Toby Fox’s Summer 2024 progress report on Deltarune revealed several exciting updates about the upcoming Chapters 3 and 4. Though we haven’t gotten a solid release date yet, development seems to be moving along steadily! And since Chapter 1 was released back in October 2018 (almost 6 years ago), it’s understandable if you’ve forgotten some of the plot details. So to refresh your memory, let’s dive back into the world of Deltarune Chapter 1: The Beginning!

Deltarune Chapter 1 Story Recap

Deltarune opens with a character creator and the prompt – “Make your own vessel.” You do so, but the same voice deletes your character and says, “No one can choose who they are in this world.” The player is given control of Kris, a human teenager of few words. As the player explores the town, they’ll notice a lot of familiar faces from Undertale.

Despite sharing the same name and personality, many characters live very different lives compared to their Undertale counterparts. For example, Asgore is your adoptive father and Alphys your teacher. Only Sans, a newbie in town, seems to acknowledge this.

At school, Kris is sent to keep an eye on their delinquent classmate, Susie, who is asked to fetch some chalk from down the hall. But when they enter the supply closet, they find themselves transported to a Dark World – a mysterious realm inhabited by Darkners.

The Dark World

Kris and Susie meet Ralsei – the kindest Dark Prince who has been exiled from his castle. Despite Susie’s protest and Kris’ silence, Ralsei is convinced that the three of them – a Monster, a Human, and a Darkner – are the destined heroes in the legend of Delta Rune. They must close the Dark Fountains that have disturbed the balance between light and dark.

The party makes their way to the Card Kingdom, where a Dark Fountain has appeared and the evil King has taken over. On the way, Ralsei teaches Kris and Susie how to SPARE foes by ACTing instead of hurting them, though it does not seem that creatures cannot actually die in the Dark World.

Susie, with a short temper, dislikes this approach. Meanwhile, King’s mischievous son, Lancer, shows up to cause trouble for Kris and his party with his misguided schemes. Susie, fed up with being bossed around, abandons Kris and Ralsei to join up with Lancer. However, Lancer’s villainy turns out to be more lighthearted pranks. Before she knows it, Susie is having a blast, and the budding friendship with Lancer begins to soften her. Eventually, after a battle that ends in compliments, she reluctantly the party once again. Lancer follows suit.

The Castle

Afraid of his father and what he may do to his new friends, Lancer locks them in King’s dungeon for safekeeping. Susie orchestrates a jailbreak, but not before confronting Lancer for his betrayal. Here we see Susie really turn a corner, as she decides to forgive him. She promises him that she won’t kill King and Lancer goes ahead to try to reason with him.

The party confronts King, and he reveals that he is a devoted follower of THE KNIGHT, a mysterious character who will bring about the Roaring and take over the Light Worlds. After continuously avoiding to fight, King will feign defeat due to exhaustion to get one last cheap shot in. Luckily, Susie remembered the PACIFY spell and subdues him. Assuming the character has only pacified enemies up to this point, Lancer will lead the Darkner people in an effort to overthrow and imprison King, which they do successfully.

Deltarune Chapter 1 Ending

With King defeated, the gang seals the fountain. Kris and Susie wake in an empty classroom – back to their own reality. Noting some familiar objects and toys seen in the Dark World, it is suggested that the Dark Worlds are parallel to their own.

In the chapter’s final moments, Kris rips out their SOUL and throws it in a birdcage. Based on how banged up the cage is, it seems to be something they’ve done before. Before the screen fades to black, Kris wields a knife and their eye flashes red.