Unlike most modern games that automatically advance with predetermined animations, dialogue, and cutscenes, Deltarune and Undertale require players to manually progress their story and gameplay (often by pressing a button). While this manual progression is meant to evoke the feel of a classic JRPG like Earthbound, it also contributes to creator Toby Fox’s unique sense of humor.
Fox is a master at hiding jokes behind text boxes
As Deltarune and Undertale’s dialogue mostly consists of incomprehensible gibberish, players are dependent on in-game text boxes to make sense of it all. Fox understands this and uses it to subvert player expectations.
Take for example this reverse vending machine in Deltarune Chapter 3. While players understand that the two “Sell” commands will allow them to sell their items, they are enticed to choose the “Swell” command because of its similarity to the other options yet different enough that it warrants investigation. Fox bets on the player’s curiosity and delivers his punchline in the next text box.
Despite their lack of inflection, Deltarune and Undertale’s verbal jokes have a very “manner-of-fact” air about them. Never crass or cruel, players of all ages can appreciate Fox’s wordplay. Apart from choosing the option that begins the joke, manually activating the punchline means that players are ready to be surprised by Fox’s wit.
Even if a joke comes out of nowhere (as they often do when examining items and talking to NPCs), the tactile interaction of the player pressing a button means they want to see what comes next. Should there be an in-game event, Fox will usually accompany it with text that either explains or comments on what just happened. Oftentimes the curiosity of “flipping the page” ends up leading to another punchline.
Physical and slapstick humor works the same way
Just as manually progressing Deltarune and Undertale’s text boxes can lead to humorous moments, so too can interacting with their physical aspects. One moment you will be engaged in a text box, the next you will be pulled out of that same text box to behold the consequences of your choices or progression.
Text and physical interaction often work in service of each other, with the physical humor being more prominent due to Fox’s use of appropriate sound effects, images, and character gestures. As surprising as Deltarune and Undertale’s humor can be, you never feel like you are not in control. Manually pressing a button indicates a desire to progress, and if you suddenly get caught off-guard by a joke or loud sound because you were spamming the input, then the game has done its job of pulling you back into the experience.
Deltarune Chapters 1-4 is now available for Nintendo Switch 1 and 2, PC (macOS and Windows), and PlayStation 4 and 5.
Undertale is available on macOS, Windows, Linux, PlayStation 4 and Vita, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One.
