Order Up!: Deltarune, Chapter 2 (Review)
By Rae
A lot has happened in the three years since Deltarune’s first mysterious appearance online. The unexpected first chapter of this spiritual successor to Undertale – with a relationship that’s yet to be revealed – took us to a seemingly alternate version of the Undertale universe. In a very normal-looking town, filled with familiar characters, sits a school. And inside that school lies a dark door that leads two unsuspecting students to mysterious places…
Chapter 2 is playable without playing chapter 1, but honestly you’re better off starting at the beginning – a lot is understandable without the first chapter’s background, but starting at the beginning will let you get familiar with Kris, Susie, and Ralsei, as well as the concept of the Dark World. You don’t need to play Undertale in order to enjoy Deltarune (yet, anyway – I don’t know if this will eventually change), and with Deltarune’s first two chapters being free, it’s a pretty good way to try-before-you-buy for Undertale as well. While the overall atmosphere and stories vary, the playstyles are the same, and you’ll get a feel for the type of dialogue and characters you can look forward to in Undertale.
Chapter 2 picks up shortly after we left off, with Susie ready for another taste of adventure and Kris willing to go along. To their surprise, there’s another mysterious door in town, and soon they find themselves in a high-tech city run by Queen – a robotic being eager for world domination.
If you liked Undertale, you’ll likely like the first chapter of Deltarune. If you liked chapter one, you’ll probably also like chapter two. Why do I put it in that order? As much fun as I had revisiting Deltarune and learning a little more, the experience wasn’t quite as magical to me as it was adventurous. Maybe it was the increase in weirdly questionable jokes (the word “hole” cannot be that useful), or the seemingly slight shift in tone from Undertale itself, but something just felt a bit different about this one. That’s not to say it’s bad – just that the love of Undertale may not transfer directly over to this second chapter and it’s definitely its own creation. Chapter 2 feels a little heavier on the humour and silliness, as well as brings us a lot closer to our characters.
The character development in this chapter was actually really enjoyable, especially if you don’t take the darker path. Sparing enemies is a little more multi-faceted this time – you can recruit with mercy, but defeating them is always an option too – with its own rewards and consequences. I played a pure pacifist path and found it all manageable – I think I only needed to restart two fights (including the final one), and thankfully the game is kind enough to place you right before the battle again instead of at the last save point.
Much of chapter two plays as a standalone adventure – we learn a little more of the Dark World and a tiny bit of the prophecies, but most of our time is spent exploring the new city and enjoying some character bonding. The end result is a fun adventure with not a lot of questions answered – the next few chapters are still quite the mystery at this point, though I assume we’ll be seeing more Dark Worlds as we continue to uncover the story.
Both current chapters of Deltarune are free to play, with chapters 3, 4, and 5 in production and expected to be paid content. At the low low price of $0 there’s no reason not to give it a try if you’re interested!
Order Up! is a weekly column featuring indie-focused reviews, news, or interviews! We like old games just as much as new ones and are always looking for something to check out. Have a game recommendation, a project, or a company you want to talk about? Email me at rae@thegeeklygrind.com or find me on Twitter @ArcanaChance