Deltarune facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Deltarune |
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| Developer(s) | Toby Fox |
| Publisher(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Robert Sephazon |
| Designer(s) | Toby Fox |
| Artist(s) | Temmie Chang |
| Writer(s) | Toby Fox |
| Composer(s) | Toby Fox |
| Engine | GameMaker Studio 2 |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release date(s) |
Chapter 1
macOS, Windows
October 31, 2018 Switch, PS4 February 28, 2019 PlayStation 5
Nintendo Switch 2
Chapter 2
macOS, Windows
September 17, 2021 Switch, PS4 September 23, 2021 PlayStation 5
Nintendo Switch 2
Chapters 3+4
Chapter 5
macOS, Windows, Switch, Switch 2, PS4, PS5
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| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Deltarune is an exciting story-based video game created by Toby Fox. It's a role-playing video game where you control characters and make choices. The first two parts, called chapters, were released for free in 2018 and 2021. The third and fourth chapters were released together in June 2025 as a paid game. Future chapters will be added to this paid version as free updates when they are ready.
In Deltarune, you play as a human teenager named Kris. Kris is meant to save the world with their friends: Susie, a tough monster, and Ralsei, a kind prince from the Dark World. Their big adventure is to seal special openings called Dark Fountains, which are said to cause the end of the world. Along the way, the group meets many interesting friends and foes. The game's battle system involves taking turns and dodging lots of attacks, like in a "bullet hell" game. Just like Toby Fox's previous game, Undertale, you can choose to resolve battles peacefully or by fighting.
Toby Fox started developing Deltarune in 2012, even before Undertale came out. While it shares some characters with Undertale and has similar gameplay, it tells a completely separate story in a different world. It also has an updated battle system where you control multiple characters in your party. The game first launched on macOS and Windows. Later, it was released on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2019, and then on Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 in June 2025. Critics have praised the released chapters for their amazing music, engaging story, and funny moments.
Contents
Exploring the World and Battling Enemies
Deltarune is a role-playing video game played from a top-down perspective, meaning you look down on the characters from above. You control a human named Kris Dreemurr and lead a group of other characters. You choose what actions they take during battles. The game has two main parts: exploring the world and fighting. When exploring, you can solve puzzles, find items, and talk to other characters and the environment. Unlike Undertale, Deltarune doesn't have surprise battles. You can see enemies on the screen before you meet them, so you can choose to avoid them or start a fight.
The game uses a turn-based battle system. This means you and your enemies take turns choosing actions. Your options include fighting, using a special "Act," using an item, trying to spare an enemy, or defending yourself. During enemy attacks, you control a heart-shaped soul in a small box and must dodge incoming "bullets" (enemy attacks). If you defend or "graze" an attack (let it come very close without hitting you), you gain Tension Points (TP). These points let your party members use special spells or unique "Acts." For example, Ralsei can use a spell to calm down tired enemies.
Using "Acts" and spells allows you to spare enemies without fighting them. Starting from Chapter 2, you can even invite these spared enemies to live in your Castle Town. If you choose to fight, you can defeat enemies, which also helps you gain TP.
The Exciting Story of Deltarune
Deltarune tells its story across several chapters. Four chapters have been released so far, and three more are planned for the future. Even though it features characters and ideas from Undertale, it takes place in a different world. The creators call it a "parallel story" to Undertale.
Chapter 1: The Beginning of the Adventure
The game starts with a voice asking you to create a character. However, the voice then says you can't choose who you are, and you end up playing as a human teenager named Kris. Kris arrives late to school and is paired with their tough monster classmate, Susie, for a project. Their teacher, Alphys, sends them to get supplies. But the supply closet closes behind them, and they fall into a strange place called the Dark World. There, they meet Ralsei, a prince who tells them about a prophecy. It says that the three of them are heroes destined to close the geyser-like Dark Fountains that create the Dark Worlds. A new Dark Fountain has appeared, creating a Dark World ruled by a mean King. Susie isn't interested in the prophecy at first and joins King's son, Lancer, in fighting Kris and Ralsei. But soon, both Susie and Lancer are convinced to join Kris and Ralsei's team.
Lancer doesn't want to fight his father or see his new friends get hurt, so he traps them in King's dungeon. Susie frees Kris and Ralsei and fights Lancer. They soon make up, and Susie promises not to hurt King. The three heroes confront and defeat King, who still doesn't want to change his ways. After sealing the Dark Fountain, Kris and Susie wake up in an unused classroom. The room is full of objects that look like the characters they met, suggesting that Dark Worlds are reflections of ordinary rooms, and their inhabitants, called Darkners, are just objects from those rooms. That night, after returning home, Kris does something surprising: they remove their own soul (which is what you control) and put it in a cage, then pick up a knife.
Chapter 2: A Cyber World Adventure
The next day after school, Kris and Susie return to the closet Dark World and meet Ralsei again. He tells them to bring items from the unused classroom into the closet, which turns them back into their Darkner forms. Then, he reminds them to focus on their school project with classmates Noelle Holiday and Berdly. When they arrive at the library's computer lab, they find a newly created Dark World ruled by a computer named Queen. Queen convinces Berdly to join her side and tries to get Noelle to join too. The group finds Ralsei, but they soon split up. Kris joins Noelle to help her avoid Queen's attempts to recruit her.
