How Deltarune created one of the BEST Psychological horrors 

It feels so sickening being able to read Noelle's thoughts. Its suposed to be just dialogue in a game but it feels like such a breach of privacy in this route

There are more than just the "Fight" or "Flight" response as a reaction to something bad. There is also the "Freeze" reaction, And there is the "Fawn" reaction, most commonly found in emotional abuse victims. Under the belief that by "fawning" over the perpetrator, you will be subjected to less harsh treatment, or even be rewarded. Interesting how Noelle has ice abilities, and is a young deer. A Fawn who Freezes...

It’s amazing how a story manages to feel more dark and disturbing when we’re psychologically tormenting a single person, as opposed to genocide.

An important distinction to make is that Undertale's Genocide Route feels like something you _aren't supposed_ to do, while Deltarune's Weird Route feels like something you _shouldn't be able_ to do. That's what I like about the Weird Route in contrast to the Genocide Route, because it doesn't just feel immoral, it also feels impossible.

i'd like to mention that in the berdly battle, noelle's hp goes down to 55. 55 in roman numerals is LV.

Keep in mind, Noelle likes scary things, Susie, Scary movies, etc. But that voice she keeps hearing... It Terrifies Her.

Snowgrave is psychological horror by using probably one of the most painful emotion someone can feel. Guilt. And it's amazing

Fun fact: you can see Noelle move when Kris goes to step on the other switch in Snowgrave. She wasn’t just thinking about killing us. She almost *did.* I love that little detail. It shows how much you’d already broken Noelle’s will. It sent chills down my spine when I first noticed it.

i feel like it's also so horrifying because noelle isn't even safe in her own thoughts, we the player can see everything, and by kris responding it must put a whole new level of fear into her. no matter what she does she isn't safe from the person she fears, she isn't safe from us

I like how much this route emphasizes that you, the player, are responsible for you make Kris do. Too many people blamed Chara for the genocide route in Undertale even though they, the player, chose to kill everyone.

My favorite scene out of all of the Snowgrave route: “Why are you wearing... my watch? Wh... when did you...” It truly signifies a new ending for the game that we probably wasn’t suppose to be accesible. There may be 2 ending. One that Toby didn’t want us to get

1 extra thing that i love about the snowgrave route is that if you decide to wear noelles watch in the dark world, theres a bit of extra dialogue in the creepy hospital scene. I just love this small detail and it just makes it slightly creepier in a way

During Noelle's Creepy text in the hospital, you can actually walk over to her. And if you decided to equip her watch in the dark world she talks about how she doesnt remember giving you her watch

Maybe this is sort of off topic, but it's nice to see that someone else knows that emotional manipulation is abuse

17:02 I love this bit of the dialogue because this is when you realize finally that this never was kris, and it was your and your fault since the beggining. The creepy voice Noelle refers to, is the player's voice. Note how the screen shifts to black during this scene. You can't see not Kris and nor Noelle. You can only see your own reflection. This is all you're doing.

There definitely is something very horrifying in how Noelle repeatedly mentions the voice controlling her was, "Unlike Kris's" that adds a whole new layer of horror to it all. It seems like Deltarune is taking a more literal meta approach- We, the players, control Kris, but Kris themself still has their own mind and personality despite this, outright resisting us at times. However, no one in-universe as of now (minus maybe Ralsei or other Darkners?) could feasibly know this. Kris is isolated enough where absolutely no one, besides Toriel to a small degree, except Noelle actually notices something is wrong with Kris. Noelle is left feeling so incredibly isolated and terrified because she's the only one who knows. She's the only one who's been affected (minus Berdly) and that makes it even easier to understand how she can convince herself that it was all a dream. Kris themself doesn't really seem to complain or be upset, but Susie does mention twice they look hurt or unenthusiastic, so I can't imagine they're happy with any of this. Being forced to hurt one of your only friends in such an awful way is horrifying.

It's true, the worst part of the Weird Route/Snowgrave route is you force someone else to do it. Someone who is just listening to whatever you say and thinks you are doing what's best for them when in reality, you are just forcing them to do your bidding for your own sake. It's so unsettling that I'm almost ashamed I even found out about it through the wiki and watched in horror that a route like this took place in a game where I thought our choices didn't matter.

If you interact with Birdly in the library, you'll get some unique text. And also if u interact with the closet there, it will imply that it's a perfect place to hide a body...

Love to see someone else acknowledge that deltarune has a large psychological horror element. Imo most of the game is fridge horror. Also Imagine being kris, you got bodyjacked, but no one notices. In fact, they might like your imposter _more_. Or watching helplessly,as the thing controlling your body manipulates your childhood friend into murder.

There are a couple of bonus lines available when you talk to Noelle while she's losing her shit in the hospital. Noelle wears a watch as an equipment while she is in your party. If you take her watch and have Kris wear it instead, she is going to comment on it in this scene. Really creepy!

