Image credit: Em Stonham for Kyusai/tobyfox
Out of all the RPGs I’ve dipped into over the past decade, Deltarune is one of the few that’s stuck with me for years. Just like its predecessor, Undertale, Deltarune is both whimsical and dark, with a myriad of vibrant characters and tricky boss battles to get lost in.
Ahead of the Chapter 6 release in 2027, I’ve pulled together a detailed Deltarune Chapter tier list, going over every entry in the series so far and looking at its story, combat, and key mechanics. This tier list will be spoiler-free, as I’ll only be alluding to big story beats or boss fights.
Every Deltarune Chapter ranked
Based on my time with Deltarune, Chapter 2: A Cyber’s World is the best out of the bunch, and Chapter 5: Festival Day takes the last position.
None of the Chapters are bad by any means, though. Every Chapter is a unique, meticulously-crafted experience, and if there are any that you haven’t played through yet, I’d urge you to finish up the roster before Chapter 6 hits in 2027.
A tier Deltarune Chapters
Chapter 2
Out of the quintet of Chapters that’ve been released so far, A Cyber’s World stands out as the most memorable.
As the name suggests, the Dark World in Chapter 2 is futuristic in style, with the main location, Cyber City, being a delight to explore. It’s full of unique character interactions and little lore snippets, with a smattering of well-designed, cyberpunk enemies, too.
Queen stands out as one of the highlights of Chapter 2 for me. She’s the personification of a laptop from the Light World – internet as a character, if you will – and her writing is ridiculously funny. She’s one of the main characters of the Chapter, but pops up later in the story, too.
Chapter 2’s visuals, story, and combat are all exceptional, and on top of this, it has an entirely parallel storyline to follow alongside the main, known as the Weird Route or the Snowgrave Route. It’s upsetting and intense, which contrasts perfectly with the generally hopeful yet dark tone of Deltarune.
When trying to figure out the Prophecy and predict what’ll happen in the next Chapters, A Cyber’s World stands out as one of the most important to chew on.
Chapter 3: Late Night
Putting Chapter 3 above Chapter 4 – or in A Tier at all – may cause a few eyerolls, but hear me out.
I’m convinced that TV World is one of the best-crafted sections of Deltarune, with a fascinating visual scheme that ties back to Kris’s childhood, a perfect balance between goofiness and serious storytelling, and a prime example of a boss battle being used to further the game’s overarching narrative.
One of the main selling points of Chapter 3: Late Night for me is the wide variety of secrets and lore threads woven into the Dark World. As a lore sicko and completionist, playing through this Chapter was an absolute joy; it felt like one of the most fulfilling areas of Deltarune yet.
The final boss battle of Late Night felt equal parts silly and challenging, incorporating the mini-games that’d played a starring role in the earlier chapter.
While the end lore segment does throw a few confusing questions into the mix – I can understand why folks wouldn’t be as keen on Chapter 3 because of this, frankly – Late Night stands out as one of the best entries.
Chapter 4: Prophecy
If you’d told me back in the first stages of Deltarune that there’d be a Chapter with heavy religious theming, I’m not sure I would’ve believed you – but lo and behold, Chapter 4 is exactly that.
Taking the Fun Gang straight out of TV World and almost directly into church, the contrast between this Chapter and the previous is striking.
Instead of cooking mini-games and Zelda-inspired segments, this Chapter feels heavier, both in tone and lore, with Susie and Kris heading to Noelle’s house to try and find a way inside the ominous Shelter.
There’s a heart-wrenching scene here with the SOUL, which cements the relationship between the player and Kris – we appear to, frankly, annoy the hell out of them – and it adds a new layer of complexity to the game’s story.
With a visually striking Dark World, a wickedly fun boss battle, and plenty of interesting lore snippets tucked away in various, eggy secrets, Chapter 4: The Prophecy is one of Deltarune’s better Chapters, particularly as it allows for a deeper look at the Prophecy that’s hanging over the protagonist’s head.
B tier Deltarune Chapters
Chapter 1: The Beginning
It feels a little strange putting the Chapter that started it all anywhere but A Tier, but Chapter 1: The Beginning is simply outshone by the segments that’ve come after it.
Lorewise, The Beginning is fascinating, if a little more jumbled than later entries. The introduction with the Vessel is immediately haunting and sets the tone for the murky underbelly of Deltarune’s world.
The quality of a Chapter’s Dark World is always a sticking point for me, and while Castle Town and the Castle itself are iconic, they’re arguably a lot flatter than subsequent Dark Worlds. The Great Board is cool, the Bake Sale is cute, but there aren’t many overwhelmingly entrancing elements.
As much as I am a “Jevil is the Roaring Knight” believer – kidding, sort of – I must be frank and say that the boss fights in this Chapter aren’t the best in the game. The Jevil secret boss fight is awesome, but the King battle isn’t hugely memorable. Again, it’s not bad; there are just better examples.
Oddly, I wouldn’t change Chapter 1, despite my dunking on it a little here. I can still remember playing it for the first time and absolutely falling in love with it; it’s a testament to the series that the nostalgia surrounding this Chapter doesn’t immediately make it outshine its predecessors.
C tier Deltarune Chapters
Chapter 5: Festival Day
There are interesting lore snippets, character interactions, and some seriously beautiful artistic choices in Chapter 5, but it feels underwhelming when contrasted with some of the more exciting moments in previous entries.
The core of Chapter 5 centers around Asgore and the concept of pure escapism versus having to face reality, which, at face value, is fascinating, and ties back into Deltarune’s larger themes.
There are some emotional story beats and nods to Undertale in Festival Day, along with a few subtle lore drops and an absolutely devastating Weird Route, but it’s largely a mechanics-focused Chapter. This is where it lost me.
Chapter 5 spends an inordinate amount of time on platforming, transforming the regular exploration method into a 2D platforming experience and revamping how core mechanics work, like the process of Acting.
At first, platforming felt like an exciting twist when I encountered it first, but I found it outstayed its welcome somewhat. I’m a completionist – Deltarune is great for this – and I ended up missing the standard exploration style while playing through the Chapter.
Chapter 5 does have a fun and admittedly tricky final boss, an interesting secret boss, and a unique anti-hero of sorts, but standing up against its predecessors, it’s not one of the stronger offerings in the Deltarune line-up.
That said, I’m conscious that my opinion may change completely when we get to see how Chapter 5 transitions into Chapter 6 in 2027. Going from Chapter 2 to Chapter 3 made me enjoy the latter a lot more than I would’ve done if I played them with a big gap in between.
For now, though, I’ll be crossing my fingers for Chapter 6’s launch coming around as quickly as possible so we can dig further into the lore and see more of Deltarune’s incredible world. A full release date hasn’t been confirmed yet, but I’ll be sure to update you here if one is announced.
FAQs
The initial Deltarune release date was October 31, 2018. It was when Chapter 1 was released, and each successive chapter has arrived around a year or two later.
At the time of writing, there are five Chapters in Deltarune. The sixth Chapter will come out in 2027.
As of Chapter 5, the identity of the Roaring Knight is not set in stone. Popular fan theories include Dess (December Holiday), Carol, or Kris; personally, I’m hoping it’s Jevil.
No, you do not have to play Undertale before playing Deltarune. Both are enjoyable as standalone games. However, I’d still encourage you to play Undertale before playing Deltarune to get a better appreciation for the world’s lore.
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