Queen captures everyone, but Kris and Susie escape. They convince Berdly to switch sides before reuniting with Ralsei. Queen reveals that the Dark Fountain was created by someone called the Roaring Knight. She plans to force Noelle to open another Fountain, which any Light World inhabitant can do. Queen threatens Noelle and the party with a giant mech, but they manage to make her understand that her plan is wrong. Berdly then tries to create a Fountain, but Ralsei warns him that opening too many Fountains could cause a big disaster called the "Roaring."
Kris closes the Fountain, and the four friends wake up in the computer lab. Noelle and Berdly think the events were just a dream. Kris heads home, and their mother, Toriel, invites Susie to spend the night. While Susie and Toriel are busy, Kris secretly takes out their soul again, locks it away, and then leaves the house for a moment. Later, Toriel finds her car tires slashed and calls the police. After everyone is asleep, Kris takes out their soul one more time and creates a new Dark Fountain in the living room by using their knife on the floor.
Chapter 3: Late Night Fun and Frights
Kris and Susie wake up in the Dark World that Kris created. After reuniting with Ralsei, they meet Tenna—a Darkner made from Toriel's television. Tenna convinces the trio to star in different game show segments. Sneaking away from Tenna, the party discovers Toriel trapped by Tenna inside a giant toy capsule.
The party demands that Tenna stop the games so they can seal the fountain and go home with Toriel, but he refuses. Feeling left out and old, he explains that the Roaring Knight promised him importance if he kept the Fountain open. After the party defeats Tenna, Ralsei and Susie comfort him, explaining that he has already brought joy for years and can find love and appreciation in another home.
However, the Knight suddenly attacks Tenna and tries to capture Toriel. The heroes fight the Knight but are defeated. Luckily, police officer Undyne arrives and saves them, but then the Knight kidnaps Undyne instead. Kris and Susie chase the Knight through the Light World until they reach a locked bunker that seems to have a Dark Fountain inside. The door shuts before they can enter, but they find a lock that needs three number codes. Susie runs back to Kris's home to rescue Toriel. The chapter ends with the bunker door opening in front of Kris.
Chapter 4: The Prophecy Unfolds
After Kris and Susie close the living room Dark Fountain, Toriel wakes them up, and they go to church. They ask people in town about the bunker and realize Noelle's mom, Mayor Carol Holiday, might know the codes. They visit the Holidays' house, where Susie distracts Noelle while Kris searches. In the bedroom of Noelle's sister, Dess (who is missing), Kris finds a code in a guitar. But Kris takes out their soul before it can be fully read. You, as the soul, move through the house's vents and hear Kris talking on the phone with someone unknown. This person tells Kris to stop Susie from finding the guitar. Kris can't stop her, and then Kris's mom, Carol, comes home and makes Susie leave before she can remember the code.
Upon returning to the church, Kris and Susie find it transformed into a Dark World with pictures of the prophecy. In this Dark World, they reunite with Ralsei and meet an old man made from the ashes of a Light World character named Gerson Boom. Ralsei admits he kept some parts of the prophecy secret because he thought the full truth would be too upsetting.
The heroes meet the Knight, who opens another Fountain, creating a giant "Titan" that could bring about the Roaring. The party defeats the Titan with help from Gerson. Against Ralsei's protests, Susie runs ahead and sees the end of the prophecy. She quickly smashes it, saying it's something they would never let happen. After sealing the Fountain, they return home to find Toriel having a friendly chat with the grocery store janitor, Sans. Susie leaves, and Kris, alone in their room, gets a reminder from the unknown caller about a promise they made.
A Different Path: The Snowgrave Route
During Chapter 2, you can choose a different path, sometimes called the "Snowgrave" route or "weird" route. This happens if you guide Noelle to use her ice magic on every enemy you meet. Spamton, a character you usually find in an optional side quest, sells a powerful item called the Thorn Ring to Noelle. If she equips it, during the battle with Berdly, Kris tells Noelle to use her new spell, Snowgrave. After some hesitation, Noelle freezes Berdly completely. She becomes very upset by what she did and is too tired to help Queen. Ralsei tells Queen about the Roaring early, which stops her battle. With many Darkners gone, Spamton takes over Queen's mansion and tries to stop Kris before Noelle freezes him as they seal the Fountain. In the Light World, Berdly is found unconscious, making Noelle wonder if the events in the Dark World were really a dream. Chapter 2 ends the same way as the normal route, with Kris opening a Dark Fountain.
Chapter 3 proceeds as normal in this route. In Chapter 4, Noelle asks Kris if they can talk privately after Kris removes the soul. You, as the soul, enter the house's vents and overhear Kris talking with Noelle. It's revealed that Kris took Berdly to the hospital the night before visiting Noelle. During their visit, Kris says the Dark World was just a dream and removes a thorn (the Thorn Ring's form in the Light World) from her hand. You, as the soul, enter the room, take control of Kris, and talk to Noelle. You reveal that you can read her thoughts and that the events really happened, then put the thorn back into her hand. After this, Kris angrily throws the soul into a trash can, and Carol tells everyone to leave the house. The rest of the chapter continues mostly the same until the end, when Carol leaves a phone message for Kris, saying that Noelle is looking forward to seeing them at the festival tomorrow.
