* Chapter 3 review

Before starting to TRULY yap I just wanted to say that its my fav chapter so far just because the SECRETS it has in the shadows, discovering them by chance and stick to them till the very end… it truly filled me with determination.

ANYWAYS, while I had already taken into account that both chapter 1 and 2 would surely be an appetizer, I didn't expect the first chapter after 4 years to be so powerful.

It's not even because of the fact of the main story (it's a marvel that raises the level of the other chapters A LOT and feels fun and fresh) but because of the secrets it hides.

But... I can't help thinking about the “ease” with which I plunged into this “alternative” route... It's not like the weird route of chapter 2, where you have to go a LOT out of the game's narrative to force it to change its course. Not only feels like an open secret that entices you to participate in it (and subsequently plays on this feeling in its construction), but it gives you multiple occasions to discover it and tries to channel your actions through curiosity to get you to enter it.

This per se is not a bad thing, and I certainly think it appeals to most of us who play these types of games or even consume this type of media in general. I can't help of establishing a connection in inspiration with Gravity Falls and its treasure hunts. On Deltarune's case I think this feeling is magnified by being created in a medium that is already interactive and plays with a meta-narrative that is embedded in the original work.

This discourse, this conversation... I'm sure has been going on since the release of the second chapter back in 2021, but it's in this chapter 3 where it has finally clicked with me beyond what I experienced in Undertale.

Be that as it may, I loved the fleeting game-genre shifts with Tenna's crazy ideas, how it criticizes nostalgia, as well as Ralsei and Susie's arc... and I can't wait to continue with chapter 4.