Deltarune Chapter 5

Note: This review contains spoilers for Deltarune Chapters 1-4.

As promised at the end of Deltarune Chapter 4, Toby Fox has released Chapter 5 about a year later (and as a free update, as advertised). Naturally, as with Chapters 3 & 4, I played it as soon as I could and did my best to dodge spoilers throughout my run, keeping in mind that Toby Fox had stated in the newsletter that Chapter 5 would be lighter than the others before the game really gets heavy. Although I enjoyed the Chapter and am still excited to see what comes next, there were issues that I hope the remaining Chapters iron out.

The day after the events of Chapter 4, Hometown is holding its annual Festival, where Susie and Noelle are having their first date. Things go smoothly until Noelle has to leave due to her father Rudy falling. As Noelle sees to her father, Kris and Susie head to Flower King, the flower shop where Asgore works. Soon, the two of them end up in a flower-themed Dark World with the goal of sealing the Dark Fountain before something bad can happen to Asgore.

Before I get into the story, it’s worth talking about how Chapter 5 continues showcasing the breadth of the potential design space in a game like Deltarune while staying consistent with previous Chapters. Apart from including new enemies with their own unique bullet patterns, there are more sections that expand on the climbing mechanics from Chapter 4, including optional paths that grant special rewards. Although there are plenty of puzzles that test the player’s special reasoning, there is more of an emphasis on reflexes and timing, with most of them easy to adjust to after a couple attempts. One neat mechanic in this regard was the use of Torii Gates to quickly run without stopping until you touch another one, but it wasn’t clear at first that you could also adjust your position while running (it didn’t take me too long to pick up on it, though).

Torii Gates add a new method of travel and more design space for puzzles.

The biggest addition to the series, however, is the introduction of an item that allows interaction with certain points in the map that turn the view into a flat 2D plane, enabling traditional platforming sections. Platforming alters combat and the behavior of ACTs in a fresh and exciting way and I mostly enjoyed engaging with this mechanic. The ACT interactions are quite simple, though that made sense with the limited amount of available buttons on a controller, and I’ll admit that the mechanics could get same-y after a while. Plus, I felt that I only made it past certain sections after improving through a retry. Still, I wouldn’t mind seeing an improved version of this mechanic and considering how parts of the map had to be designed with the platforming in mind, it becomes clear that this was why the Chapter needed enough time for polish that it released separately, as opposed to the originally intended paid Chapters 3-5 release.

Not only is the music still good, with a couple recycled tracks used in novel ways, but the visuals are among the best in the series. Apart from flexing with improved lighting techniques, there’s a distinct Japanese flair that results in more daring animations and effects. One particular Shop screen also gave off a quiet beauty and somehow elicited an emotion that other Shops couldn’t. I really have no issues with the art direction here, for the most part.

The surprising quiet beauty of an Item Shop.

Going back to the subject of the year-long wait, while the amount of effort on display seemed to justify separating Chapter 5, this is also what can most easily affect the perception of the story. Personally, I didn’t mind how the story played out so much, as it was meant as a lighter “breather” Chapter before the story really ramps up. I liked how the lingering feelings from the end of Chapter 4 carried over here and liked seeing Susie and Noelle growing closer together. Although the Light World doesn’t have much forward momentum and certain events aren’t addressed at the end, there is still a little forward progress with the Shelter plotline and the ending opens up some interesting implications about Susie’s character. Since there are still two Chapters left to go, I have faith that Toby Fox can still wrap up the loose ends within that amount of time.

As for the Dark World, it introduces its own cast of new characters who are mostly rather one-note in their personalities, but still feel distinct from one another and have their own development. The one who develops the most this time is Ralsei, who comes to better understand his own role within the prophecy, specifically whether or not he should be a slave to it or break free and actively try to defy it. There were also some interesting callbacks to Chapter 1, where the Fun Gang is in a familiar place but now Susie has matured and views it differently, and we see some of the most direct references to Undertale yet thanks to glimpses of the individual bullet patterns of Omega Flowey, but remixed and expanded in places to show more of their potential as attacks. It helps that the character Flowery is a new take on Flowey, with a different personality and a new style of attacking or interacting with the cast.

Ralsei is confronted with hard questions.

Since players have had to wait a whole year for Chapter 5, it’s understandable that some may feel frustrated by the momentum slowing down around this point or find that maybe the writing doesn’t hit as hard for them. However, much like watching a TV series that has long breaks between episodes, this change of pace may not feel as bad when the Chapters are experienced all at once rather than with year-long gaps in between. I plan on replaying the game that way when Chapter 7 releases, so only time will really tell. When a game is still in active development like this, it would also help to meet the game at its own level and think about it as it comes rather than get too attached to any preconceived notion of where the story might lead. 

What I can’t overlook, however, is that out of all the boss fights in this Chapter, including the Secret Boss, the final boss fight is by far the most difficult, mostly for unintended reasons. First of all, it introduces a brand-new Orange Heart mechanic, which feels fine once you get used to how it controls, but the input doesn’t seem to always register correctly, resulting in some unavoidable damage. Fortunately, I had it mostly under control, including when you have to time your reactions to voice clips (directly referenced early on). Unfortunately, there’s a lot more going on during the fight, between lyrics that go by on screen (that I didn’t process because I was focused more on the fight), a number of new bullet patterns, changing backgrounds and flashing colors. I was on this fight long enough that, for the first time ever for this game, I got eye strain and had to take a break during my multiple attempts at the fight and only returned after placing myself even further away from the screen, a method made possible with a DualSense controller (used throughout to reduce the mechanical load on my shoulder). Even though I played it post-patch, I still had a hard time and only made it through because of the fight gradually making itself easier/shorter with multiple subsequent attempts, as well as my own muscle memory gradually improving.

I had one other complaint about this fight, though it’s minor enough that I thought I could address it separately. During the fight, there’s a move that reveals that the boss has a power that you’ve had access to throughout the entire game. When this attack hit, I felt a sense of tension from the idea that this had introduced a ticking clock and I would need to really lock in and within a few turns at most. In reality, this move only came up once and, once I realized that, the tension went away. It would be interesting to see a video game boss actually do more with such a power, so long as the player feels like they still have a chance.

Deltarune Chapter 5 may not resonate with everyone after a year-long wait, but the sheer amount of passion and creativity on display, especially when it comes to its design space, has me curious and hopeful about how the remaining Chapters will unfold. Now, we just hope that Chapter 6 hits its projected 2027 release window, whenever in the year that may be.