Deltarune
tobyfox · Puzzle, RPG, Indie, Action
Overview
Dive into the parallel story to UNDERTALE! Fight or spare your way through action-packed battles as you explore a mysterious world alongside an endearing cast of new and familiar characters.
THE GAMEQ VERDICT10,000 reviews analyzed
What players are actually saying
1. Summary
Deltarune is a story RPG from the creator of Undertale, released chapter by chapter, and its reviewers are overwhelmingly positive about it. Four things come up again and again in the praise: the soundtrack, which some negative reviewers also compliment; a cast of characters people describe as friends; a mysterious story that keeps them theorizing between chapters; and turn-based fights where you dodge bullet-hell attacks, with optional secret bosses that reviewers single out. Undertale comes up in a third of the longer reviews, as the benchmark the game is measured against and as the game players recommend finishing first.
The game is unfinished. Reviewers note that five of seven planned chapters were out when they wrote, and they split on whether the wait is part of the fun or a reason to hold off. Chapter 5, and to a lesser degree the minigame-heavy Chapter 3, divides the people who discuss it. A smaller group of long, detailed critiques say mechanics get introduced and dropped, the lore is withheld for too long, and choices matter less than the game first suggests. Technical complaints are rare and specific: a 30 fps cap, a few save and audio bugs, and controls that can't be rebound.
2. What keeps coming up
What players praise
The soundtrackHigh
Music comes up in 29% of the longer reviews. Reviewers name favorite tracks from every chapter, like how recurring themes tie characters and scenes together, and joke that the game is an excuse for the music: "practically a 25 dollar soundtrack with a free game attached". Some negative reviews open by saying the music is good before listing their complaints. Other critics call it only OK, less memorable than Undertale's, or boring.
Characters players get attached toHigh
Characters come up in 33% of the longer reviews. Ralsei, Susie, Spamton, Lancer, Queen and Tenna are named throughout, and players write about relating to them, worrying about them and crying over them. One reviewer put it this way: "Every single character, even down to the random NPCs you see once, are so full of personality and charm it's honestly a bit overwhelming." A few negative reviewers find the dialogue bad or the writing childish, and one long critique complains that a character's growth gets reset in a later chapter.
A mystery that keeps people theorizingHigh
Story, writing or lore come up in 45% of the longer reviews. Players praise the cliffhanger chapter endings, hidden details that reward exploration, a darker optional route, and a meta-narrative that sends them into theories between releases. Reviewers call the story both funny and heartbreaking, and 9% of the longer reviews talk about crying, being moved or the game changing their life: "this game has made me cry, howl with laughter and drop my jaw, multiple times." The same withholding that fuels the theories frustrates a smaller group (see the frustrations panel below).
Measured against Undertale, and holding upHigh
Undertale comes up in 34% of the longer reviews. Reviewers who compare the two say Deltarune keeps Undertale's charm while adding more content, a party of three and deeper battles: "The battle mechanics and minigames have a lot more variety than Undertale ever did". 2% of the longer reviews say outright that it is better than Undertale or improves on it, and 4% tell newcomers to play Undertale first so the returning characters and references land. A handful would rather replay Undertale.
Bullet-hell battles and secret bossesMedium
Combat, battles, boss fights or mechanics come up in 19% of the longer reviews, and secret bosses in 8%. Players like the mix of turn-based menus and real-time dodging, the TP system that rewards grazing bullets, and the new twist each chapter adds. They describe the optional secret bosses as hard and memorable, and one wrote that "the game makes it feel extremely rewarding to finally overcome the challenge." Criticism of the combat sits in the split and frustration panels.
Humor that mostly landsMedium
Humor comes up in 18% of the longer reviews, mostly as praise for absurd enemies, running gags and dialogue players quote to friends. A few reviewers find the jokes childish or repetitive, and one for whom the game never clicked wrote that "something random happens, and the randomness itself is supposed to be funny."
Routes, secrets and replay valueMedium
Routes, replays and the optional darker path come up in 10% of the longer reviews. Players replay chapters to build a perfect save, chase every secret boss and try the alternate route, which several call the most memorable part. A few reviewers say replays offer little new beyond dialogue.
Runs on almost anything, with a free demoLow
Reviewers mention it running smoothly on weak laptops and the Steam Deck ("It runs amazingly on low-end"), and 8% of the longer reviews point to the free demo of the first two chapters as the way to decide: "if youre on the fence, play the demo."
Where players are split
Waiting years between chaptersMedium
The unfinished state comes up in 17% of the longer reviews. Much of that is eagerness (5.5% of the longer reviews say they can't wait for the next chapters), and some argue the wait is part of the appeal: "Waiting for answers and being blown away with stuff you couldn't even imagine will always hit harder than just playing once everything is out and ready." Others say the gaps hurt the game: "i think having to wait years between chapters damages the story a lot", and one negative reviewer says they forget what happened by the time the next chapter arrives. A few negative reviews are mostly advice to wait for the finished game.
