes, and all the clever puzzle mechanics you want, but let’s be honest, the reason DELTARUNE latches onto your soul and refuses to let go is because the vibes are simply immaculate.
There’s something instantly magnetic about the characters Toby Fox creates. It’s not just how they look (though let’s give a nod to those weird little guys who are somehow expressive with like, what, 12 pixels?). It’s how they move, how they talk, how they exist in the world. Whether it’s Susie’s hulking, aggressive swagger or Ralsei’s soft, bouncy animations, every character is bursting with personality even when they’re just standing still. The work is deceptively simple but full of nuance—micro-expressions, idle animations, dramatic flips, dances, poses. It’s like watching a stage play where everyone’s a little too dramatic, and it completely works.
And then there’s the music. My god, the music. If UNDERTALE was already a masterclass in emotional leitmotifs, DELTARUNE is Toby Fox showing off. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve played it, but there’s a kind of narrative in the music. Songs evolve with the setting. Motifs twist into new forms depending on where you are or who you’re fighting. Tracks like A CYBER’S WORLD?, Spamton and Queen are absolute bangers, but even the quieter pieces like My Castle Town and You Can Always Come Home all carry weight. These aren’t just background tracks. They’re story beats. They breathe with the game.
Every area has its own sonic fingerprint, from the chiptune chaos of the cyber world to the soft, lull of the hometown streets. Even the transitions between scenes are marked by these little stingers and audio flourishes that cue your brain to feel things—humor, tension, nostalgia. Toby's sound design is ridiculously tight. Even battle noises and menu sounds feel deliberate and charming, like you're touching a world that responds in music. What’s wild is how cohesive it all feels. There’s a soul to this game that doesn’t just live in its writing or its mechanics. It’s in the presentation, the details, the way it all feels. And while Chapters 1 and 2 don’t yet give us the full picture, what we have so far is a masterclass in how to vibe check your audience, and pass, with flying colors.
But Let’s Be Honest, Chapter 2’s Got Pacing Problems
If there’s one sticking point I have with DELTARUNE so far, it’s Chapter 2’s pacing. Chapter 1 ended on a note that seemed ready to plunge us into the heart of the mystery—the buildup was done, and we were expecting the story to start pushing forward in a big way. Instead, Chapter 2 turns out to be… more buildup.
I get why. We needed to meet more characters, question some intentions, and deepen the world’s texture. But it means that the main story beats are fewer and farther between than you might expect, which can make Chapter 2 feel like it’s dragging its feet. Much of your time is spent wandering around, chatting with townsfolk, or running errands that don’t always feel like they’re advancing the plot.
It’s not that these moments aren’t charming or enjoyable—they absolutely are—but without clear momentum, the whole experience can feel meandering. If you strip away the character interactions, side quests, and worldbuilding, what you’re left with is a core story that moves very slowly. Kris’s personal arc—the thread that really ties the chapters together—only flickers in glimpses during the endings. For most of Chapter 2, the story can feel a little disconnected, leaving you waiting for the narrative to catch up with the promise set at the end of Chapter 1.
I get why this happened. Toby Fox released Chapter 2 for free during the pandemic (really, a gift to us) and spread out the game’s development over years. The pacing probably suffered because of how the chapters were spaced and how much groundwork needed to be laid before the big story can explode in later installments. But from a player’s perspective, it can feel frustrating, like you’re waiting around for the real story to start. If you’re someone who craves a tightly woven narrative with steady escalation, Chapter 2 might feel like it’s coasting.
Still, I can’t completely fault it. It’s part of the slow, deliberate unfolding of the whole saga. And honestly, that mystery is part of what keeps me eager for Chapter 3 and beyond. I just hope the pacing for the main mystery picks up once those chapters drop, because patience can only stretch so far.
I Didn’t Obsess Over These Chapters—And That’s Okay
If you came into DELTARUNE expecting the same manic obsession and endless replays you gave UNDERTALE, you might feel a little off. I know I did. Back when UNDERTALE landed, I was glued to my screen, replaying every route, experimenting with glitches, hacking the code just to see what chaos I could cause (and fix). It was a game that pulled you in deep, over and over again, revealing new layers and breaking the fourth wall like no other.
