Hello everyone, hope you're all doing well, and welcome to my Game Report for Deltarune Chapter 1! This is something I've been meaning to discuss with you all since it came out, but I've been so busy with other things it took a bit longer than I wanted it to. A game called Undertale was released a few years ago, and it quickly became something of a cult classic. Most people who played it were captivated by the unique characters, art style, and combat system. I was a little late to the party, only picking it up last year when it arrived on PS4, but I immediately understood why the game had received such critical acclaim. It features old school turn based combat, with the added mechanic of a mini bullet hell attack system from your opponent. But the most unique feature of Undertale was the choice it gives players to kill everyone in your way, or talk things out for a peaceful outcome. Now we have our first taste of what comes next for the series with Deltarune, and I can't wait to tell you about it.
Deltarune, which is an anagram of Undertale, was released on October 31st, 2018 for PC. Unfortunately it's only Chapter 1 of what will hopefully be a full fledged game at some point in the future. Both Undertale, and Deltarune Chapter 1 were made by one man named Toby Fox, who's an aspiring indie developer. Anyone who's interested in playing this game can download it for free right now, and it should work just fine on pretty much any computer. I have a crappy little laptop, and I had no issues. As the game begins the player takes control of Kris, a human who lives in a world where monsters are part of society. Kris wakes up and goes to school where she has an encounter with Susie, the school bully who also happens to be a monster type creature who threatens to eat your face off. Once you get to class the teacher asks you and Susie to go into the supply closet down the hall to grab some more chalk.
Kris reluctantly agrees to go with the intimidating Susie, and they both head into the supply room. When they enter suddenly everything goes dark, and the two of them become trapped in there. Before they know what's happening they both get pulled into the Dark World, where their appearances change, and they're now wearing armor. Kris and Susie are now in a fantasy type world that has a castle they've never seen before. Once they enter they meet Ralsei, a prince of the dark, that tells them they are the three heroes who are destined to close the geyser of dark energy to restore balance to the world. Now your journey begins, and the three of you set off on a grand adventure. As the player I wasn't sure what the hell was going on, and I wouldn't understand what was happening until I finished the game. Even then it wasn't completely clear, since this is only the first chapter.
.jpg)
Now Kris, Susie, and Ralsei set out to explore this new world to close the dark geyser, but to do that you will have to deal with various enemies, and puzzles to reach the end. Right off the bat you meet the game's antagonist Lancer, who's a bumbling idiot of a villain, but in a good way. His character fits right in with the series trademark style of humor that runs throughout both games. You'll encounter Lancer many times in Deltarune Chapter 1, as he tries, and fails miserably to halt your progress. Unlike Undertale you now have a party of three people, so battling enemies is a little different. Just like classic turn based RPGs you will have to choose an action for each party member, then wait as they execute them. When the enemy is attacking a small bullet hell mini game pops up, where you have to maneuver a small heart through oncoming projectiles. This makes the turn based combat much more engaging, and gives you something to do, instead of just waiting for your turn.
To me personally, playing games on a computer just feels completely foreign, and that made the bullet hell sections of battle encounters kind of frustrating. If this was on consoles it wouldn't be a problem, but I had a hard time making precise movements while using the arrow keys to control things. This is totally on me though, and not a negative against the game. Most people probably won't have any issues with the controls, but I have very little experience playing games on a PC. During combat you have the option to attack, use magic, use an item, or defend, which are all pretty standard for a turn based game. But there's also the option to act, which is something new that makes the game unique. If you choose act you can then pick from a few different options to try and talk things out with your opponent. If you are successful you'll be able to spare them, ending the fight peacefully. This makes it possible to complete the game without actually killing anyone.
One major highlight I don't want to forget is the game's music. Deltarune Chapter 1 features some brilliant retro music that really adds to the overall experience, and will surely get stuck in your head for days after you're done playing. As you make your way through the Dark World you will not only have to deal with enemies, but there's also a good amount of puzzles to figure out. Most of them, while clever, are simple enough to get through. Just like Undertale this game is full of great monster character NPCs that always have something funny, or interesting to tell you about. The style of humor is very unique, and has become a trademark symbol of the series. I finished Chapter 1 in around three hours, and my only complaint is that there isn't more. It ends in a very eerie way, with some subtle hints of the bigger picture, but we'll have to wait for the full game to completely understand it's meaning. I'm not going to give this a grade because it's not the full game, but if you're a fan of Undertale you won't want to miss out on Deltarune Chapter 1, I highly recommend it.
Thank you for checking out my Game Report of Deltarune Chapter 1, I hope you enjoyed it!
Your post was upvoted by the @archdruid gaming curation team in partnership with @curie to support spreading the rewards to great content. Join the Archdruid Gaming Community at https://discord.gg/nAUkxws. Good Game, Well Played!
Thank you so much guys!