I think it’s worth analyzing the narrative structure of Deltarune and seeing what pops out.
This post contains spoilers for Deltarune.
You could write an entire PhD thesis on Deltarune1. It’s not even complete, but the incomplete product is already so layered and deep it’s effortless to sink your teeth into it. It’s the prime example of video games as art.
Recently, Chapter 5 out of 7 released. I spent the entire weekend replaying chapters 1 through 4, making sure to defeat every secret boss, fully immersing myself into Deltarune’s world. I’d recommend it. Some parts of Deltarune are certainly not meant to be marathoned; S-ranking the boards in Chapter 3 really grind on after six hours spent waltzing through the carpet forests of Chapter 1 and the literal cyberpunk of Chapter 2.
I’d like to comment on the structure of Deltarune briefly. This won’t be a unique opinion, but it’s the one brimming at the forefront of my mind right now. Basically everything in Deltarune is meticulously crafted in service of its themes, down to every individual pixel. So there’s no question in my mind that it wasn’t intentional.
For those unfamiliar, Deltarune’s core themes are escapism, nostalgia and control. The immersion of the protagonists into the fantasy Dark Worlds are intimately escapist; the heroes diving into twisted versions of the real world. They don’t necessarily escape their problems, despite their efforts; they end up dealing with those same problems, often by proxy. Nostalgia for simpler times comes up quite often. In Chapter 3, it’s Tenna the talking television yearning for the children to crowd around him again. In Chapter 5, it’s Asgore yearning for his life prior to his divorce. Finally, control is always right around the corner in the form of the player’s strained control over Kris.
This is reflected quite well in the narrative. In the Dark Worlds, you descend into a world of fanstasy and adventure. You’re rarely alone, often interacting quite often with your friends or whatever characters are in the dark world. Coming out of the world is like getting splashed in the face by cold water. You go from being in control to not being able to leave your hometown. Then, you’re alone, and the dread sets in. You know it’s only so long until Kris wrestles control away from you and starts playing the game themself.
As far as I know, this is one of the few examples of a Kuleshov effect in games. Where the way scenes are placed next to eachother conveys meaning in such a way that cannot be conveyed through scenes alone. The only other one I can think of is in Until Dawn, and that was much less effective.
I have a lot more to say about Deltarune, but I wanted to start with this. Even the way that the game is sequenced conveys a deep sense of theme.
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If you have written such a thesis, please email me. ↩