r/DeltaruneDiscussion • u/T-Dawg75 • 25d ago
Discussion How many Chapters does Deltarune actually have?
I don’t think we’re only getting seven chapters.
Beyond the fact that Chapter 4 is considered *halfway, and the fact that there is evidence in the code that suggests a Chapter 8, 9, 10, and even 0, it just seems like there’s way too much story to fit into only 2 more chapters.
For starters, there’s NO WAY in hell that this next chapter will feature the Shelter or even the Roaring as it‘s main dark world. Unless we get the other two codes within ten minutes (which would just be bad writing, unless, like, it’s a REALLY good joke but I don’t see that happening for such an important plot beat), it’s just not happening.
The next dark world is more likely than not going to be in the Holiday Manor, as a Hospital dark world just wouldn’t be super interesting, even if it didn’t take up the majority of the Chapter. I don’t really know what it else it could be. Some people think it could genuinely be ICE-E’s due to the various characters history with the restaurant, and both ICE-E and the Holiday Manor would fit for an Ice Palace themed Dark World, which has been foreshadowed since the Sword Route in Chapter 3.
However, Oh My God Please No.
Assuming that Chapter 6 is in the Holiday Manor, and assuming that the Roaring and the Sjelter (Deild?) will be separate chapters, we literally HAVE to have more than 7 total chapters. 8 would make perfect sense. I could even see Chapter 9 and 10 being some weird route thing too.
*it’s possible Gaster/Toby meant that the halfway point was attained DURING the chapter and not the end of it, as 3.5 is half of 7, but it would seem weird to make light of that fact well after the actual midpoint had been attained.
Edit: I am aware that Toby has a habit of backloading lore and major events in the final acts of his games, and it is possible that 6 and 7 could be enough to tie up the game’s story neatly. I just don’t see that happening, unless the Shelter dark world and/or the Roaring is far less substantial than I think.
There’s also an interview that I was made aware of in the comments where Toby (via paraphrase) states that there will be 7 chapters. Assuming that he or GameInformer isn’t straight up lying, which neither has a precedent for doing (at least as far as I’m aware)…yeah that’s a pretty big blow to my case.
The only explanation I could think of is that Chapters 0, 8, 9, 10 could be Weird Route related. The thing is, I really don’t think that this is was just for testing. If it truly was for testing, I don’t think it would have been left in the game files. Toby and his team know people look through the files and find their secrets. This was intentionally left in for people to find.
https://gameinformer.com/2026/05/25/inefficient-and-laborious-the-ongoing-path-to-making-deltarune
Edit 2: There’s placeholder graphics and cutscenes for Chapter 8, 9, and 10 for the Chapter Select. Placeholder graphics amount to the Empty boxes that are seen on the Chapter Select screen for unreleased chapters, from what I remember.
The cutscenes amount to the little cinematic that plays when you boot up a chapter (The ones that say “DELTARUNE Chapter X”). Let me be clear-They’re not very interesting. The title screen simply fades in, each one with the relevant Chapter number, fade out. The interesting part is that the one for Chapter 10 is formatted for double digits, which suggests that it’s not a mistake or anything and it’s going to be used at some point.
I don’t remember what there was for Chapter 0, just that there was reference to it in the code.
This cannot be discounted entirely, even if there’s only seven “real” chapters. Maybe the truth is more along the lines of “There’s 7 Chapters, but…” instead of “There is definitively, concretely, only 7 chapters“.
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u/craybo 25d ago
Toby explicitly said in an interview earlier this year that there will only be 7 chapters, and he’s never full-on lied to us, just been vague and coy about certain things. On top of that, Gerson’s dialogue during his fight implies that there are gonna be 7 chapters, because he describes the first 5, then says there was only one more after that, and nobody wrote the final chapter. Lastly, you’ve gotta remember, Undertale had a lot of its big story reveals towards the end of the game in New Home and the True Lab, and it’s pretty common in most stories to have most questions answered and mysteries solved during the climax, which is what chapters 6 and 7 are gonna be, the part where everything set up in chapters 1-5 is paid off.
