Undertale and Deltrarune are still smash hits in 2022

Even in 2022, Undertale and its spiritual sequel Deltarune have some of the most dedicated fan bases of any video game series.

Toby Fox went from an underground developer to one of the biggest names in modern gaming. Undertale quickly became a major hit when it was released in 2015, earning hundreds of thousands of adoring fans and revolutionizing the indie gaming world.

The somewhat-sequel Deltrarune pushed things even further with wonderful new characters and hotly-anticipated episodic releases. If you want to dive into the world of Undertale in 2022, here is where to start!

What kind of game is Undertale?

Undertale is a role-playing game about befriending or defeating monsters in order to escape an underground world filled with monsters. The core gameplay loop involves discovering a new area, solving puzzles, and interacting with the diverse cast of characters.

The series’ claim to fame is its extremely different playthroughs that rely on certain actions from the player. For this reason, it’s recommended that anyone starting Undertale in 2022 should be prepared to go through multiple playthroughs of the game.

The combat mechanics in Undertale and Deltarune tie into the story’s theme of friendship and violence. As in most RPGs, it’s possible to just hit the opponents until their health drops to zero. No matter what the player chooses, they must still defend against attacks by controlling a small heart in a small playing field.

Enemy attacks are represented by oncoming obstacles, which the player must manually dodge to avoid damage. The series’ iconic boss fights often put unique twists on this simple, but deep mechanic.

Is Deltarune basically Undertale 2?

While not an explicit sequel, the thematic and mechanical similarities between the two games makes Deltarune an effective sequel to Undertale.

The biggest connections between the two games are their emphasis on either helping or hurting enemies. In both titles, players can choose to fight foes directly or talk to and ultimately spare them. They also feature a human trapped in a world of monsters as the star protagonist.

In the ending of Deltarune Chapter 1, several Undertale characters appear in slightly altered forms including Papyrus, Toriel, and Asgore. If you haven’t noticed, the pseudo-sequel’s title is an anagram for Undertale. The exact meaning of the name still isn’t clear in 2022, but future Undertale and Deltarune media could clarify things.

As for differences, the most notable one is the presence of multiple playable characters in Deltarune. Undertale players only get direct control over main character Frisk. In Deltarune Chapter 1, players take control of Kris, Susie, and Ralsei all at the same time. Battles play out a little more similarly to a traditional RPG but the defensive minigame is still present.

The story for both games are entirely separate, but future installments could reveal further connections between Undertale and Deltarune.

When will Deltarune Chapter 3 come out in 2022?

We don’t know the exact release date of Deltarune Chapter 3, but previous release schedules imply it will come out sometime in 2024. 

The best way to estimate the release date for Deltarune Chapter 3 is to look at the previous release schedule. The debut game was released in October of 2018. Deltarune Chapter 2 came out on September 17, 2021. That means that there’s around a three-year development cycle for games in the Deltarune series. The gap between Undertale and Deltarune Chapter 1 also follows that rough timeline.

There are currently two chapters of Deltarune available for download.

Mysterious developer Toby Fox also prefers to announce games just days or hours before they become available. Fox has also stated that he intends to release Deltarune Chapters 3, 4, and 5 at the same time as a paid release. He does not reveal advanced details or run public beta tests.

Meanwhile, giving Undertale and the first Deltarune games a try in 2022 is a great way to pass the time.