DELTARUNE—at least Chapters 1 and 2—is different. Don’t get me wrong: I love it. The writing, the combat, the music, the worldbuilding—it’s all fantastic. But it never gripped me with that same unshakable obsession. I never felt the itch to replay a hundred times, to explore every tiny narrative nook, or to push the game’s systems to their breaking point. It’s not quite as dense or as wild as its counterpart.
Part of this is simply because it’s only two chapters of what promises to be a much bigger story. The narrative unfolds slowly. The stakes feel… teasingly distant. While UNDERTALE had that almost feverish energy from the start—thanks to its surprising twists and multiple endings—DELTARUNE plays a longer game. It’s like a slow burn that hasn’t fully caught fire yet.
Another reason is that the gameplay loop, while innovative, doesn’t quite offer the same depth of consequence or variation. The illusion of choice is tantalizing, but for now, your decisions only ripple in small ways. The routes feel less sharply divergent, and the combat, while polished, isn’t quite as mechanically rich or replayable. The team-building or RPG depth I hoped for is minimal, especially in pacifist runs.
That said, this isn’t a flaw so much as a design choice, or at least it feels like one. DELTARUNE is still cooking. The payoff is expected to come with later chapters, where those seeds of mystery and choice will bloom into something far more complex and compelling. For now, it’s an appetizer, not the full course. So yeah, I didn’t obsess over these chapters the way I did UNDERTALE. And that’s okay. Because when the full meal finally arrives, I have no doubt it’ll be worth the wait, and then some.
Is DELTARUNE Worth It?
Why Are You Still Here? It's Free, Just Go Play It
DELTARUNE Chapters 1 and 2 aren’t just free demos, they’re a promise. A promise of a story still unfolding, characters still evolving, mechanics still transforming into something greater. And for what they are—two free chapters out of seven—they offer more heart, humor, and intrigue than most full-priced games even dare to.
Yes, there are rough edges. The pacing of the main mystery will test your patience, and the current gameplay systems don’t yet offer the depth or replayability of UNDERTALE. But these aren’t dealbreakers. They’re signs of something bigger waiting to bloom.
If you’ve ever loved a game that felt like it spoke directly to you, DELTARUNE is worth your time. Not just because it’s free, but because it’s building toward something potentially extraordinary. Revisit it before Chapter 3 drops. Catch the little details. Feel the groundwork being laid. Because one day, we’ll look back at these early chapters as the calm before the storm—and you’ll want to be able to say you were there when it all began.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
PlayStation |
Switch |
Switch 2 |
||||
| Price | $24.99 (Chapters 1-2 are free-to-play as a demo) |
||||||
DELTARUNE FAQ
Is W.D. Gaster In DELTARUNE?
W.D. Gaster, the elusive figure from UNDERTALE’s deepest lore, doesn’t appear directly in DELTARUNE, at least not in any traditional sense. From cryptic messages to strange menu screens, fans have long speculated that Gaster had a hand in the game’s creation within the world itself. Some believe he’s the one who made the game you're playing. Others have uncovered subtle nods and references that suggest he may still be pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Are We Going To See More UNDERTALE Characters In DELTARUNE?
It seems likely! At the end of Chapter 1, we meet Sans, who mentions that we can hang out with his brother (Papyrus, if we’re to assume Sans has the same brother he has in UNDERTALE) the next day. In Chapter 2, if you visit Sans’s shop, he says we can’t meet his brother but hints that we might meet him soon—especially once Kris’s brother, Asriel, comes home. These little teases suggest more familiar faces from UNDERTALE could appear as the story unfolds, keeping fans eager for what’s next.
Game8 Reviews
You may also like...
 |
Creature Keeper Review Adventure, Action, RPG |
 |
Athenian Rhapsody Review Adventure RPG |
 |
Leximan Review Indie, Puzzle |
 |
The Garden Path Review Simulation, Farming, Cozy, Indie |
 |
DELTARUNE News |
DELTARUNE Product Information
 |
|
| Title | DELTARUNE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | Chapter 1 October 1, 2018 (Windows) February 28, 2019 (PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch) Chapter 2 September 17, 2021 (Windows) September 23, 2021 (PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch) Chapters 3/4 June 5, 2025 (Nintendo Switch 2) |
| Developer | Toby Fox |
| Publisher | Toby Fox |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Switch, Switch 2 |
| Genre | Adventure, Puzzle, Indie |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | T |
| Official Website | DELTARUNE Website |