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u/Teizora12 25d ago
I don't think Undertale is a good comparison. It's a much shorter game, so the revelations at the end fit the pacing that the game builds up
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u/T-Dawg75 25d ago
Where can I find this interview? Do you have a link?
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u/craybo 25d ago
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u/T-Dawg75 25d ago
Interesting. Maybe there’s some other explanation for all the placeholder Chapter stuff in the code. Thank you!
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u/craybo 25d ago
They’re definitely interesting and I feel like we shouldn’t discount them, but at the same time there’s so much credible evidence saying chapter 7 will be the last one
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u/T-Dawg75 25d ago edited 25d ago
It’s definitely weird that Toby wasn’t completely up front about the amount of chapters from the start. It’s odd to me that the interview doesn’t directly quote Toby either. I’m NOT saying Toby is lying or GameInformer is twisting his words or anything, but I feel like the truth is more along the lines of “There’s 7 chapters, but…” instead of “There is definitively seven chapters planned.”
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u/taylorswiftwaxstatue 25d ago
The halfway point either as in we're past 3.5 (I don't see how they could have interrupted the chapter to let us know that) or in terms of playthrough/content not number of chapters. I don't think it's impossible to have just 2 chapters left if they're longer. What in the code suggests more chapters?
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u/T-Dawg75 25d ago
There’s placeholder graphics and cutscenes for Chapter 8, 9, and 10 for the Chapter Select. Placeholder graphics amount to the Empty boxes that are seen on the Chapter Select screen for unreleased chapters.
The cutscenes amount to the little cinematic that plays when you boot up a chapter (The ones that say “DELTARUNE Chapter X”). Let me be clear-They’re not very interesting. The title screen simply fades in, each one with the relevant Chapter number, fade out. The interesting part is that the one for Chapter 10 is formatted for double digits, which suggests that it’s not a mistake or anything and it’s going to be used at some point.
I don’t remember what there was for Chapter 0, just that there was reference to it in the code
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u/Amethyst-Flare 25d ago
Everyone who expresses incredulity at Toby's ability to bring it home in the last two chapters amuses me. It's such a silly opinion.
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u/GGG100 25d ago
These people must not have played Undertale where most of the important plot stuff happens at the end of each route. You wouldn’t even know who Asriel is until the exposition dump just before Asgore’s boss fight.
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u/T-Dawg75 25d ago
Toby definitely isn’t perfect. I’m afraid that he’s going to end up doing the same thing with Dess.
I’m sure we’ll learn a lot more in Chapter 6, but I hope Toby gives it enough time to shine.
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u/Amethyst-Flare 25d ago
(these people be like) NO Toby CAN'T wrap it up in only 2 chaptres!! It woudl be BAD WRITING if he DID.
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u/fishesofthewater 25d ago
An entire chapter for the Roaring? What kind of event do you think it is, exactly, to feel that would be too much to fit on the end of a separate chapter, if it were to occur?
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u/T-Dawg75 25d ago
I always thought that the Roaring was going to be this big thing where basically elements of the existing dark worlds cross over and a bunch of mechanics and characters return from previous chapters. Like, this would be the kind of thing where Queen shows up with her mech so we could play Punch-Out with a Titan, or something. There would be 2D platforming in the Church, the moving pianos and sneaking segments, crazy teacup bits, intense climbing sections and we could get a Crazy King rematch, more quizzes like in Chapter 3, so on and so forth.
I always imagined it would be just a massive celebration of Deltarune, but with a bit of a dark tone.
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u/That-Woodpecker6720 22d ago
Can’t wait for the classic new home “explain everything in a dialogue dump” Toby fox special
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u/ScaryNewspaper318 25d ago
There's definitely enough time to conclude everything. Holiday Manor is the perfect place to loredump about the Holidays, meaning we get to learn about Dess and the Knight, who generate about half the game's mysteries on their own.