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yellow and silver video game controller
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UNCO | Culture > Entertainment

My Deltarune Chapter Five Thoughts

Julie Hesselgrave Student Contributor, University of Northern Colorado
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UNCO chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

I have loved Deltarune since the first chapter came out in 2019. Well, I’ve been a fan of Toby Fox since 2015-ish because of Undertale. Deltarune is an indie pixelated game about a prophecy to unite the light and dark, and you play as Kris’s soul. So, in other words, the player controls what they do, but they are still their own character outside of the player. Kris makes their way through some problems in the Dark World accompanied by their friends, brave Susie and sweet Ralsei. There will be seven chapters. The story’s on Chapter Five now, and here’s what I think about it.

The Story

Deltarune Chapter Five was amazing. As someone who loves Undertale, there were so many references to the masterpiece of the Undertale story. The flowers referenced the seven souls in Undertale. These flowers want to make Asgore happy, but they truly are making him uncomfortable. The story went really deep into the divorce of Asgore and Toriel; it shows that Asgore did something bad, and we do not know what he did. It led not only to the divorce but also to Asgore being a neglectful parent. In Undertale, he is a king who is feared due to him killing the humans, and in Deltarune, he is still intimading due to not knowing much about this past he talks about. He is also1 Kris’s adopted father. In the game, Asgore gets kidnapped by the Knight. I liked the idea of going into Kris and Asgore’s relationship; until now, we did not see much of it in past chapters. Ralsei is the character who lives in the Dark World, and he is normally sweet, but in this chapter he really did not like Flowery, because Flowery acts as an irritating, rule-breaking mirror to everything Ralsei suppresses in himself. Flowery is one of the flowers in Asgore’s flower shop and was also at Asgore’s wedding. Flowery saw Asgore in his darkest moment from the divorce and the secret; I have no idea what it is yet. I love the characters; they are so unique, and I want to learn more. My favorite part is that the music sets them up.

The Music 

After having played and watched people play through each chapter of Deltarune immediately after its release, I had my expectations set incredibly high heading into Chapter Five, and Toby Fox delivered once more. The soundtrack of Chapter Five is like an emotional punch to the stomach coated with sheer euphoria. It marks a clear stylistic shift in Chapter Five’s music compared to the previous chapters, moving away from purely high-energy electronics toward a more organic, melancholic, lush sound. Songs such as “Festival” and “I Guess I’m in Love” capture that bittersweetness of a Light World in the twilight hours, while the grandiose themes of the Flower Kingdom perfectly blend classic leitmotifs from “Field of Hopes and Dreams” and “Don’t Forget” that will send shivers down your spine; it sure happened to me. Incredibly complex guest compositions add jazz brass and syncopation to the battle themes, while the tragedy-filled themes of Asgore’s past carry immeasurable emotional weight. In the end, the songs of Chapter Five will leave you feeling both melancholic and comforted by a game with one of the most beautiful soundtracks in the history of video games, while at the same time knowing that the party is ending. 

The Weird Route

The weird route made me extremely uncomfortable, but that was the point. The weird route is Deltarune’s equivalent of the genocide route, meaning you will kill all the NPCs you fight. The weird route is in this chapter, where Noelle is slowly breaking from the pressure Kris is putting on her to do what you want. Noelle and Kris (aka you) hold hands, and she takes you into the lake that is known for people going missing. If you do it correctly, you keep telling her to proceed until the screen goes white. There will not be another weird route until Chapter Seven. The music was very uncomfortable to listen to as well. You can look up Weird Route Lake OST, and you will understand what I mean. I did enjoy the weird route, despite being uncomfortable. It was nice to see Kris’s timid childhood friend, Noelle, finally snap. Not only was the player pushing her, but she has high expectations from her family. I did not think this was how she would snap, but it was good to see her get upset nonetheless.

Conclusion  

The chapter was amazing; see Undertale references. I loved the story, even the parts that made me feel uneasy, but if you ask me, that makes a good story if it made me feel strong emotions. I cannot say I liked the music, because I loved it. I am listening to that music whenever I can. Watching my friend and random YouTubers play Deltarune was the highlight of my summer. Deltarune means so much to me, and if you want to play it, I 100% recommend you do. 

Julie Hesselgrave

UNCO '29

Julie is a writer at Her Campus at the University of Northern Colorado chapter.
Outside of Her campus, Julie is a freshman at University of Northern Colorado. She is a criminal justice major, and she is minoring in sociology and media studies. She goes to most of the Criminal Justice Society meetings, but she is not a member.
In her free time, Julie likes to read. She is currently reading Sunrise on the Reaping and A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Her favorite book series is The Hunger Games. Julie also likes to make jewelry; the only thing she does not make is rings. Julie is a good painter and actor. She has won many awards in both. Julie loves watching anime; her favorite animes are Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and Horimya. She can talk about the symbolism in Frieren: Beyond Journey's End all day. She is going to start Gachiakuta soon. Julie loves Avatar: The Last Airbender because of nostalgia; her favorite characters are the water tribe siblings, Sokka and Katara. Finally, Julie loves to go on walks with her emotional support cat, Jack. When Julie takes Jack for walks, Jack is in a stroller and is sometimes in a frog hoodie to keep him warm in the cold.