本帖文是对以下视频观点的一些整理与翻译,可以在评论区互动——
——结合以下理论或观感更好；
前言：我们可以让它成为史诗，但我们迟疑了
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《Deltarune》是我玩过的最有趣、最连贯的游戏之一。即使Undertale已经算是 2010 年代最多產、最具文化意義的獨立遊戲之一，Deltarune的定位并非《Undertale》的传统续作，而就像Steam界面所定位的那样、更偏向是个平行于原作的故事。
Deltarune is easily among the most interesting and consistently entertaining games I've ever played. Rather than being a traditional sequel to Undertale, one of the most prolific and culturally significant indie releases of the 2010s, Deltarune is instead described as the parallel story to Undertale by its store page.
它的敘事結構要複雜得多，并试图塑造一个由平行劇情線交匯融合背景下構成的单线故事，並像前作一樣，它在未被发售的第一二章Demo时期就迅速吸引了一批忠實粉絲。可事实上 Deltarune 后来是以章節形式分批發布，遊戲內容將被清楚地劃分成多個獨立的章節，每個章節都包含在一個完整的遊戲框架內。
It has a far more complex narrative when compared to Undertale, with many parallel plot lines converging into a fascinating story that has immediately gained a die hard following. just like its predecessor. Of course, this is all without the game really being released yet. Deltarune is being released episodically with the game being split up into cleanly segmented chapters released under the umbrella of a single game.
我是自從第二章發布以來、幾乎每逢章節更新都會第一時間體驗的入坑玩家。雖然之后的一章都同樣精彩，品質始終的高水準，让我觉得这絕對值得花時間遊玩、但最近第五章的發布终于使我心中卻滋生出對這款遊戲未來的擔憂。 Ever since the release of its second chapter, I've been playing every chapter upon its release as soon as I could manage. And although each chapter has been similarly enjoyable, of a consistently high quality, and easily worth my time to play through, there's been a worry building up in my mind about this game's future that was greatly accelerated by the most recent release of chapter 5.
得益于于一些从第三、四章Deltarune正式上架销售以来就开始发酵、直到现在才彻底衍生为主要问题的一些次要痛点的引爆，第五章是我目前最不喜欢的一章。
Chapter 5 is definitely my least favorite Deltarune chapter yet, and that comes down to a few smaller nitpicks alongside one major issue that's been boiling up since the release of chapter 3 and 4, but which hasn't fully manifested until now.
這一章的節奏即使不说它很奇怪，也有些十分反常。花之城堡（Flower Castle）的两个半场都让人感觉拖沓。Flowery是目前为止最无趣、最烦人的反派，大部分配角也简直就跟厕所旁边丢了魂的苍蝇一样，同样招人烦地在旁边转悠。
This chapter's pacing is uncharacteristically odd in places, especially in Flower Castle, which feels like it drags across both halves. Flowery is easily the least interesting and most annoying antagonist of all the chapters so far, and most of the supporting cast is kind of annoying as well, and that feels both intentional and unintentional simultaneously.
从RPG忽然地转向横向卷轴平台跳跃，类似于纸片马里奥(PAPER MARIO)那样的机制转换初看很巧妙，视觉设计上也做得很好，但我發現实操起来实在有點遲鈍，反應不夠靈敏，這种区分于蔚蓝那样忽然转型特有的粗糙、未经打磨感讓它感覺比上一章的同類玩法差遠了。而更别提这一章的隐藏Boss，无论从剧情地位、视觉设计，还是战斗体验来说，简直是目前最乏味的。
The platformer gimmick is neat at first and very well executed visually, but I found the controls a bit sluggish and unresponsive, which made it feel a lot worse than the previous chapter's gimmicks. This chapter's secret boss is easily the least interesting out of all the chapters so far.
無論是劇情安排、視覺設計或戰鬥玩法，都诱发了一系列深层问题的激化。即使排除掉所有都比较主观的毛病指认，但我真正挥之不去，不得不来深挖一品的一个大问题在于、第五章里，什么都没有真正意义上的发生过（Nothing happens）。Whether that be in terms of their place in the story, their visual design, or the fight's gameplay. But although all those issues are fairly subjective, the big problem I find with chapter 5 that I would like to dig into and substantiate here is that nothing happens.
