SweetieGames

I’ve tried to keep this article as spoiler free as possible, but proceed at your own risk!

As many of you know, I’m a diehard UnderTale and Deltarune fan. So of course, when Chapter 5 was announced for June 24th, I had to play it as soon as it released! It was lucky that I did, because I finished the main story (not including the optional boss!) in an evening, and the second I logged back into social media, it felt like I was walking in to chaos.

People lambasted the chapter, describing it as filler, not progressing the plot and that the last two chapters were going to feel rushed as a result. As someone who loves characters over worldbuilding or plot, I didn’t think these statements could be further from the truth. This chapter wasn’t about lore. It was about characters. It was about fleshing them out, challenging them and preparing them for the story ahead.

So many aspects of Deltarune are still a mystery to us. The identity of so many characters, like the Man, the Knight and FRIEND. The ending of the prophecy. The reveal of the Voice, who is most likely to be Gaster. The purpose of the Eggs and the Shadow Crystals. Kris’s motivations. The incident and the disappearance of December. As a game shrouded in mystery, and one that has a plethora of lore, it’s extremely popular for fan theories. I wrote about this phenomenon in a previous post here, before Chapter 3 + 4 released.

Some of these theories are entertaining and thought provoking, and it’s been great to see people piece the clues together in so many different ways. Everyone has their own interpretation. However, the reaction to Chapter 5 has really shown me how involved in theories some people are. I wasn’t giving them too much attention, as I knew anything could happen in a Toby Fox game. Others are so desperate for certain fan favourite theories to be proven right, that they can’t wait to see it in the game. That’s why they reacted the way they did to Chapter 5. There’s social stakes involved; they posted about these theories, backed them up, so they don’t want to be seen as wrong.

For others, they’re eager to see deeper into the lore, when what is needed is for the characters to develop. Don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited to see how the story unfolds and I’m interested to see what the answers to burning questions are, if there are any at all! I just think these moments will be so much better now that the characters have developed in the way that they have. We got to see deeper into some characters than we ever have before! As a creative writer, I can see the reason behind making a chapter like Chapter 5, and how it’ll pay off in future chapters.

While making theories is fun, it is as the infamous YouTube channel says: it’s just a theory. While it’s great to be proved right, it’s not the end of the world if you’re wrong! There’s so many aspects at play in Deltarune, so it’s pretty hard to be able to predict everything. Don’t let your investment in theories ruin your experience playing the game!