With Chapters 3 & 4, Deltarune’s Lovable Little Guys Remain Its Greatest Strength

By Elijah Gonzalez | July 17, 2025 | 11:00am

Video Games Features Deltarune

With Chapters 3 & 4, Deltarune’s Lovable Little Guys Remain Its Greatest Strength

Undertale’s central schtick is the kind of trick that can only surprise you once. For those who went into the game without prior knowledge, a crucial element is how it tempts you into playing it like a typical RPG. There’s an intentional friction between the trained desire to gain XP and become more powerful, like you do in most games in this style, contrasted against the increasing realization that battling these sentient monsters doesn’t quite feel morally right.

In my case, after avoiding fighting for a while, I eventually gave in to temptation. I just couldn’t shake the inertia of the genre’s history, and started bashing heads to gain EXP (which are eventually revealed to stand for Execution Points) so I could increase my LV (Level of Violence). After receiving the standard, somewhat incomplete ending, I repented, immediately marathoning through a Pacifist run on the last day of a college vacation, leaving me bleary-eyed but content with my acts of virtual do-gooderism when I showed up to class the next day.

The point is, many of Undertale’s central thematic subversions gain that extra bit of impact thanks to the element of surprise, and while the game has many other boons, like its sharp writing and all-timer soundtrack, its twists are definitely part of its staying power.

So, where does that leave Deltarune, a spiritual successor to Toby Fox’s hit that can’t rely on this rug pull? While the choice to spare or save monsters is still present and affects the world, Fox has repeatedly stated that Deltarune only has one ending, meaning it’s not quite as centered on the conflict of resorting to violence versus engaging in pacifism (although again, that’s still very much there).

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Instead, it’s more focused on the meta concept of what “player control” means for those who inhabit this game world, as embodied by the main character Kris, who is seemingly being manipulated by the player against their will. This tale is also deeply rooted in our relationship with fictional spaces, with its dichotomy between the Light World (the “real” world) and the Dark World (a shadow of the real world), and the degree to which stories are perceived as either “real” or immutable, like a prophecy.

And while all these ideas are interesting and set the game apart from its predecessor, it’s still unclear how these concepts will come together because we’re only halfway through this long-running creative project that began back in 2018. In the absence of definitive answers, one of the main elements that has consistently sucked me back into these spaced-out episodic releases is its wonderful band of doofy weirdo characters, something especially true with last month’s Chapters 3 and 4.

The latest episodes waste no time in reuniting Kris, Susie, and Ralsei, immediately reminding us of their well-earned bond as they strike their signature pose and Susie starts talking about how rad last night’s pizza and movies were. Their coming together like this at the start of each chapter always feels like a perfect way to pull us back into the story, because just like them seeing each other after being away, most players are likely returning to this group after an extended absence thanks to the series’ episodic releases.

And as we get into the meat of the story, one of the most satisfying elements across these two installments is how much they pay off Susie and Ralsei’s character arcs. From the jump, it’s immediately obvious that something is off about Ralsei, the fluffy prince from the Dark World who is normally always looking out for his companions. He seems distracted and agitated as Susie repeatedly invites him to come hang out with the Light World, and before long, we find out why: he clarifies that while those from the Light World can come to the Dark World, the same isn’t true the other way around.

Eventually, he also comes clean about his other feelings of inferiority due to being from the Dark World, and how he views himself as existing to help his friends save the Light World before his own home fades into nothing: you see, the Dark World is a reflection of “reality” where our protagonists are from, and from Ralsei’s perspective, his home is nothing but a temporary fantasy. Of course, Susie pushes back on this, saying that no matter what, their relationship is real.

And as for Susie, she continues to drift into the spotlight, so much so that Chapter 4 implies she might be the true protagonist of this story. She’s come the farthest so far out of the cast, going from a bully who sided with the bad guys in Chapter 1, to a person who has finally found a larger purpose and somewhere to belong. She shares her backstory this time around, explaining how she had been an outsider for as long as she could remember, before stumbling into this adventure. It’s been a slow build to get here, and Susie is still often crude, rude, and very much Susie, but her journey is still completely earned.

The banter between these doofuses elevates story beats you’ve probably seen elsewhere into something special, as Fox and company consistently tap into a particular brand of silly, irreverent humor. While it’s tempting to dive into plot theories or discuss the game’s bigger motifs and thematic swings, one of its biggest boons is how it uses humor to make both enemies and allies incredibly endearing. And those frequent laughs are particularly needed when we hit some of the darker turns.