是，Susie和Noelle的恋情继续了，Asgore被骑士抓去，又找到了一个新密码。但这些无论如何、都只能算作一系列些稀疏事件的发生。 Now, obviously, plot events do happen in chapter 5. Susan Noel's romance storyline continues as Gore gets kidnapped by the knight, and another code for the shelter is revealed, but I'm speaking about one specific part of the game when I say nothing happens.
《Deltarune》被刻意设计成在相當複雜条件下、只能在配角互动中自然产生的弱支線辅佐的劇情风格。其核心本来似乎聚焦于Kris和玩家之间的关系——毕竟玩家并不是真的在直接控制Kris，而是控制那个灵魂——Kris会在关键时刻把灵魂挖出来反抗。这种拉扯在两章和三章的结尾体现得淋漓尽致——是，在第二章結尾，克里斯札破了托莉爾的汽車輪胎，在屋內製造了一個黑暗噴泉，並敞開房門，誘使安黛因進入黑暗世界。在第三章結尾，安黛因被騎士帶去了避難所。克里斯顯然有其特定的動機，我們目前掌握的資訊並不完整，無法完全確定，但這些動機似乎更加險惡，並且很可能與玩家的利益相反。我们难以想像一个更好的词来给这个关系下一个更加良性的定义。
Deltarune has a fairly complex web of subplots and side characters, but at its core, the plot revolves around Kris and their relationship with the player. The player doesn't actually control Kris, at least not directly. Instead, the player is in control of the soul, and Kris is capable of rejecting this control at key moments by ripping the soul from their body. There's a clear tension between these two competing interests, with the best example being the endings of chapters 2 and three. ——At the end of chapter 2, Kris slashes the tires of Toriel's car, creates a dark fountain inside the house, and leaves the door to the house open in order to trick Undyne into entering the dark world. as she's then taken away to the shelter by the knight at the end of chapter 3. Kris clearly has specific motivations that can't be fully determined with the incomplete information we have now, but they appear to be more sinister and likely at odds with the players.
是，我们可以指认Deltarune遵循一种由二元对立为核心来引导冲突与剧情发生的经典且有效的"独游公式"：在阳光积极的表象下，潜藏着深层的黑暗。这种反差让揭露真相的时刻更有冲击力。Deltarune follows a formula that's definitely not new and narrative-driven indie games, but it's a very effective one that is elevated here by intensely purposeful presentation and writing. ——This formula is the juxtaposition between the wholesome upbeat exterior and the darkness that lurks at the center of the narrative. That juxtaposition strengthens the punch of those moments where you get to peak behind the curtain at the darkness. And it makes for a powerful tool for retaining audience attention through dropping these breadcrumbs leading towards the story's climax, which is important in a game being released in this episodic format. ——That darkness isn't just Kris's sinister motivations. It's also things like the significance of death and why that piece of the plot is being hidden away from view as well as the night and why specific characters are being taken to the shelter. This all results in a story that is very engaging through those mysteries that are allowed to go unsolved.——
比如第一章，Susie完成了完整的角色弧光；第二章，Noelle和Birdley的弧光以及Suselle的萌芽都被讲好了——前两章明明做得很好，它们既留下了悬念，又完成了各自的单元剧叙事。然而，这个单元剧公式在后续章节被忽视了。 第三章因为和第四章的绑定发售使它的悬念感被击穿，第四章则层层叠加了太多新谜团（比如电话、Dess的细节），最后更是以一个Susie毁掉预言碎片这个玩家在场性根本不清晰引起的一个极其凶残叙事漏洞来引起事件的悬念来结尾，这导致我对于第四章的悬念感到的“烦扰”远大于第一二章。
——But it also results in very frustrating cliffhers that leave the story feeling incomplete. I don't hate these cliffhers in isolation, but they become more frustrating when the chapters don't tell their own satisfying self-contained stories.
