As Undertale superfans probably already know, Deltarune Chapter 2 is now out on PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation. People have had time to play through Toby Fox’s latest work at least once, or maybe even speed through a couple of runs.
However, the taste only leaves us wanting more. That’s mainly because this is the second chapter of an unfinished game — not a stand-alone work. It’s meant to intrigue players to continue, with unanswered questions left lingering at the end of each chapter. Heck, Chapter 2 doesn’t even explain the ending of Chapter 1.
Here are just a few of the hit indie game’s unanswered questions and our best guesses at the answers.
When is Deltarune Chapter 3 coming out?
Now that Deltarune Chapter 2 is out, the natural follow-up question is: When is the next chapter coming?
Well, Chapter 2 wasn’t supposed to come out as early as it did. Fox planned on just releasing Chapter 1 and then following up with the finished game. In his September 2021 update, he explained that he released Chapter 2 now because “the world has been really tough for everybody recently.” His plan remains mostly the same, though.
Fox plans to release Chapters 3, 4, and 5, along with the already existing chapters, as a package. However, this more complete version of Deltarune doesn’t have a release date, so neither does Chapter 3. It likely won’t be finished anytime soon, considering the team just completed Chapter 2.
Fox announced that he finished “readable outlines for every chapter in the game” and “first-pass dialogue for almost all the cutscenes” in his September 2020 update. At that point, he was working with three other active team members to complete Deltarune: Chapter 2, which released in September 2021 — a year later — with that team of people behind it.
Chapter 2 apparently had the largest cutscene count of any planned chapter and other challenging factors that added to the development time, so it’s possible that later installments will take less time to complete. Fox started taking applications for more help in September 2020, which could also speed things up. He admits that not even he knows when the next release will be ready.
Deltarune Chapter 3, 4, and 5 will likely take at least two more years to complete based on the work Fox and his team have completed so far.
How many routes are there in Deltarune?
Deltarune Chapter 2 marked the first discovery of an alternate route. This route coined many names including the Weird Route, Snowgrave Route, and Genocide Route (or the Deltarune version of it) to indicate its fork from what’s considered the game’s default path.
However, this isn’t necessarily the only alternate route. It’s possible that interacting with other characters differently down the line could lead to other branching points that weren’t available in previous chapters.
Undertale had three paths: The default route, Pacifist Route, and Genocide Route. Deltarune has two so far: the default and the alternate. There are even variations of the default route like a certain character losing an arm. Understandably, this changes some dialogue in the story even if the outcome is relatively unchanged.
Fox hasn’t confirmed exactly how many routes he has planned for Deltarune. For now, the answer is at least two.
How many characters can join your team?
Deltarune Chapter 2 introduces Noelle, Kris’ childhood friend, as a party member. Before, only Susie and Ralsei participated in fights. Only three characters can battle at once, but it’s possible to have all of them in the party. It’s just that Susie and Ralsei will take priority over Noelle.
Noelle first appears as a schoolmate NPC but later becomes a playable character. It’s only Chapter 2, so other characters could play a role in the future. However, it’s probably not much more than what’s already available. Alternatively, it’s just the characters we already know.
This is not a AAA studio. We’re probably not getting an entire army like in a Fire Emblem game.
Is there romance in Deltarune?
Deltarune has tons of “ships,” and I’m not talking about boats. For example, Noelle seems unusually interested in Susie. Susie seems to want to spend a lot of time with Ralsei. Even Kris has the option to say and do some squee-worthy things. It brings to mind an awkward teenage romance kind of feeling.
Deltarune doesn’t seem to outright rule out any possible character pairings. So, will there be canon pairings? Will these relationships just dangle in the air for players to interpret to their liking? Some players already reported different reactions from characters based on Kris’ choices.
Undertale didn’t really have canon ships, but that doesn’t mean Deltarune won’t. At the moment, nothing’s set in stone.
Who is the Knight?
The Knight is the overarching antagonist of Deltarune — the one responsible for opening Dark Fountains that could potentially plunge the Light World into eternal darkness and turn all Darkeners into stone. It’s mentioned in the Legend of Delta Rune, which Ralsei recites at the beginning of Chapter 1. However, we don’t know who the Knight is, even though we know their role in the story.
Dark Fountains create Dark Worlds. Sealing Dark Fountains means closing the particular Dark Worlds they created. Considering that a new Dark World opened up in the computer lab after the events of Chapter 1, it seems like the Knight isn’t just some historical figure. They’re real and hitting up computer labs around town.
Some fans theorized that Kris was actually the Knight, even before Chapter 2. However, Kris is also the one who has the power to seal Dark Fountains away. We’ll probably have to wait until the rest of Deltarune to find out the truth.
People have their opinions, I have mine. No one but Fox and the team know the truth. If you’re curious about the Undertale developer’s turn-based RPG, you can play the first two chapters for free on PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.