The conversation outside the hospital becomes 100% creepier if you equip Noelle's watch

Everyone already told you that about the watch. But did you know that you can move during this cutscene? You can move closer and closer to Noele and it freaks her out.

that route hurt me so badly when i first did it. i found out about it through a video and i wanted to try it as a challenge because of how hard spamton neo is in that route but by the end i felt damaged because of my actions. the worst part is i beat spamton neo and got the ending and then i was back at the end when i reloaded my save because i wanted access to redo the fight again but then i accidentally deleted my file and thus i have not done the route again. not only is it so emotionally draining to do because of everything in it but also i just don't wanna spend so much time on it again

It’s actually funny you mention that Snowgrave is fully the player’s fault. Cuz it totally is. But I’ve seen people deny it and claim it says something about Kris. That Kris is able to do it, therefore they’re evil. They completely ignore all the evidence against it. I wonder if Toby is making the choices so obviously the player’s choices after fallen child/Chara was scapegoated so hard in Undertale. The game itself implies something about how we’ve fallen off the path that we should be going down. There’s also some cool theories that half baked bread chaos (sorry I don’t know his name it’s something like that) came up with that would die the hardcore manipulation route to Gaster in some way. Either we are falling off the path or something else. Can’t wait for chapter 3. There’s so much psychological and existential horror in these games.

This route was creepy af, found it is so specific and nothing gives you even a clue about it existing, it feels like something that shouldn't be possible. It was truly an expierence

You can inflict extra trauma on Noelle by wearing her watch when you see her at the hospital

honestly agree with everything you said about the Weird Route it really is a great example that, in direct contrast with what you're told in the prologue of Chapter 1, your choices do matter. You don't get to choose who you are, but you sure as hell can choose what you do. And what you do WILL have consequences for the people around you. its a perfect example of psychological horror, because your actions hurt everyone EXCEPT yourself in the game, and you can't fix it once it's happened. it's not horror because you lack control, it's horror because you have so much control when you shouldn't

Matpat: "It's a world of pure imagination!" :D Toby Fox: "Are you sure about that? Noelle use SNOWGRAVE!" The quotes belongs to their original owners and the last one was a reference.

Personally, when I was playing the Snowgrave route, at some point, I genuinely felt like I wasn't in control of what I was doing. Like I was on autopilot, or having my own strings pulled. It wouldn't stop. The time I was me again, though, was about the Spamton Neo fight. I don't know why or how I got unto that mentality, or how I stomached going through the route, but I definitely felt something wrong with me by the time I got to the end.

Ok so... I can see how this route would continue in chapter three, but this time instead of noelle and ice, it's toriel and fire, in noelles case, your her childhood friend who'd never harm her, in this case kris is toriels child, her own child only wants the best for their mother, right?

I'd like to add to one of your points In genocide in Undertale, it's relatively easy to keep going through that route, it's easier and easier and you're even locked into it about 2/3rds through the game (Either Undyne the Undying or Papyrus, I don't know the intricacies of Genocide) In Snowgrave, you have to bend over backward to keep going, and a single misstep ends the route. Until the final casting of Snowgrave on Berdly, you have the chance to back out. Hell, it's *easier* to back out than keep going. Snowgrave isn't something you stumble onto, maybe the first couple steps, sure, but the FreezeRing and ThornsRing steps are incredibly easy to miss. as well as the puzzles you solve by Proceed-ing. And just *one*, one single mistake, locks you out of the entire route. You basically have to intentionally know what you're doing to continue

"Who no one really likes when they first play through." Me who actually likes Birdly: "... yeah... no one...."

Another little bit of the tragedy of Snowgrave comes from that bit where Noelle says she really only feels comfortable saying 'no' to Kris and her father. She's already dealing with the fact that her father is really, really sick - she might soon lose one of the few people she actually feels truly comfortable around. But then Kris (or rather 'Kris' - but she doesn't really seem to realize that overtly) undercuts and browbeats her into doing what they say. Noelle loses the ability to say "No" to "Kris"... in exchange for being able to say "No" to others, potentially. In the regular route, she raises her "boldness" and learns that she has to speak up to get what she wants. In the weird route, she raises her "coldness" and learns that if she does what "Kris" says she'll get what she "wants".

‏‪18:44‬‏ It still doesn't really make sense how Papyrus wasnt shocked, like, literally, sense he still has the gem

I had the same reaction to snowgrave, when I saw it for the first time, I was like, no more internet for today.