For instance, chapter 1 ends with the first glimpse at the tension between Kris and the player and the first glimpse at their darker side, but the story told within the dark world is self-contained and legitimately satisfying. Susie goes through a complete character arc, learning to open up to her new friends and saving the world in the process, and the player is brought along for the ride to make it all happen. The same goes for chapter 2, which contains an even more serious cliffhanger ending that's backed up by the character arcs of Noel and Birdley and the first glimpses of the romance between Suzie and Noel. Unfortunately, I found that this conventional wisdom when making episodic content has been neglected in the later chapters. Chapter 3's lack of character development is more forgivable since the peaks behind the curtain through the backstage games and the night's reveal are quite significant, and the chapter was also bundled with chapter 4. So, the ending isn't really a cliffhanger in that sense. Chapter 4, however, continues to layer on top of existing mysteries, including the voice on the phone that speaks to Kris and more info about death through the sequence in Noel's house, as well as the brutal cliffhanger of Susie destroying the final piece of the prophecy before the player can read it. The self-contained story in chapter 4 in terms of Ralsei's character arc and the shifting relationships of the three main characters makes for interesting character development, but the sheer amount of new mysteries established and left hanging in chapter 4 left me feeling much more annoyed by the final cliffhanger than I was in chapter 1 and two.
到了第五章，这个问题彻底恶化。不仅在延续主线谜团上毫无进展，更糟糕的是，本单元内建立的叙事装置，在结尾时全部“熄火”了。Rousece在故事早期就被設定為對Flowy異常沮喪，遊戲透過各種明顯刻意的立繪變化來巧妙地傳達這一點。然而到了結尾，他卻莫名其妙地開始喜歡Flowy，至少到了想要拯救Flowy的地步。同样Ralsei在本章初期展现了他那从未用过的“火魔法”，游戏专门用一个过场动画和对话去强调它，结果这样的素材只用了一次、之后就一笔带过了。相比于第四章的预言同Gerson提到的“嫉妒之火焚毁花园”的段落，没有什么"Ralsei的火魔法会在第五章爆发并烧毁Flowery的花园"，什么都没有发生。 倒是第二章节的机甲战与早先对骑士的零星暗示，都铺垫得极好且最终得到了某种反馈。第五章则像这根“未点燃的火柴”，在故事中格外扎眼。
But chapter 5 is where this issue grew from an annoyance into a true worry for the future of Deltarun's story. It's not just that the self-contained story takes a backseat to setting up lore mysteries. It's that narrative devices are established in the leadup to an ending that fizzles into nothing. Rousece is established early on as being uncharacteristically frustrated by Flowy with various clearly purposeful sprite changes being made to communicate this subtly. Though by the end he seemingly comes to like Flowy for little discernable reason, at least enough to try to save him from his fate. But more importantly, what was the point of the reveal of Rousei's fire magic? He uses it once in the entire chapter and it's never mentioned again. Why? When a story sets something up like this, going so far as to draw attention to it with its own dedicated cutscene and dialogue, if that setup is never given a satisfying payoff, that makes the story feel incomplete and ultimately unsatisfying. To me, it seemed like the clear place the story was leading to was Rousece unleashing his fire magic upon Flowy after becoming enraged by him and that leading to whatever serious consequences would result. While this isn't mentioned directly in the prophecy panes in chapter 4, Gerson mentions that chapter 5 of the in universe Lord of the Hammer series involves a vast garden charred in an inferno of jealousy, which seemed to be foreshadowing this outcome in chapter 5 in conjunction with the reveal of Rouse's fire magic, but then nothing happens. Compared to how well set up and advanced things like the final mech battle in chapter 2, or all the fleeting mentions of the knight in chapters 1 and two are, chapter 5 sticks out like a sore thumb among an otherwise satisfying set of stories released up to this point. Instead, these clearly purposeful setups feel entirely pointless by the end of the chapter, and the story's cohesion suffers as a result. The chapter's ending almost entirely returns the story to the previously established status quo. The consequences of Asgore's kidnapping aren't felt or explored at all, and nothing actually happens. It's not just that there are no big plot revelations in chapter 5. It's that what was set up within the confines of this chapter is not utilized in a narratively satisfying way. And for now, that just seems like bad writing. The darkness brewing in the background of Deltaroon's story is also not really explored in chapter 5, at least when compared to previous chapters. We don't get to see a new sight of Kris and their true motivations as we already know that they take the player's control away to create new fountains and that they don't want Suzie or the player to learn the full shelter code. There is a bit of characterization for Asgore and his obsession with the dark world stemming from Desa's disappearance, but the role he had in that event is something that was already heavily hinted at and widely accepted as fact by those following the game story closely. The only exception to this is the reveal that Rousece is aware that Kris created the fountain in the flower shop, but this doesn't even get the player any closer to understanding Kris's motivation, and it ultimately ends up feeling like more half-baked setup.
