Toby Fox’s pet project and now-signature work,Undertale, is one of the most notable examples of an indie gaming success in the 2010s. Having developed almost the entire game by himself, Fox was met with overwhelming praise, and not without reason.Undertale’s unique approach to deconstructing the RPG genrehas become iconic and influential, credited with spawning more indie games withMother-like aesthetics. Unsurprisingly, Toby Fox was not done with game development after seemingly releasing his magnum opus. A couple of years afterUndertale’s release, the first chapter ofDeltarunecame out, receiving acclaim similar to that ofUndertale.
UnlikeUndertale,Deltarunestrives to be more straightforward. Counterparts ofUndertale’s famous routes were eventually introduced, but do not function in a complicated way like their predecessors. The gameplay is much more like a traditional RPG, with the presence of a party. Lastly,Deltarunestars completely different characters in a setting that can only be described as a parallel universe, related toUndertale. Despite the obvious similarities between the two games,Deltaruneis still a standalone work. Any connections toUndertalehave been ambiguous for the most part. The game should aspire to continue this creative decision and tell its own story.
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Undertale References in Deltarune’s Story
As mentioned before,Deltaruneis a game that is closely related, but nonetheless independent ofUndertale. The game incorporates several elements from its unofficial predecessor’s premise. This is reflected through a few members of the cast. Whilethe likes of Susie, Noelle, Berdly, and Lancer are completely original and have roles that deviate from whatUndertalehas established, there are a couple of characters fromDeltarunewith vague relations to theUndertalecast.
Kris, whose name is a clear reference to “Frisk” (the canon name ofUndertale’s protagonist), lives with their adoptive family, the Dreemurs. This family most notably includes Toriel, one of the first major characters to be introduced inUndertale. Additionally, while Kris is seemingly based on Frisk in terms of their appearance and personal life, their nightmare-inducing “episodes” with the SOUL mirror The Fallen Human and Frisk’s relationship. To top it all off,Chara, the aforementioned Fallen Human, was adopted by the Dreemur family, just like Kris inDeltarune.
Ralsei, whose name is an anagram of important but spoiler-heavyUndertalecharacter Asriel, is clearly meant to invoke a sense of familiarity. Although Ralsei is a goat boy like his namesake, the connections end there.As of Chapter 2, Ralsei’s role is undoubtedly a positive one, but his motives and what he truly knows about the game’s world remain to be seen. Despite remaining rather mysterious, Ralsei shares Asriel’s pre-Undertaleinnocence. However, the connections are clearly only thematic, and Ralsei will hopefully develop into an even more fleshed out individual that with an independent role from the Dreemurs, despite his appearance.
If the player decides to explore the monster town inDeltarune, other characters fromUndertalewill show up. For example, Alphys is shown teaching Kris, Noelle, and Berdly’s class. Undyne is a police officer instead of a misanthropic one-eyed warrior, whileSans owns his own grocery store. Their personalities are generally the same as theirUndertalecounterparts, with the differences being products of their circumstances. Alphys is still passive and nerdy, Undyne remains bombastic, Sans keeps his trademark lower case dialogue as well as his cheeky and laidback attitude, while Toriel is the motherly figure fans love.
The reason whyDeltarunebrought these characters back is currently unknown, both in and out of universe. It is possible that Toby Fox reintroduced these characters to pleaseUndertalefans without any deeper meaning, especially due to the game’s approach to RPGs being the complete opposite ofUndertale’s.
However, some aspects like Kris having Chara-like outbursts and being part of the Dreemur family, andSans knowing about different “timelines”could imply thatDeltarunetakes place in one of many “saves” fromUndertale. Although interesting, these tidbits should just be that; small references to the original game that fans will appreciate. While Kris’ relationship with the Dreemurs will most likely be explored, diving into the other cameos could densify the game for nothing.
The remaining chapters ofDeltarunewill be released together, so fans will likely wait for a long time, leading to inevitable theorizing. That being said, the game would suffer if most of its connections toUndertalebecome less ambiguous as time goes on.Deltarunethrives by being tonally and aesthetically similar toUndertale, while establishing its own identity. Said identity is partially based on itsUndertale-related roots, but too much emphasis would neuter the game’s individuality.
Deltaruneis out now for PC, PS4, and Switch.