16:53 btw if you equip kris with the silver watch that Noelle has while with her and get to that dialogue it changes a bit the ending goes a bit like this: "It was just a dream right? Then... then why does kris have my watch?" or something like that

I think Noelle is going to end up being like Undyne. Even if the ending is the same, it would be super easy to implement a flag to, say, a scripted Noelle fight at some point in a future chapter. If you don't do snowgrave, maybe it could be you stopping her from getting too powerful. If you go through with snowgrave though, you would have to fight her at her full icy potential. No idea what the outcome or consequences of that could be, but I think it might be possible

Imagine how it would be like for Chapter 3 after SnowGrave

A huge part about the hospital sceen in chapter 2 is that we know Noelle is there because her dad is there, so for us to come there to see her we need to use psycopath logic. "Where can we found Noelle?" "In the Hospital, next to her dying father" "All right, let's go and see her" And probably in chapter 4 (if we skip a cha3 encounter) we will ether found her in the church or the hospital since her father promised to go with her to the church but he might not be allowed

I like to imagine that the end of deltarune is kris breaking our connection from the player and thats why theres only one ending. Because we either relinquish control or have it taken from us. In undertale no one could stop the player from killing everyone but what if that choice is forcefully ripped from you by kris and eventually Noelle as she finally snaps and loses all fear of the player. You only slowed her character development instead of stopping it and the moment she no longer will listen means you will have no way to interact with the world.

DDLC: lets do phycho horro *Toby later on* Toby fox: I could try that

Your name is- Ad: “PIZZA HUT MEATLOVERS MELT”

toby got a little carried away, it was supposed to be an normal (fun) game but remember its toby, everyone gets carried away sometimes

if you wanna spook her even more, take her watch in the dark world before beating spamton

Kris ripping their SOUL out is important though. Partially. Because it's first real proof You the Player are separate entity from Kris, which is important because this Route is 100% your fault, and you can't blame Kris for anything except maybe them not stopping you while they could.

Wow this was incredible. Definetly deserve more subs.

1:53 Ah yes my favourite Deltarune character, RALS-EYE.

Underrated video and channel, the editing and narration on this video are top tier

this is rlly underrated!! your editing is really good

i remember art of noelle's "BANGER VIEW" *shivers*

I bet deltarune is gonna end with Kris being permanently freed from the control of us

I couldn’t go through with the undertale Geno route because killing my favorite characters mad me sad and maybe a little guilty. In deltarune it’s different. Knowing the amount of manipulation and guilt your throwing into SOMEONE ELSES HANDS, is just disgusting and completely terrifying to think about. It’s more of torture rather than just death.

Despite what they say, our choices 𝘥𝘰 matter. Also, believe it or not, we have had this mind reading power in Undertale as well. The easiest way to tell is when interacting with certain characters. We can hear their voices even though those words are inside their mind.

The secret Watch dialogue is so scary to me.

I imagine that if you keep doing the weird routes you would have to fight ralsey and susie and this fight could be harder than the sans boss fight because ralsey would actually be defending and healing susie and susie would hit as hard as possible

I like the copium of certain players that say "Berdly just fell asleep" like, brother, if Berdly actually fell asleep, he would have awakened in cold sweat and with their body chilling.

Wholeheartedly, when this chapter came out and i learned about the Snowgrave route, i was haunted by the animation of Noelle casting snowgrave, and i still get chills seeing it now. I couldnt tell you how Toby pulled it off, but the animation itself and the sound design of the snowgrave spell just creeps me the hell out.

The Weird Route is the most I've been disturbed on anything by Toby Fox, even more than the genocide route. I think it is because in Weird Route, we see all the effects on Noelle very clearly. Genocide route sometimes feels like a chore (kill 23094353 monsters in hotland), sometimes has epic boss fights with epic music (Undyne, Sans), and even though we see how fucked up it is when we kill the boss monsters, it feels like we can distance ourselves from Frisk at least sometimes. In Weird Route, I was constantly reminded how fucked up it was since we can even read Noelle's mind, actually speaking about this, as you said, the game makes it very clear we are doing this. Kris doesnt read her mind, we do. We are the one that says all the stuff to her, so it feels harder to distance yourself. Even at the "final boss", we still use Noelle and she is the only one that comes when we call her name; we, not Kris. "Because it wasnt a dream" was the last straw for me, it was one of the most disturbing things I saw in any game, great video!

Now I wouldn't really do this in game.

I just really love how at the end of the Spamton fight, Kris is the one shouting for help. Kris shouts Susie's name, Kris shouts Ralsei's name, but YOU *whispered* Noelle's name

This rout for me feels like something that’s invading the world of deltarune, something that breaks everything.