第五章相关的官方邮件说，这一章是“从第四章的黑暗中移开视线，进行的最后一次欢乐冒险”。这个说法本身就有问题：它完全没有对接Susie在第四章关于预言的焦虑；Ralsei成了唯一呼应前文的角色。更糟的是，我太了解这类故事的套路了——它们最精彩的部分，就是黑暗彻底吞噬一切，那些被刻意掩盖的秘密被迫暴露出来的时刻。而第五章的结尾，却试图把一切恢复到“故事开始前的状态”：Asgore的绑架后果没有被探索，什么都没发生。诡异线（Weird Route）也是这样：Noelle走进湖里，Asgore被綁架的後果完全沒有被感受到或探討，實際上什麼也沒發生。第五章的問題不僅在於沒有重大的劇情揭秘，更在於本章所建構的一切都沒有被令人滿意的敘事利用。就目前來看，這只能算是糟糕的寫作。 Deltaroon故事背景中醞釀的黑暗也沒有在第五章中深入挖掘，至少與先前的章節相比是如此。我們看不到Kris的新面孔，也看不到他們真正的動機，因為我們已經知道他們奪走玩家的控制權是為了創造新的噴泉，而且他們不想讓Suzie或玩家知道完整的避難所密碼。遊戲中對艾斯戈爾的刻畫略有涉及，他因黛莎的失踪而對黑暗世界產生了執念，但他在黛莎失踪事件中所扮演的角色早已被遊戲劇情反复暗示，並被密切關注遊戲劇情的玩家普遍接受。唯一的例外是揭示了羅瑟斯知道花店裡的噴泉是克里斯建造的，但這並沒有讓玩家更深入地了解克里斯的動機，最終反而顯得像是一次草率的鋪墊。直到尽头，但依然没有揭示什么，也没发生实质的剧情跃进。
Some of my frustration here is also with how this chapter was marketed, with the release date announcement newsletter stating that this chapter was about looking away from the darkness established in chapter 4 and having one last fun adventure. I find a couple issues with advertising the chapter like this. The first being that the execution of this concept is significantly lacking. Rather than exploring Susi's established anxieties over the prophecy from chapter 4 and how that may get in the way of having a carefree adventure, practically all her development from chapter 4's dark world is memory hold. And Ralsei is instead the focus of the only scenes that even remotely reference chapter 4's events. While those scenes with Rousece are fine, Suz's character development feels unearned by the end of the chapter when it could have been naturally built up from the foundation of her arc in chapter 4 over the course of chapter 5 by putting her anxieties in opposition with the urge to have one last fun adventure. But on top of this, this marketing definitely set me up for disappointment with this chapter because of what the sun setting represents in Deltaroon's story. It's not fair for me to expect the darkness to necessarily overtake the story within chapter 5, but the real frustration is that I know how these sorts of stories work. And I know that they're at their most exciting at that point when the darkness takes over and those deeper plot points that were previously pushed aside in service of keeping the tone light begin to reveal themselves. That dive into the darkness could push Deltarune into true excellence far beyond its current incomplete form. But whether or not that happens remains to be seen for the time being. But there is one other place in Deltarune that we can get a peak into that darkness from. The weird route. Similar to Undertale's genocide route, there's an obscure secret route in Deltarune that can be triggered through performing a very specific set of actions when Noel joins your party in chapter 2. Noel becomes subservient to the player's commands, growing complacent with attacking every enemy in their path. and she's made to send Birdley into a coma by casting snowgrave. Then in chapter 4, the player can take control of Kris in Noel's house, push past her boundaries by forcing her to equip the Thorn ring and truly turn her into a willing servant. It's a twisted piece of storytelling that has the player maliciously target Noel and psychopathically manipulate her, turning her away from Suz's positive influence, seemingly in service of breaking the determinism of the prophecy and the game's general insistence that your choices don't matter. Then in chapter 5, you get this