How Deltarune Was Made
The idea for Deltarune came to Toby Fox in a vivid dream he had in 2011 while in college. In this dream, he saw the ending of a video game and was determined to create it. Development for the game started in 2012, but it was put aside before Fox even finished the first room. Making Deltarune was more challenging than Undertale because of things like the graphics, a completely new battle system, and how Fox was feeling. After Chapter 4 was released, he said that each chapter felt as big as a full game, describing the first four chapters as being like "two and a half Undertales."
Deltarune is being developed using GameMaker Studio 2. The game features a new battle system that is similar to the one used in the Final Fantasy games. This is different from Undertale's combat system, which had similarities to the Mother series.
Art, Characters, and Storytelling
Temmie Chang, who helped Toby Fox with character art in Undertale, is the main artist for Deltarune. Fox came up with Susie's design after playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. He originally imagined her as "nice and cute," like Maya Fey, but as he worked on her, she became more of a tougher character. Ralsei's name comes from Ralse, a character from an unfinished RPG Maker game that Fox's older brother made when he was a child.
For one of the smaller bosses in Chapter 2, Fox asked artist Nelnal to design a "musical enemy," which became Sweet Cap'n Cakes. The artist first designed three characters. Fox couldn't pick just one, so he included all three characters in a single battle. Fox wasn't sure if anyone besides him would like Spamton, as some test players thought he looked scary. Despite this, Spamton became very popular with players, and merchandise featuring him sold out quickly.
Initially, Fox wanted to create a 3D model for the character Tenna himself. In 2016, he bought a Kinect to help animate the character, planning to use dance moves. He planned for Tenna to be in a "lineless 3D" style, but he decided it didn't look good. The model was eventually created by Chelsea Saunders, who had worked on promotional material for Undertale, with help from Fox and others. Similar to Spamton, Fox worried players wouldn't like Tenna as much as Spamton. Still, he was happy that players enjoyed the character.
The Music of Deltarune
The game's music was mainly composed by Toby Fox. He created new musical themes (called leitmotifs) specifically for Deltarune, and also included some themes from the Undertale soundtrack. The music is released as multiple soundtrack albums with each chapter. These albums feature guest musicians like Laura Shigihara, Lena Raine, Marcy Nabors, and Itoki Hana. Each album is published by Materia Collective.
First Announcements and Releases
After hinting at something Undertale-related a day earlier, Fox released the first chapter of Deltarune for free on October 31, 2018. It was first presented as a "survey program" and then described as a game "intended for people who have completed Undertale." The original plan was to sell all future chapters as one package. Because he imagined a much bigger project than Undertale, Fox said he needed a team to finish the full game, as it would be impossible with just him and Temmie working on it. The first chapter was later released on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on February 28, 2019, after being announced at a Nintendo Direct earlier that month. The console versions were developed and published by 8-4.
Development of the second chapter began in May 2020. Besides designing more of the story and characters, Fox spent a lot of time trying out different game engines. He eventually decided that GameMaker "still felt like the best fit for the project." Using the first chapter as a base, he started working in May 2020, with Fox and Chang joined by a few other team members. Fox has said that Chapter 2 is possibly the game's largest, due to having the most cutscenes and using many characters.
During a livestream celebrating the sixth anniversary of Undertale in September 2021, Fox announced that the second chapter would be released for free on Windows and macOS two days later, on September 17. In his blog, he explained that he chose this price because the COVID-19 pandemic had made the world "really tough for everybody recently." The Switch and PS4 versions were updated to include Chapter 2 on September 23, 2021, along with that day's Nintendo Direct.
Paid Release and Future Plans
Initially, the third, fourth, and fifth chapters were planned to be released together as a single paid game once they were finished. By 2022, work on these chapters was happening at the same time. In September 2023, a version of the third chapter that was playable from beginning to end was completed. Due to the long development time, Fox announced the following month that the first paid release would only include the third and fourth chapters. He hired Robert Sephazon as a producer at the beginning of 2024. His team set a goal to finish Chapter 4's main content by September 1, 2024, which they achieved. Because of wrist issues, Fox used speech-to-text software to type text into his computer, relying on other team members for programming.
Later in 2024, Fox stated that the next two chapters were being translated into different languages and being adapted for consoles. He also said they would be released the following year, and that production on the fifth chapter had begun. As development continued, a third round from the game show in Chapter 3 was removed to make the game flow better. During the April 2025 Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, it was announced that a paid version of Deltarune would be released on June 5, 2025, as a launch title for the Switch 2. On May 9, Fox announced that the game's release for the PS4, Switch, PS5, and Windows was set for June 4, 2025 in the West and midnight June 5, 2025 in Japan.
The paid release includes the first four chapters, with future content planned as free updates. The game's menu shows a total of seven chapters. The credits of the fourth chapter state that the next chapter will release in 2026.
See also
In Spanish: Deltarune para niños