I wonder how will this route influence the rest of the game, like will Berdly appear in subsequent chapters even if you have done Snowgrave?

i just watched one of your other videos and i wanna watch this one very bad but i gotta finish chapter 2 first 😭

i legit didnt have any reactions when i played snowgrave route but the only time i had an actual reaction was when noelle said "Why are you wearing my watch?" it legit gave me chills since I DID NOT KNOW THAT DIALOUGE EXISTED since i watched a playthrough and ending of snowgrave on youtube and I did not know that equipping noelles watch at the dark world also affects the light world

16:49 if you equipped her watch in the dark world kris will still have it equipped and Noelle will be surprised, confused and panicked saying how did they get her watch

I personally absolutely love Snowgrave route, even more than Genocide in Undertale. Feeling the disturbing atmosphere and guilt...the music...the paychological aspect...made me fascinated. The detail who made me sick to the stomach though was when I read the item description of the Ring of Thorns. Like...we are actually let her wear a ring which she gets pain from??? That was fucked up😂 Even more sickening at the hospital scene is that Noelle freaks out if you wear her watch and come near her. She is terrified of you. Also a sick detail is that Noelle can't die at the Birdley fight. Her HP will go down to 55 and if you transfer these numbers into roma it spells LOVE. Level of Violence...from Undertale..m

19:10 "I really hope chapter 3 to 5 comes out within 7 months" *Seven months later, I'm writing a comment on a video I just watched just to say that that did not happen*

What's wild is how this route is foreshadowed. Kris' decisions may not matter, but others seem to.

genocide route is the gaslighting your deer friend speedrun

I’m sure someone’s already mentioned it, but if you unequip noelles’ watch from her, and give it to Kris then you get new dialogue at the hospital. Because Noelle knows something happened. And it makes it all the much worse.

one hidden detail: if you take noelle's watch and equip it in the dark world, the dialogue in the hospital changes slightly, with noelle being concerned as to why you're wearing HER watch

What's even scarier is if you take her watch, she notices it during the ending dialogue with her

Lore of How Deltarune created one of the BEST Psychological horrors momentum 100

The snowgrave route feels disgusting, wrong and just straight up evil

Imagine that you are getting controlled by your best friend but now your best friend is like “not your best friend” and theres nobody to help you in this situation. Because even if you just think anything, Your friend hears what you are thinking and then you saw your only friend that can help you but your best friend uses you to kill him…

Its fascinating how youre always the villain of deltarune , without you kris would just live his life

I’ll be honest, the moment I snowgraved Berdly and got to Queens mansion I immediately felt sick to my stomach. Before I was creeped and weirded out by the….oddly possessive and romantic implications of the route with our connection to Noelle, and the felt guilty for manipulating her. But that was when I couldn’t take it even though I just HAD to know what would change. This route definitely pulls at your [[heartstrings]] in the worst [best] way possible.

14:20 2 hours? I HAVENT EVEN BEAT PACIFIST SPAMTON NEO YET

2:01 that door slamming was on point lmao

Man I just loved hearing berdly been a bitch That made me laugh

Toby probably read the Jeff the killer creepy pasta before making deltarune chapter 2

Proceed.

You don't have to backtrack. You just have to hunt down every available enemy

I dont think anyone talked about this however when you go to the hospital and that dialogue starts you can actually walk during it and if you do Noelle freaks out and screams for you to stay away from her

You make very well made and enjoyable videos, definitely subscribing

I will be disturbed by psychological horror for a bit, then I get paranoid, then I laugh at it

Undertale fans: YOU KILLED ALL THOSE MONSTERS! Player: It was Chara! Deltarune fans: YOU MADE NOELLE FREEZE THE MONSTERS! Player: It was the Knight's influence on Kris! Toby Fox: Well, I've done all I could do...

11:35 if youll dont equip the thorn ring, this spell costs %200 tp and it makes you cant use snowgrave But noelle’s hp is still reduces to 55

Bruh your video quality is just so good! You deserve more subs, man! Keep up the good work!

What's she gonna do make ME an ice cream!? yes.

Can’t wait for me to get scared half to death in Chapter 3 😭

3:37 Link Jumpscare

i am so glad that there was only a 3 year gap between undertale and deltarune. this has restored my youngness from when i found it it's been 4 years since trump has served

Mandatory comment to tell RU-vid to show your videos some more love. Great vid !

Ive read an incredible theory that the final boss of Deltarune is actually going to be the player. And based off your actions in previous chapters. And you will have to choose between leaving this narrative behind so the characters can live in peace or not. Supossingly by doing these bad endings we use the chacters as puppets to control the world.

I like how he pointed that people wanted to kill berdly. Yeah but is almost like, we fight you because you're an annoyance and can't be killed, not because we want to really kill you, but in this one, when you make noelle kill him (and it's not your action of fighting but the action of manipulating someone else to do it) you fell horrible, more than in the genocide route.

My thing I noticed and I don't know if it's intentional but the ice thin of snowgrave goes over the hud when casted

1:20 he speaks no lies

5:36 - "Wait, you're not done building yet? AAAAH-"

Bro. I did this route before even knowing that genocide makes you feel horrible. Then I did it and I felt like a freaking monster, and now that I watched this I feel even worse bro, I deleted the file but it can’t deny the fact that I ruined Noelle