deeply unsettling scene where Noel thanks Kris for changing her. She pledges herself to follow Kris's every command and they swim into the lake together, pushing further and further until, of course, nothing is revealed and nothing actually happens. It's not even clear if they drown or actually make it across the lake. It's just another cliffhanger in place of a satisfying conclusion. If you've interacted with any of the fandom surrounding Deltarune, you probably know that there's a major culture of theory crafting that carried over from Undertale's deeper lore discussions. But this became even more prevalent due to Deltarune's episodic release structure. Ongoing plot mysteries aren't just plot devices that help to drive engagement between releases. They essentially become creative writing prompts for fanfiction that may just turn out to be canon in the future. You could spend hours pondering questions like who is talking at the very start of chapter 1 when creating the vessel and what is their purpose in the story? What is the roaring knight's true nature and what are its true motivations? Why are characters from Undertale reused? And what sort of connection exists between the two games? What does Ralci talk about with Kris while the player is occupied watching Suzie in the first two chapters? How does the concept of determination from Undertale fit into the story? How much does Ralce know about the player's role in the story? What is Desa's role in the story? And what role did Asgore play in her fate? Who is talking to Kris over the phone at Noel's house? What does the prophecies end that Susie doesn't allow us to see? Why does Susie appear to bleed when she breaks the final piece of the prophecy when it's established in both Undertale and Deltarune that monsters don't have blood? Why does the shelter code found in chapter 5 reference the release date of Undertale? How is the prophecy seemingly being broken by going down the weird route? And most bafflingly, how can all the nonsensical content surrounding the very well-hidden eggs in each chapter possibly fit in with the main story line? These questions are both overwhelming and very exciting, but I find looking for their answers with what information we have now to be pointless. Within any incomplete story like this, the incomplete information available to the audience makes the idea of predicting what will happen practically impossible. They're fun to think about to some extent, but at the end of the day, one set of events will eventually become canon by the time everything is released, so I don't find it especially worthwhile to get as deep into the weeds as some people seem to.
当然，我对《Deltarune》的担忧也是有转机的。它和《迷失》不一样，因为故事据说已经提前完整写好了。如果它真的违背所有人的期待，以一个“反高潮（Anti-climax）”结束，那其实在主题上可能非常合理——那将是Toby对社区那些“疯狂寻求具体答案的人”的一次冷酷发问：“你没有更好的事情可做了吗？”或者“你把时间花在这里，真的值得吗？” 如果《Deltarune》最终能表现出这种对自我（对游戏本身）的严厉反思，它甚至会比《Undertale》更强。所以，我甚至能接受“什么都没发生”。它需要被处理得有目的、有意向。但第五章的“虚空”，目前看来，并没有这种目的性。“理论饵料”（Theory Bait）就像只负责抛神秘事件美剧《迷失》（Lost）一样，
我對故事未來走向的擔憂在於，這些謎團似乎會促使作者繼續製造懸念，但不給任何明確的答案。理論愛好者們並不會因為缺乏結論而感到沮喪，反而會將其視為一種挑戰。雖然《Deltarune》找到了欣賞這種敘事風格的特定受眾群體並非壞事，但我在此想指出的警示案例是電視劇《迷失》（Lost）。這部影集的敘事核心正是源自於主創J·J·艾布拉姆斯的「謎團盒」式創作理念。 《迷失》播出期間也形成了類似的理論探討文化，劇中各種無法解釋的謎團在論壇和朋友間引發了廣泛的討論。這並非失誤，因為「神秘盒子」理念的核心在於對揭曉答案的期待，以及持續的謎團帶來的刺激感往往比最終揭曉的那一刻更加引人入勝。正是這種理念促使《迷失》的製作團隊在劇集早期就埋下了許多懸念，卻並未制定任何具體的解謎計畫。對於合適的觀眾而言，這種神秘感可以持續多年地吸引他們關注故事。但對於那些尋求令人滿意的結局的觀眾來說，一味地製造懸念而不考慮如何以令人滿意的方式揭曉答案，注定會以失望告終，而這正是《迷失》結局引發巨大爭議的原因。如果《Deltarune》也发生了这样超乎于原因的结果呢？雖然我並不太在意故事的具體情節或事件發生的內在邏輯，但我更重視故事所呈現的理念和主題。 《Deltaroon》對《Undertale》開創性的後設敘事的巧妙運用，確實發人深省。
