Nintendo Switch 2 Critic Reviews

Deltarune won me over because it’s complex and heart-wrenchingly earnest. This earnestness is what keeps people coming back for more. The art, music, and gameplay simply serve this earnest passion for video games. This game burns bright because of that passion, and it’s something you need to see to believe.

Toby Fox manages to create a layered story with unique game mechanics with the first four Chapters of Deltarune. Even with half a story, this already forms a unique celebration of the game medium.

Speeding through Deltarune — a stunningly imaginative role-playing adventure — to a quick ending is not the point. It’s meant to be enjoyed gradually, a trip along startling roads less traveled with your virtual friends.

Deltarune is a subversive epic that defies conventions and keeps the laughs coming every minute of its lengthy runtime. The most staggering aspect of it is that this isn't even its final form. Purchasing Deltarune chapters 1-4 is a ticket for the eventual chapters 5-7, which will expand the scope of the story and surely take things in an unpredictable direction if the conclusion of chapter 4 is anything to go by. Undertale wasn't without its faults and neither is Deltarune, but once the story, gags, and characters unfold, it's the kind of game that lingers, leaving a powerful and unforgettable experience. It's the kind of lasting impression that supersedes flaws.

Toby Fox delivers a vibrant, surprising, and narratively rich follow-up that deepens the Undertale formula with a refined battle system, more artistic polish, and a cast full of personality, though the lack of a Spanish translation and its unfinished state may make some players hesitate.

Deltarune is a charming pixelated adventure that's not afraid to lean into the weird and wacky. This indie RPG flips the genre on its head, encouraging kindness over combat and delivering laughs in spades across its four chapters thanks to its witty writing, bizarre characters, and memorable worlds.

It’s not the plot that’s important in Deltarune but the bizarre range of characters and the surreal situations you find yourself in. Although at the heart of it all is a very pacifist ideology, that celebrates the power of love and the need for empathy without ever seeming mawkish or patronising. And while also paying homage to old school Japanese role-players and having a cracking soundtrack.

Deltarune is a game that can feel odd to recommend, as it’s both difficult to convey in words what makes this game feel special and… well, it still isn’t done. Its goofy and subversive narrative, innovative battle mechanics, and killer soundtrack all combine to make this one worth the purchase in its current state, even if it is unfinished and the visuals still feel a tad underwhelming. At any rate, I’d suggest you pick this one up; there’s no telling when the story will finally wrap up, but the release of the latest two chapters has done a lot to round out what once felt a little anaemic.