I wanted to state my love for chapter 4 for a very long time and today's the day. Also I'm talking about why this chapter is the best objectively, if you like any other chapter the most then I understand that. Prepare for a huge essay I'm writing for no one in particular.
- The plot. So the chapter's story picks up right from the crazy cliffhanger that was chapter 3's ending, with the player probably still being in awe from the Knight just showing up unexpectedly after years of community's theorising. Despite this chapter being heavily Susie centered, as it's her plan to go search for the bunker codes in the first place, she gets the most character development out of all three, creates a whole Dark World and of course has a very important role in the chapter's ending. Susie fans have been eating good this chapter, as honestly for the rest of the game because every chapter is Susie centered to some extent, but we're not here to talk about that. Our favourite goat boy Ralsei also becomes a bit more open to his friends as well as suffers a severe mental breakdown at the end, along with getting more suspicious than ever with his whole hiding fire magic thing. But don't you think that Kris is left out after a Kris centered chapter 3! This chapter literally reveals that Kris is indeed a F(@&$+- TRAITOR , and also tells us that they're also not doing this willingly. The egg room of this chapter is mega important for Kris' character and especially their past. So in the end everyone gets character development in chapter 4, which is already a huge bonus.
- The lore. In chapter 4 we learn about the Prophecy in full detail, the fact that it controls everything and we get quite a lot of content to predict next chapters and theorise off of it, in the form if the glass panels (more about them later). This is probably one of the most significant (if not the most significant) loredrops in the game, as it's basically a vague presenting of how the rest of the game's story will play out. We also get introduced to the concept of Dustners in the form of the Old Man (more on him later as well), and we also learn more about Titans and how they function, as you know, we literally battle one. Anyway, I think no one will disagree that this chapter is the most lore-heavy out of all in the game, and basically lore-wise this chapter (and a few moments from other chapters) is the whole game, and that's another boost for its reputation.
- The characters. Aside from regular enemies, the important characters that we get this chapted are the Old Man Gerson, Jackenstien and the three Mike impersonators. Old Man literally carries the chapter, as he is the undeniable GOAT
and one of the best written characters in the game. Dude gets resurrected as a darkner, shows up, says "I'm old!", ragebaits one of the main characters into becoming more confident in herself, battles us for a shadow crystal with the green SOUL mode, disappears for the rest of the chapter, comes back and almost obliterates a Titan, fully disappears, doesn't elaborate. Truly a character of all time. Jackenstien is also a pretty loveable guy, and gave us a brand new meme in the from of YOUR TAKING TOO LONG. The Mikes are also here just for comedic relief and a jab at community, its theorising and Woody Theory. And they still manage to be funny. The regular enemies are also designed very well and in more detail in contrast to the more basic-looking chapter 3 enemies. My personal favourites are the Organikks. I like these ignorant loredropping "philosophers". - The locations. I swear to God the Sanctuaries are the best designed locations in Deltarune, for now rivaled only by chapter 5's cliffs and by them only. Like I don't even know where to start describing them. I'm not a religious person at all but these three gigachads made me appreciate religious architecture. Like they feel so huge, grandiose and unreal, like something not from this world (well, I guess that's what Toby was going for). A gigantic labyrinth of halls, shelves, staircases and windows. They honestly really remind me of Hogwarts, especially of its moving stairs. I'm not surprised if Toby took inspiration from it when designing these. When I explored the first one for the first time, I felt like a tiny part of something way bigger than me, way bigger than the world. And that's only the first one! The second Sanctuary is as amazing and beautiful as the first one is. I'm absolutely in love with how its whole theme is a warped and twisted version of the first one, "the other side of your mind", which is a very interesting name and concept for something btw, the cacophony, the antithesis, the chaos. How the piano moves itself instead of moving other stuff, how we walk on bookshelves and on the ceiling, how the darkners of both sanctuaries have switched places, how the fountain room is mirrored, EVERYTHING IS SO. GODDAMN. AMAZING IN HERE. And the Third Sanctuary combines the best of both worlds! At the beginning IMAGE_DEPTHS just spills in the foreground, creating a wery wonderful and otherworldly atmosphere, which is backed up by the song The Third Sanctuary, which I'll touch on in a minute, as everything starts going nuts while still remaining strangely organised. And just the general design of them all is so great!
- The music. Overall this chapter's OST is by far the best out of all chapters, and that's not up for debate. We have bangers like Dark Sanctuary, A DARK ZONE, Hammer of Justice, SPAWN and GUARDIAN, which are already amazing songs by themselves. But my favorurite by far are the Second and Thrid Sanctuary. Not only are they probably the most mathematically complex tracks Toby has written, both of them are ABSOULTE bangers as well. Atmospheric tracks such as Old Wooden Rafters, ATRUIM, 12am and 13am are really great but oddly rellaxing as well. Overall, I love this chapter's songs more than from any other.
- The humor. Being the only actually serious chapter, this doesn't deliver as many jokes as the other ones do, but that's fine, given the circumstances. The humor here is provided mostly by Jack and the Cuptains, and you can't really call the latter "humor" but maybe someone finds them funny idk.
So these are the reasons why Chapter 4 is the best in the game in almost every aspect. I've completed it like 4 separate times and still am in awe every time I enter the first staircase hall and Dark Sanctuary starts playing. After playing through it for the first time and knowing nothing about the game back then it truly felt like magic, especially to the caveman who knew and played almost no vieogames, aka me. This chapter is just something else bro. I love love LOVE it soooooo much. The only chapter that can overshadow 4 is maybe the ending aka 7, but I'm holding out big hopes for 6, because if it's a depressing dreamcore winter wonderland, then it may become my second favourite.
Well, that's all, folks! Thanks for reading me yap.