The fear for the future of the story I have with respect to these mysteries is that there is some incentive for the writing to continue offering mystery with no discernable payoff. As the community of theory crafters won't really be put off by that lack of conclusion, they'll see it as a challenge. The more cynical observer would call Deltaroon theory bait because of this, a story whose only goal is to stoke the flames of the theory crafters. While it isn't necessarily bad that Deltarun has found a specific audience that appreciates this style of storytelling, the cautionary tale I would point to here is Lost, a TV series whose overarching story was driven by showrunner J.J. Abrams writing philosophy of mystery boxes. Lost had a similar culture of theory crafting surrounding its run on TV, with the various inexplicable mysteries building up over the series being discussed extensively on forums and among friends. This wasn't a mistake, as the mystery box philosophy is all about the anticipation of the reveal and the thrill of the ongoing mystery being more powerful and interesting than the actual reveal. And it led the showrunners of Lost to write mysteries early on in its run without any concrete plans to resolve them. For the right audience, the sense of mystery can drive engagement with a story for years. But for those looking for a satisfying payoff, the obsession with creating a mystery without planning on how to reveal its solution in a satisfying way is bound to end in disappointment, which is what led to Lost's very divisive finale. While I don't care so much about the bare facts of what will happen or under what internal worldbuing logic those events occur, I do care much more about the ideas and themes presented by a story. And the way that Deltaroon builds off Undertale's seminal meta narrative is clever and genuinely thoughtprovoking.
2018年《Deltarune》發售時，我並不喜歡《Undertale》，當時我覺得它不過是一款套用用了原作的素材和角色、設定在一個極其老套的平行宇宙同人故事裡製作精良的同人遊戲。可直到2020年我重玩了《Undertale》，並以開放的心態重新體驗《Deltarune》之後，我才理解了這款遊戲在前作背景下的創作意圖，以及它為何要重複使用《Undertale》中的角色和其他元素。這一點在第一章與Sans和Undyne的對話中體現得最為明顯。這些對話選項顯然是為熟悉《Undertale》角色設定的玩家設計的。例如，你可以向Undyne詢問Alfus的情況（儘管他們在第一章中沒有任何關聯），你可以像對待老朋友一樣和Sans打招呼（儘管他根本不認識Kris）。這兩款遊戲之間存在著明顯的聯繫，而這種聯繫正是玩家本身。這與克里斯和玩家動機之間的張力交織在一起，也與《傳說之下》中影響深遠的選擇和Deltarune堅持認為玩家的選擇無關緊要之間的對比形成鮮明對比。這建構了一個典型的蘊含著巨大未開發潛力主題的核心。運用後設敘事來探索玩家與一個積極反抗玩家控制的角色之間的張力，這個想法非常巧妙，並且契合了《傳說之下》中已有的潛台詞——靈魂才是玩家與遊戲互動的根本，而非玩家直接控制的Frisk或什么。此外，黑暗世界也傳達了其他理念，引發了人們對逃避現實和對虛構世界不健康依戀的思考。克里斯和Susie的冒險之旅起初輕鬆愉快，直到第三章的轉折點，夜幕降臨，開始將旁觀者帶入避難所。克里斯、蘇西和玩家從這些冒險中獲得的逃避現實的幻想開始消退甚至破缺，隨著劇情的不斷推進，責任也逐漸加重。這與Ralsei在第三章開頭對黑暗世界的背景設定相吻合，即黑暗世界是由一些並非真實存在的無生命物體構成的。就像打火機一樣，主角們關心這些想像中的產物似乎有些不合情理，尤其當它們開始傷害像Undy和Asgore這樣的真實人物時。但這並不能阻止我們對《DeltaRune》這類故事中的虛構角色產生感情。這本来與《Undertale》屠殺路線的劇情走向也有相似之處，Flowey認為遊戲中毫無意義的人造世界可以被摧毀而不會產生任何後果，而Sans則試圖喚起玩家在先前遊戲中建立的情感依戀。《三角符文》（Deltarune）在對這種依戀的態度上顯得更為悲觀。可以說，從這個角度來看，咆哮所象徵的不是遊戲中玩家投入大量精力和情感，卻不顧自身可能遭受的傷害吗？當玩家進一步沉溺於逃避現實的幻想世界時，幻想會完全吞噬現實，就像黑暗的噴泉將世界籠罩在黑暗之中，最終，現實將不復存在，幻想也就失去了根基。對於一款電子遊戲來說，這是一個非常自省的角度，因為《三角符文》本身就是一個可以輕鬆沉浸其中並享受數小時的幻想世界，但這正是其主題核心如此引人注目且引人入勝的原因。這也是為什麼我並不擔心《三角符文》會重蹈《迷失》（Lost）等劇集的覆轍。抛开遊戲劇本看似已经且只能由Toby提前全部寫好的预设之外，反高潮（anti-limax）在主題上其實與故事非常契合。故意讓那些苦苦尋求遊戲謎團確切答案的玩家失望，從故事的潛台詞來看，其實是在問一個非常簡單的問題：你們難道沒有更重要的事要做嗎？或者換句話說，你們難道沒有其他事情要做嗎？ 2021年初我寫《Undertale》的分析文章時，我的想法是，《Deltarune》最適合扮演《合金裝備2》的角色，就像《合金裝備2》之於《Undertale》一樣，它需要與初代遊戲狂熱的粉絲群進行正面交鋒。如果有什麼遊戲能夠複製這種與自身受眾的正面交鋒，那麼《Undertale》所建立的粉絲文化無疑是最合適的切入點。但我並不是說在我看來，這是《Deltarunn》成功的唯一途徑。 《潛龍諜影2》著重潛台詞而非對特定故事事件與背景設定的分析，這也是這款遊戲深深吸引我的地方。只要《Deltarune》堅持其既有的潛台詞，我認為無論劇情如何發展，它最終都可能比《Undertale》更加出色。
