 This video is sponsored by Squarespace, helping you to make pretty, pretty websites. Right then, let's talk about Delta Rune's Snowgrave Weird Route. When we asked what topics you'd like us to cover for this video, we honestly weren't expecting quite so many of you to say the same thing. Now that Delta Rune Chapter 2 has been out for a while, it seems that the most popular topic of conversation is the hidden path in the game where you get to be really mean to your friend. This discovery initially took many fans by surprise. They had been under the impression that developer Toby Fox had explicitly stated that Delta Rune didn't have an equivalent to the genocide route. The truth is… well, the truth is that Toby was vague at best with his comments, and that you can't always take his words at face value. When the first chapter of Delta Rune first released in 2018, Toby said of the game, No matter what you do, the ending will be the same. Honestly, most games are like that, but for some reason it feels really oppressive to say here. Some people think that Toby might only have been talking about Delta Rune Chapter 1 when he said this, and that is a possibility. But Toby has also stated that he has a very clear image in his head of how Delta Rune will end. He said, In 2011, when I was away at school, I got very sick. I ended up having a terrible fever and couldn't get any medicine for it, and while I was sleeping I had a vivid dream about the ending to a game. Since then, I felt like I had to make the game with that ending. I have to make what I saw in my dream. I don't even know if it's particularly good, but I have to do it. So Toby has a specific end point in mind for Delta Rune, but if that's the case, how does Snowgrave fit into that end point? Before we explore Toby's goals with Noelle, Spamton and the rest of this alternative route, let's talk about Squarespace. With Squarespace, you can click your way through a series of templates to create your ideal website. The service offers a variety of different templates, no matter whether you're starting a blog, creating a landing page for your dream business, or just messing around. We messed around a bit for a while, and the results look pretty good, thanks to some chic, stylish design choices, which somehow even managed to make our videos look professional and polished. Squarespace is offering viewers of this channel 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain, using the link squarespace.com forward slash video game story, or the offer code video game story. Now then, why does Delta Rune Chapter 2 have a secret evil path if the game is building towards a singular ending? First off, it's worth noting that we can't actually trust Toby to be telling the truth about Delta Rune's ending. He is deliberately evasive at multiple paths within his games, preferring to let people figure things out for themselves. When asked whether there was a secret ending to the original Undertale demo that nobody had found yet, he said, This is a great example of something I'll never tell you. It's entirely possible that no matter what big, emotive ending Delta Rune is building to, Toby is going to pepper in additional side routes along the way. The ending might stay the same, but the journey will depend on the player. Or Toby could be messing with us. So what's the point of Snowgrave? While it's often compared to the infamous genocide route in Undertale, it's actually more akin to the pacifist route in terms of the structure of the game. The whole point of Undertale is to make the player rethink the way they approach video games. Fighting and killing opponents feels natural and comfortable. It's what we're used to. It's only towards the end of a typical first playthrough that the player realises that they face unusual consequences for their violence. The pacifist route then is something that must be actively sought out by the player. You have to choose to ignore your RPG instincts, breaking the established rules of the genre in order to find something new. As opposed to the genocide route, which is essentially the 100% completion bonus for taking the standard RPG path of fighting monsters. When asked about why pacifism is even an option in Undertale, Toby said, because it's way more complex to include it as a potential option. Also, hurting things is normalised and has loads of established ways to make it feel fun. You really can't just do it. Delta Rune is different. The entire first chapter of the game is designed to teach the player to follow the non-violent path of friendship and teamwork. Suzy's entire character arc in this chapter lends itself to this lesson. The second chapter of the game then introduces more nuance to this discussion of compassion versus cruelty, and the pièce de résistance is the hidden snow-grave route, which a particularly determined player must seek out for themselves if they so choose. Determination is, by the way, very definitely the name of the game here. