So! I finally finished chapter 4.
I honestly thought there couldn't be a better-polished indie game than Stardew Valley.
Turns out, I was wrong by a long shot.
Introduction
I genuinely started crying when I got sent back to the file select after watching the credits. That new song... It's amazing. It really embodies the fact that we are at the halfway point, yet it feels like we just beat it. We literally just prevented the worst case scenario from starting to play out. And we're only halfway there.
...and even then, it feels like we just started. It feels like we have so much ahead of us, so much to do, so much to see, so much to discover, so many secrets to find, to hide, to unveil, to make...
...Toby, this really is your dream, isn't it?
Creating a game with some of the best emotion in any work of fiction wasn't enough.
You want to make something that's the best in every aspect...
And you've succeeded, without even having a complete game.
...
To 2026, folks.
To 2026.
Chapter 3
So.
Here we are.
Finally, we get to see this dark world Kris created.
The start of the chapter, in the cliffs-like area, is great. Ralsei showing up and explaining how dark worlds work, then being cut off right before revealing what he is is just such a big troll on Toby's part. And then, Tenna just comes in with his goofy ahh VHS tape. I literally said "Absolute cinema" a good 10 times through that little hallway before the board.
Some quotes from me:
"ROUXLS WTF ARE YOU DOING HERE"
(in reference to the weather) "YOOOOO THEY SAID THE THING"
(In reference to Pippins) "Shouldn't you, like, not be here? Or be a statue or something?"
(In reference to tenna) "tf are you doing bro"
"Bro stop dancing"
"BRO"
"WHAT IS THIS HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA"
The boards are... creative. I didn't actually like them, though. They were a bit tedious, and annoying to get good ranks on. I don't quite have much to say about them.
The bit where they were actual puzzle solutions is very fun. I liked them.
The "Doom board," as the OST refers to it, was very clever. It took me a couple "reruns" to get that saying "I love TV" wasn't enough.
TV World is very fitting and well made. Bravo to everyone who worked on it.
Going back to the green room was... sad. Ramb being stone and "Glowing Snow" playing throughout was more emotional than I'd like to give it credit for.
The Tenna fight is very fun and goofy. Paired with the music, it really feels like someone panicking and trying their darndest to save face. It was so chaotic, and the fact that whenever I got to the final attack, the trumpet section would start magically playing, was hilarious.
I already knew what I was in for when I got past Tenna. I had been spoiled beforehand. But I wasn't expecting it to be like this.
"It can't be that hard," I foolishly thought. "I'm good at Jevil and Spamton," I thought. "This couldn't be much harder than them," I thought.
How wrong I was.
Against the Knight, I didn't even get to hear the entirety of Black Knife. That is what really told me what I was in for. It is what made me realize that Toby wasn't going to pander to anyone when making this game. It would be brutal, harder than anything he had made before.
And he's a genius for it.
When the battle was over and Undyne showed up, got kidnapped, and taken to the shelter, I knew.
This is likely going to be the best story ever created.
Chapter 4
Starting off at home, I immediately looked for one of the save points Toby mentioned. I think it was implemented well.
I was still a little confused after seeing the end of Chapter 3. What was to happen now...?
I won't cover much about the light world, but the Soul section in the vents was very interesting. I think I actually clipped out of the vents in the main room at some point.
Entering the church dark world, I was immediately alarmed by how Ralsei was acting. Very strange. But it kinda disappeared when "Dark Sanctuary" started playing. Amazing track. Probably my third favorite song in the OST overall now.
Meeting the old man was... an experience. He's old! And hilarious. Incredibly goofy for a chapter I knew was going to be incredibly dark.
Him teaching Susie slowly was also great, culminating in his battle which I somehow literally just stumbled upon randomly. I'm not kidding.
The Jackenstien battle was hilarious, and I will forever be memeing on it. "YOUR LONG" is hilarious.
Sealing the fountain and Susie re-opening it to find Gerson again was incredibly emotional. She didn't just want the code — she wanted to see him again.
The battle against the statue was tougher for me than I thought it would be. Keeping up with the constant "left, left, up, left, right, up, up, up, up, up, left, up, right" was very tense.
Sealing the Second Sanctuary and entering the third one was even tenser. The feeling of approaching the end with almost no guidance...
Reaching the Knight again was scary. When it started laughing, I knew exactly what was going to happen.
I just wasn't prepared for it.
The Titan, its hand emerging from the tower, its eyes looking down on us, all while we climb the crumbling tower... it was intense.
And then, it actually happened.
The fun gang was no longer fun...
...and facing the Titan itself.
I was shocked by how... easy it was! Truly! If it was this easy to seal after taking down its defenses with Gerson, then perhaps...
But we forget.
This was a baby.
...the end was hilarious, though. Susie literally used Kris as a basketball and DUNKED ON A LITERAL GOD.
HOW.
And after that, the [Free sample]ing jitterbug scene.
Toby "Radiation" Fox.
What in the world are you planning?
Final thoughts
Bravo, Toby.
Bravo, Deltarune team.
I thought nothing could top chapter 2 in terms of story, music, and graphics.
Luckily, I was wrong.
Thank you,
MY DELTARUNE.