但现在，它就是一个拒绝回答任何关键问题的地基。所以我才说“到目前为止，什么都没有发生”。这个“到目前为止（Yet）”是重要的。我渴望看到它的结局，因为哪怕最终真的什么都没发生，这个过程也会"足够有趣"。这是我唯一能期望的了。
When Deltarune released in 2018, I didn't like Undertale, and I saw Deltin as nothing more than a high production value fan game that lazily reused assets and characters in the most stereotypical alternate universe fanfiction setting possible. It was only after I replayed Undertale in 2020 and went back to try Delt with an open mind that I understood what the game was going for in the context of its predecessor and why those characters and other motifs from Undertale were being reused, which is most clearly shown in chapter 1 by the conversations with Sans and Undyne. There are dialogue options in these conversations that are clearly set up for players familiar with the characters incarnations from Undertale. As you can ask Undyne about Alphys, despite them having no connection in chapter 1, and you can greet Sans like an old friend, despite him not knowing Kris at all, there's a clear connection between these two games, and that connection is the player. This intertwines with the tension between Kris's and the player's motivations, as well as the juxtaposition between Undertale's greatly impactful choices and Deltarune's insistence that your choices don't matter. And it creates a solid thematic core that has incredible untapped potential. The idea of using a meta narrative to explore the tension between the player and a character that actively rebelss against the player's control is very clever, and it fits Undertale's existing subtext that the soul is what allows the player to interact with the game rather than the player directly controlling Frisk. Additionally, there are other ideas communicated through the dark worlds, evoking concepts of escapism and unhealthy attachment to fictional worlds. Kris and Suz's adventures start out as quite carefree and forgiving up until the turning point of chapter 3, where the night reveals itself and begins to take bystanders into the shelter. The escapist fantasy that Kris, Suzie, and the player get from these adventures begins to wne and responsibility begins to catch up with them as the stakes are raised with each new plot revelation. This fits with Rousece's lore dump at the beginning of chapter 3 about the dark worlds being populated by inanimate objects that aren't actually real. In the same way that the lighters are, it seems irrational for our protagonists to care about these figments of their imagination, especially when they seemingly begin to cause harm to the real people like Undy and Asgore. But that doesn't stop us from getting attached to fictional characters in stories like Delta Runes. It's also similar to the throughine of Undertale's genocide route, where Flowey argues that the game's pointless artificial world can be destroyed without consequence, while Sans appeals to the player sense of emotional attachment established in their previous playthroughs. In contrast to Undertale's optimism, Deltaroon