Many gamers were surprised at the end of October when Undertale’s official Twitter page began tweeting mysterious messages that directed them to a website where they could download something that was touted as a “Survey Program”, and asked to retain from talking about the program for 24 hours (I’ll let you guess how successful that wish went), with the site also noting that the program was “intended for people who have completed UNDERTALE.” Upon starting things up…well, it was soon evident that this wasn’t a survey program…this was a new game, DELTA RUNE. What is Delta Rune? Well, let’s take a look! Keep in mind, this article may contain spoilers for Undertale; spoilers for Delta Rune will be kept to a minimum.

So what exactly is Delta Rune? Well, the version you can currently download for free seems to be some kind of proof-of-concept demo, allowing the player to go through the entire first chapter of the game. The game itself was preceded by a series of mysterious tweets on Undertale’s official Twitter page that began on October 30th, with cryptic messages that ended with a request to return in 24 hours. The next day there was another string of mysterious tweets about how the thing to be shown isn’t yet completed and needs the help of the viewer, which accumulated in the linking of the Delta Rune website. As mentioned before, players were requested to not talk about the game for a period of 24 hours…hm. I’m already feeling like something’s up, as in Delta Rune there’s a character who also mentions coming back in 24 hours.

The game itself seems to be an all-new adventure set in some kind of Undertale-like world. While there are many familiar faces, such as Alphyus, Toriel, Asgore, and Undyne, it seems to be set in some kind of an alternate reality. Perhaps it’s a sort of Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask scenario where it’s an alternate universe where things are similar…but yet different. The player once again takes the role of a human, but this time they’re named Kris instead of being unnamed.

There also seems to be some sort of secondary world as well – which mirrors the divided world between humans and monsters in Undertale – a world full of more monsters calling themselves the Darkners. Kris and a bully-like character, Susie, fall into the Darkner world through the school’s supply closet (it’s a bit of a story, that is), and not only find themselves in a new magical world but spouting new looks as well…and weapons for some reason. They soon meet a cute little character named Ralsei (Fans of the game…you are now permitted your “AWWWWW” moment) who urges Kris to be nonviolent, and the trio takes off to fulfill a destiny that was, of course, foretold in a legend.

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Source: Game Screenshot

As far as the characters and world go, Toby Fox has once again done it. The more I played and saw more of Susie, Ralsei, and Lancer (an early antagonist), the more I grew to like them. The trio of Susie, Ralsei, and Kris works nicely, and of course, Toby knocks it out of the park in terms of dialogue and comedic moments. The music is also fantastic – in fact, I dare you to not get “The Field of Hopes and Dreams” stuck in your head.

Toby Fox isn’t just giving us a new world and new characters, however – he’s greatly expanding the game play mechanics as well. You can now have up to three members in your party, the menus look different while in the Darkner World, and you can equip items that raise your typical stats like attack and defense…as well as other stats like Cuteness and Fluffiness. Combat blends a more typical turn-based style (instead of the first-person view from Undertale) that also combines the bullet hell dodging minigame from Undertale – but be careful! Toby’s got some tricks and traps up his sleeve that may catch you off guard. There’s also a new “Tension Meter” that rises as your characters take damage and from near-misses; get enough TP and you’ll be able to access special moves and Ralsei’s magic powers. Enemies also appear in the game world itself Earthbound style and thus can be avoided if you’re quick enough.

As expected, Delta Rune has taken the Undertale community by storm, with fan art flooding social media in a matter of hours, and things like a Delta Rune subreddit and TV Tropes page also being constructed literally in the same day the game released. I can only assume it’s just going to keep getting bigger and bigger – I myself am already starting to see Ralsei pop up as profile pictures in various social media and chat apps.

So, ye fans of Undertale, and those who haven’t completed Undertale that don’t mind spoilers, go ahead and download Delta Rune and check it out for yourself! I’d love to discuss things like Rouxls Kaard, Lancer, the Puzzle Pieces, and my own thoughts on the ending…but it’s better if you see it for yourself first. Or, watch someone else’s Let’s Play. Or…just read about stuff on the Delta Rune wiki I mean that’s cool too I guess.

We’ll just have to see where this goes. Hopefully, Toby Fox can get the team and support he needs to make this game a reality. He’s left us on pins and needles with Chapter 1, and I firmly believe that he’ll have another big winner with Delta Rune.

Have you played Delta Rune yourself? What about Undertale? Sound off in the comments below! And, well (potential) spoiler warning for the comments. Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next chapter.

ralsei

Source: Game Screenshot