Deltarune Chapter Three and Four's Release is Nigh
The long-awaited release is near
We're a little late to the party with this announcement, but we have a Deltarune update! Toby Fox finally has a release date for interested fans of Deltarune: June 5, 2025, will see the release of Chapters 3 and 4. I'll probably be at the Nebula conference then, but everyone else can start playing and finding all the secrets!
Per Fox's newsletter, which is also available on his official site, the game will have versions for both Nintendo Switch consoles, PlayStation 4 and 5, PC, and Mac. He's priced all four chapters at $24.99, and players will not have to purchase the remaining chapters when they are released.
I'm With You in the Dark
Deltarune is a spinoff of Fox's game Undertale, with some characters overlapping even though the universe is different. The player character, an agender child named Kris, ends up in a world of toy and computer-based NPCs whom they either have to fight or spare. Another monster named Susie tags along with Kris, and they meet a sorcerer named Ralsei. The three of them have to navigate different worlds and seal them off to prevent an apocalypse. Kris also has a mysterious secret; we don't know what they are or what their agenda is, and they aren't revealing anything to the player. This mystery is only deepened by the lovely Laura Shigihara soundtrack theme with the lyrics "Don't forget; I'm with you in the dark."
Many Undertale players have been wondering what connects that game to Deltarune. Some dead NPCs are alive in this game but offscreen, and personalities are entirely reversed in some cases. Susie also is shocked to see that Ralsei looks exactly like Kris's brother Asriel, and even references it in the second chapter. Some things are the same, however; goat parents Toriel and Asgore have tension between them, and Sans the skeleton hints that he knows why we take an interest in him. Fox has also posted extra lore during special occasions like the Spamton Sweepstakes, with some anecdotes as silly as a creepypasta recreation or as sad as missing a sister.
Deltarune has unique lore as well. We learn that a mysterious Knight opening Fountains is why these tiny worlds are created. No one has seen the Knight's face, only them opening a Fountain. I've theorized that Kris is the Knight, given some pretty sketchy things we see. New NPCs, like Kris's friend Noelle, also come with questions and secrets.
Differences Between the Platform Versions
Each version of the game will have a "SPECIAL ROOM" with the same content but different control schemes based on the device. The PlayStation version required trophies, but Fox admits that he isn't proud of those achievements PS4/5 players can unlock: "Honestly, it may be one of the worst ideas I've ever had." The first Switch version did have "trophies" that you could acquire by giving money to the Dog Shrine (or Dog Box if you were locked out of the Dog Shrine on the No Mercy/Genocide Route). You weren't rewarded for trying multiple endings or trying to find secrets.
The big question is, of course, can players import their save files? The PlayStation and Switch versions will allow it, but the PC and Mac don't seem to have that option. So if you played Deltarune on a computer like I did, you'll likely have to play Chapters One and Two again to make progress. Chapter Two of Deltarune did create a generic save file in the case that players couldn't retrieve theirs after a four-year wait, but it's not confirmed if Chapter Three will do that.
A generic save file would help those who don't have their Chapter Two save file on their PC. If you have to play through Chapters One and Two again to get to Chapter Three, that would be a problem. Chapter One has a really hard final boss in Spade King, whom I tried to beat for several hours before winning due to luck. While Chapter Two wasn't as hard, it would be tedious to do all the same story beats to catch up to Chapter Three. If a player could find a workaround by importing the save files on the PC, it would probably improve the overall experience.
It's nice to know we only have a few short weeks to wait for Chapters Three and Four. It's been nearly four years since Chapter Two was released - many of the delays were due to engine updates and Fox developing carpal tunnel syndrome - but we can hope that having Nintendo's financial backing will lead to smaller gaps between future Chapters.
We're with Kris, Susie, and Ralsei in the dark. The question is who will be with us next when we load that SAVE file?