This review contains spoilers
I am going to try to collect my thought in some form of essay, but for the time being, I think Deltarune suffers because it tries to operate on three very different layers at the same time: one comes from the mechanics, another from the narrative and the last one from the metanarrative of it all.
The first layer tries to deepen the critique that Undertale already exposed by suggesting a combat system in which you wouldn't need to use the Fight command anywhere by making the Action as diverse and varied as possible. This means that, for all purposes, Actions now are akin to the decisions you make in a visual novel or a graphic adventure, which is fine, but makes framing these encounters as "fights" weirder and weirder. If we take into account that some of the Actions are understood by the narrative as acts of violence as well, then what purpose does setting this distinction make anymore? And considering that now there's a collectable element to sparing enemies, that makes the whole affair just another mechanical chore that hast lost all the bite it purported to have.
The second layer is probably the strongest, because it tries to convey an emotional truth through dialogue and characters that feel as charming and relatable as they were in Undertale. I said this before, but if I keep playing these titles is for the characters. But that poses an important problem, which is that basically I'm not allowed to know about some of these characters' more interesting traits if it's not by straining them out of the "good" path, which is still as rigid as before. Instead of creating a tantalizing moment in which I'm wondering whether to explore some part of Noelle's past or the other, I have to choose between a pre set "pacifist" route that morally obligues me to not knowing these characters unless I deliberately bring harm unto them.
Which brings us to the third and last layer, the metanarrative. Just like with Undertale, Deltarune tries to make a point about choosing to be a bad person in video games and suffering the consequences, and unlike the first chapter, it reaffirms the consequences of my actions and encourages me to suck them up. But I mus ask, what is the point of it now? Do I really need to be taught that there are better ways to play? In that case, why develop a whole system around a specific ability (the Ice Magic of Noelle) and its outcome? Just for the sake of it? Isn't that diametrically opposed to what the game purports to be about?
I think Deltarune is confused about which route to take, and in trying to do everything at the same time, suffers for it. I know why I'm playing it, but I'm bothered that it thinks that I'm doing it for the wrong reasons.
The first layer tries to deepen the critique that Undertale already exposed by suggesting a combat system in which you wouldn't need to use the Fight command anywhere by making the Action as diverse and varied as possible. This means that, for all purposes, Actions now are akin to the decisions you make in a visual novel or a graphic adventure, which is fine, but makes framing these encounters as "fights" weirder and weirder. If we take into account that some of the Actions are understood by the narrative as acts of violence as well, then what purpose does setting this distinction make anymore? And considering that now there's a collectable element to sparing enemies, that makes the whole affair just another mechanical chore that hast lost all the bite it purported to have.
The second layer is probably the strongest, because it tries to convey an emotional truth through dialogue and characters that feel as charming and relatable as they were in Undertale. I said this before, but if I keep playing these titles is for the characters. But that poses an important problem, which is that basically I'm not allowed to know about some of these characters' more interesting traits if it's not by straining them out of the "good" path, which is still as rigid as before. Instead of creating a tantalizing moment in which I'm wondering whether to explore some part of Noelle's past or the other, I have to choose between a pre set "pacifist" route that morally obligues me to not knowing these characters unless I deliberately bring harm unto them.
Which brings us to the third and last layer, the metanarrative. Just like with Undertale, Deltarune tries to make a point about choosing to be a bad person in video games and suffering the consequences, and unlike the first chapter, it reaffirms the consequences of my actions and encourages me to suck them up. But I mus ask, what is the point of it now? Do I really need to be taught that there are better ways to play? In that case, why develop a whole system around a specific ability (the Ice Magic of Noelle) and its outcome? Just for the sake of it? Isn't that diametrically opposed to what the game purports to be about?
I think Deltarune is confused about which route to take, and in trying to do everything at the same time, suffers for it. I know why I'm playing it, but I'm bothered that it thinks that I'm doing it for the wrong reasons.