Chapter 5, and to a lesser degree Chapter 3Medium
Chapter 5 comes up in 19% of the longer reviews. Its fans call it the best chapter and praise the new platforming sections, the music and the new characters ("Don't let bad reviews scare you away, chapter five was amazing!"). Its critics, who wrote several of the longest negative reviews, call it filler that stalls the plot after the previous chapter's cliffhanger, introduces a combat style it barely uses, and leans on in-jokes: "After playing chapter 5 I can safely say that I have never been more disappointed." Chapter 3 gets a smaller version of the same debate. Some love its game-show minigames, while others found the board sections and Zelda-style segments long ("Chapter 3 - I just want to experience the story, but I need to play mini-games 5/10").
DifficultyMedium
Difficulty comes up in 16% of the longer reviews, and players disagree about which way it misses. One camp hits walls on specific fights, often the optional secret bosses and some chapter finales, and warns that "if you dont have a half decent reaction time this game might become a bit infurating". A smaller camp says the main path is too easy and only the optional bosses challenge you: "A big downside of this game is its way too easy though, especially chapter 5." Several players ask for difficulty or accessibility options (see below).
Price for what's thereMedium
Price or value comes up in 11% of the longer reviews, most often as praise: 6% of the longer reviews call the game worth the money or a steal for five chapters with more promised. A smaller group calls it too much for an unfinished game or for a story with shallow systems, and suggests buying on sale or after the final chapter: "I would wait until the game is finished to buy it."
What frustrates players
Lore held back and pacing that dragsLow
A small group of long reviews says the game withholds answers chapter after chapter ("Vaguepost chapter after vaguepost chapter is disappointing"), that cliffhangers rarely carry consequences into the next chapter, and that chapters spend long stretches on side characters and jokes before the plot moves. Some of the reviewers making these points say they have played every chapter released so far.
Technical issues and missing optionsLow
These complaints are specific and scattered: a 30 fps cap that a few players find unresponsive in a bullet-hell game ("Optimise your game it only runs at 30 fps with a 5080..."), stuttering that worsened with one player's save file, audio dropping when a headset reconnects, controller disconnects, and keyboard controls some find uncomfortable. Players also ask to rebind the run button (it doubles as the dialogue skip), to pause during attack patterns, for more languages (only English and Japanese are offered, reviewers note), and for a photosensitivity mode after strobing effects in one chapter.
Mechanics that appear once and vanishLow
Several detailed critiques argue that each chapter's new gimmick is used for a fight or two and then dropped, and that equipment and stats rarely matter: "the first time you use something is the ONLY time you use something." Players who enjoy the constant change see the same thing as variety.
Missable content and save handlingLow
Some secrets and recruits are time-sensitive, and "if you miss something, you have to restart the chapter to find it again." One player lost a secret-boss item that would not transfer to a later chapter, another wishes for cloud saves, and some say they needed a guide to find certain optional bosses at all.
Choices that matter less than expectedLow
A few reviewers say choices feel thin, especially next to Undertale: "Choices feel hollow compared to Undertale". Others say their choices do matter, or that the limited choice is a deliberate part of the story.
3. The player conversation
Most reviews are a few words long, often just "peak" or a character's name. The longer reviews are personal: players write about the game getting them through hard times or bringing them friends, and 92% of them recommend the game.
The detailed disagreement sits in those long reviews. Players with only a few hours who wrote at length mostly say the humor, the writing or the gameplay didn't work for them. Several of the longest critiques of Chapter 5, pacing and withheld lore come from players who have played every released chapter, and some of them still recommend the game while asking for better payoffs. 4% of the longer reviews carry edits added as new chapters arrived, and the debate follows the release schedule: the newest chapter is the one being argued over, while the soundtrack and characters stay common ground.
4. What the developers could do
- Pay off open story threads in the remaining chapters. The most detailed negative reviews say set-ups from earlier chapters were not followed up, and that the mystery is starting to feel like stalling.
- Add a story recap at the start of each chapter. One negative reviewer says the gap between chapters makes them forget the story, and suggests a summary of the previous chapter at the start of the next.
- Offer difficulty and accessibility options. Players stuck on reaction-heavy fights asked for an easy mode, and others asked for a photosensitivity mode, a pause during attack patterns, and the return of a simplified-effects option that one reviewer says was phased out.
- Let players rebind controls and fix the input and audio bugs. Reviewers report the run button doubling as dialogue skip, no Space-bar confirm, controller disconnects, Steam Deck input trouble and audio that drops on a headset reconnect.
- Make missable content recoverable and save transfers reliable. Reviewers describe losing a secret-boss item between chapters, restarting chapters for missed secrets and recruits, and wanting cloud saves.
- Carry new mechanics forward instead of retiring them. Several critiques name the Chapter 5 combat style and earlier soul modes as ideas used once and dropped.
- Look at the 30 fps cap. A few players call it unresponsive in a bullet-hell game, and one recommends a fan patch to unlock 60 fps.
- Add more languages. Non-English players note the game ships in English and Japanese only and point each other to unofficial translations.
