“Sorry to keep you waiting!”: Deltarune Chapter 5 earns its flowers

As the sun cooks the UK, it’s starting to set on the story of Toby Fox’s Deltarune, bringing a more light-hearted adventure in Chapter 5. As expected, following the trailer and the fewer remaining locations for a new Dark World, the antepenultimate chapter takes place in a flowery land, drawn from Asgore’s little flower shop.

I completed what felt like the longest chapter so far across a heavily air-conditioned day

And, like anybody who has been waiting for a focus on Asgore for the past decade since Undertale, and who was adamant on avoiding spoilers, I completed what felt like the longest chapter so far across a heavily air-conditioned day. Even a few hours after finishing the chapter, writing this review already makes me nostalgic for it.

Chapter 5 takes place on the day of the Festival, an event anticipated since the start of the game. Wandering around Hometown, the Festival sets the scene for a cheerier chapter than its predecessor. The event is more centred on character-building, with budding romances and some humorous, even unforgettable, dialogues with other familiar faces. This segment in the overworld introduces the key themes of the chapter, such as nostalgia, as the Festival tradition is filled with childhood memories for the characters, and escapism – a strong feeling keeping the flower shop’s Dark World together.

Though I did not feel very strongly about the escapist theme overhanging Chapter 3, something made me value it more here. The idea of escaping an unhappy reality to find a “better world” is certainly relevant to Asgore’s arcs in both Deltarune and Undertale. Without giving too much away, I was pleasantly surprised (and amused, after the initial confusion) to see who our flowery antagonist pushing this agenda further would be, despite seeing a very clear-cut division between players loving or hating them afterwards.

The antagonist is accompanied by Dark World versions of Asgore’s other flowers, each with their own unique personality, dreams, and bullet patterns. My personal favourites were Aqua and Yellow, and, though I was mostly neutral on the others, there was not a single new character that I actively disliked.

Chapter 5 brings some of the most stunning, one-of-a-kind environments to Deltarune thus far.

Entering the flowers’ home, one of the biggest strengths of Chapter 5 is the visuals of its Dark World.  I dare say that the warm, sunset-stained colour palette was on par with the towering bookcases and blue stained glass of Chapter 4’s church-based Dark World. Moving between cherry blossoms and warm horizons, braving vine-strung cliff faces and a Japanese-style castle, Chapter 5 brings some of the most stunning, one-of-a-kind environments to Deltarune thus far.

On the topic of the soundtrack (because criticism of Toby Fox cannot be complete without it), Chapter 5 brings a line-up of Japanese-style tracks, familiar motifs, and high-energy boss music. Though the soundtrack has received mixed reactions, I believe that it had some great hits. Some of my personal favourites were ‘Petal Dance’ (which, with its trumpets, fans found referenced TouHou’s musical style), ‘Flower Man’, and, as a gentler track, ‘I guess I’m in love’. Parts where Asgore’s motif played somberly in the background, wherever I heard a violin, and remixes of iconic Chapter 1 tracks were also musical highlights.

On top of these strengths, what ultimately stood out the most in this chapter was the gameplay itself. Hands-down, Chapter 5 was the most fun to play out of all the chapters so far, purely for how much more varied it became mechanically. As seen in Chapter 4, Chapter 5 continues to implement new climbing mechanics to ascend through the Dark World.

However, spiking both the difficulty and the fun factor, much of the chapter also takes on Metroidvania-like elements, switching to 2D platforming sequences where you jump, run, and act your way across the screen. Although it took a bit of getting used to at first, especially when these elements were involved in battles, a little patience and perseverance was all it took to learn the controls and have a blast jumping around with them.

Although I have never played Hollow Knight, I found myself drawing similarities between the two – a comparison which, ten years prior, I could have never imagined being applied to Toby Fox’s games. The creative freedom of the team behind Deltarune truly shines through in how players move and fight their way through this new, beautiful world.

Coming off the more lore-intensive back of Chapter 4, many fans were disappointed with Chapter 5, sharing opinions on the lack of story progression

However, coming off the more lore-intensive back of Chapter 4, many fans were disappointed with Chapter 5, sharing opinions on the lack of story progression, the introduction of a weaker main antagonist (especially coming after Chapter 3’s well-loved Tenna) and a secret boss, and even a less memorable soundtrack. Many even dubbed the chapter as “filler” or full of “vagueposting” rather than sporting the same depth as its predecessors.

Though the claim about lacklustre story progression is justified (objectively, little happens plot-wise), I believe that this was integral to Toby Fox’s vision for Chapter 5 as “one more fun adventure” before everything goes downhill. If anything, the absence of clear plot development here intrigues me for the inevitable drama of the last two chapters.

I can say that Chapter 5 was, indeed, a reminder of how incredibly fun and imaginative the world of Deltarune and its quirky characters always is. With cool little references to other games, such as Ace Attorney and Danganronpa, it was a sincere joy to peel back the layers of Chapter 5, picking apart dialogue, sprites, and smiling at the new wave of Toby Fox’s humour. That feeling stuck with me for the day, replaying what it was like to fall into the Dark World for the very first time.

So, does Chapter 5 top Chapter 4 for me? Despite it potentially being an unpopular opinion: honestly, maybe. However, that may be because of recency bias and the joy of Asgore finally developing beyond being the most pathetic character in Hometown. All in all, Chapter 5 was a breath of fresh air in the aftermath of Chapter 4, a reference-filled love letter to Undertale fans, and maybe a little push for me to try Hollow Knight. Though, as I wait in anticipation for the final two chapters, there is time this summer to play this entire masterpiece again – perhaps, this time, taking a weirder route.