Deltarune: Chapter 5

I think I finally understand truly what Toby Fox meant by having one last adventure before the sun goes down, and I couldn’t be more invested to see this descent into darkness.

Deltarune has taunted players with the impossible possibility of a happy ending from the start, implying repeatedly that sacrifices will be necessary, or that the player may need to take drastic actions to get there. It tickles my brain to try to unravel what any of that could possibly mean.

Chapter 5 is one last exquisite shot of pure Deltarune joy before the glass must presumably break.

Chapter 5 of DELTARUNE focuses on intimate, emotional moments rather than revealing major narrative details, resulting in a touching story that reinforces the series' essence. While it can be viewed as a prelude to the darkness awaiting in chapters (don't make the joke) 6 and 7—offering few concrete answers and a plot that provides little fodder for Reddit theorists—it remains a story segment that stands well on its own, serving as the perfect dose of pure joy and sunshine before the chaos promised by the prophecy.

This episode felt a bit more like a transitional episode focused on Undertale . It offers fun gameplay in every way, but I'd like to learn more tangible things about the story.

Toby Fox continues Deltarune's story with a rich experience. The transition between turn-based combat and 2D platforming diversifies an already established gameplay formula and still works very well. However, accessibility is an issue, since the game is only available in English and Japanese. This can severely impact the experience for non-speakers, especially for a narrative game that relies so heavily on dialogue.

But in the here and now, there's just an emptiness, and it might be a while before it goes away.

At first, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the prospect of a chapter that took a step back from the high stakes that both Chapter 3 and 4 introduced. Yet, once I realized that this was to be the last reverie that both the characters and players would be able to experience, I appreciated the change in tone even more. I have no idea what’s going to happen next in Deltarune‘s story. I don’t know where certain characters are going to end up or the solutions to all of the game’s mysteries. However, considering all of the quality we’ve gotten from the Deltarune story thus far, I can confidently say that when it finally ends, we will be left with a game that can only be described as “generational.”