Because while Ralsei and Susie are pleasant company, this happy group is shadowed by an increasing sense of wrongness when it comes to the protagonist, Kris. Fitting into a story about people being puppeteered by a pre-written destiny, the player literally controls Kris against their will, as their friends constantly allude to how much they’ve changed as of late. On occasion, the real Kris rips out their SOUL, the heart-shaped object the player uses to control them, limping along as they seek to undermine your actions. There are frequent allusions to how the player and Kris are locked in a constant struggle over this body, including an optional scene in Chapter 4 where Susie questions why Kris is talking with their mouth closed like a ventriloquist, and another mentioning how Kris’ voice will suddenly change volumes and pitch, the battle between these two sides coming with awkward side effects. In one scene, the original Kris, who is skilled at the piano, takes over control from the player as we struggle to play the notes, a small act of defiance against us.

On top of this, it’s more or less revealed this time around that the true version of Kris is working with the “bad guys” (although we don’t have enough context yet to know if they really are bad at all). Between this betrayal and the fact that Susie has only ever known the fake, player-controlled Kris, these secrets are a ticking time bomb waiting to destroy this trio’s hard-won camaraderie.

And interestingly enough, many of the other supposed villains eventually make for the game’s most likable characters, as foes become funky little friends. It’s a transition that does a great job paralleling what Undertale is all about as you talk out your differences (after you dodge their projectiles for several minutes). The first of these is Lancer, a prankster goblin child who basically becomes your crew’s fourth member, popping in and out at opportune moments as he breaks your item menu and bakes the worst cookies anyone’s ever seen. He’s a real stinker, and we love him.

He’s followed in the next chapter by Queen, a robotic villainess who does the Ojou-sama laugh while hitting an impressive number of quips per second. Much like Lancer, you convince her to stop her nefarious plot, and then she comes to hang out in your castle full of fellow enemies turned friends while sipping on battery acid.

Lastly, there’s the antagonist of Chapter 3, the game-show-loving Mr. Tenna. In a bit that never got old, his sprite work makes it seem like he fell in from a lost Neo Geo game, as he changes sizes to suit his mood and repeats the same uncanny dance animations over and over. He’s a goofy guy, and I adore him because, like everyone else, there’s some real meat to his character as he struggles with abandonment and the inevitable changes of life. But also, he’s a talking TV who loves to do this.

As you recruit these bosses and their underlings to your home base in the Dark World, it becomes an increasingly cozy space that gives you a chance to periodically reconnect with these delightful freaks: Susie gives Lancer a piggyback ride, Queen enjoys some “renovations” to your castle, and you can even help Tenna find a new home so he never has to trap anyone in endless re-runs ever again.

And all of that’s not even to mention many of your buddies in the Light World, from Noelle, who shares an adorkable sapphic will-they-wont-they with Susie that’s one of the highlights of Chapter 4, or the iconically annoying Berdley, who likes Super Smash Bros. Melee too much (relatable). Most of Undertale’s fan favorites are there too: Toriel and her motherly love, Sans’ non-stop trolling, Asgore as the most divorced dad of all time, and even the depressed lo-fi hip hop ghost; basically the whole gang (besides Papyrus).

But again, like the rest of Deltarune, there’s a less wholesome underside to this. Because these chapters finally show us the presence manipulating (you could even say, puppeteering) most of the previously mentioned bosses in some fashion: the Roaring Knight. As they flicker onto the screen like a digital nightmare, we’re greeted by the serated acoustics of the ear-shredding track, “Black Knife.” Unlike almost every other enemy in the game, the Mercy option, which lets you spare foes to recruit them, is grayed out. There’s no way to reason with them, with even the kind-hearted Ralsei pointing out that you need to fight.

They’re the manifestation of the subtle wrongness found in some corners of Deltarune, paralleling Lancer’s nefarious dad, King, and some of the ultra-hard optional bosses like Jevil and Spamton. There are links between the Knight and whatever happened to Noelle’s missing sister, who nobody talks about anymore. Somehow, the Roaring Knight, Kris’ true form, and Noelle’s cold mom, Carol, are all tied to some greater purpose, an intriguing mystery that will undoubtedly bring many back for Chapter 5.

While I can understand why some are a bit dissatisfied with Deltarune’s slow rollout, which will probably span at least a decade by the time it’s done, this release has had the side benefit of giving us ample time with these characters, making each new chapter feel like a meaningful reunion with a wonderful batch of weirdos. I don’t know where this story will ultimately go, or if it will be able to live up to years of foreshadowing, buildup, and fan theories, but even if it doesn’t all come together, the time spent with these beloved oddballs will have made it worth it.

Elijah Gonzalez is an associate editor for Endless Mode. In addition to playing the latest, he also loves anime, movies, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.