feels a little more pessimistic with respect to that attachment. Arguably, when viewing the game through this lens, investing so much of your energy and emotional well-being into these artificial worlds without regard for what damage they may do to you is what the roaring represents. When you fall further into the escapist fantasy, the fantasy fully envelops reality, just like the dark fountains clouding the world in darkness, and then there's no reality left to ground that fantasy in. It's a very self-critical angle for a video game to take, as Deltin itself as a fantasy world that one can easily escape into and enjoy for hours, but that's what makes this thematic core so thought provoking and interesting to me. That's also why I'm not so worried about Deltaroon falling into the same pitfalls as a series like Lost. Because aside from the fact that the game has reportedly been written out fully in advance, an anti-limax would actually fit quite well into the story thematically. To purposefully disappoint those desperately searching for concrete answers to the game's mysteries would, through the story's subtext, be asking a very simple question. Don't you have anything better to do? Or to put it another way, don't you have anything else to do with your time? When I wrote my analysis of Undertale in early 2021, I was of the mindset that Deltaroon would do best as the Metal Gear Solid 2 to Undertale's Metal Gear Solid, a game that takes the fervent fan base of that original game and gets confrontational with them. If there was ever a game to replicate that confrontation of its own audience, the fandom culture established by Undertale would arguably be the most fitting target. But I don't mean to say that this is the only way Deltin would be successful in my eyes. MGS2's embrace of subtext over the analysis of discrete story events and lore is another part of that game that greatly appeals to me. And so long as Deltaroon maintains its commitment to its own existing subtext, I think it could end up being even stronger than Undertale regardless of what twists and turns the events in its story takes. So in that sense, I would be fine with nothing happening in Delta Rune. It just needs to be handled with purpose and intent. and the hanging setups and underdeveloped story of chapter 5 don't strike me as purposeful for the time being. So, I'm a little worried for the future chapters based on that. I could be proven wrong and I could end up seeing this chapter very differently in retrospect, but for now, my enthusiasm for this game has shrink down to a more cautious sense of optimism until it really starts to answer some of its burning questions or it becomes clear that those answers are being purposefully omitted from the text. The criticism of the game being theory bait to an outside observer is a perspective I'm quite sympathetic to. Again, I do believe that Deltaroon has laid the foundation for a truly worthy successor to Undertale. But for now, it continues to be just a foundation that refuses to answer any significant questions. And that's why I say that nothing has happened yet. Yet is the important qualifier here. And that's why I eagerly await this story's conclusion. Because even if nothing happens in the end, I think it will at least be interesting while doing it. In the end, that's all I can hope for.
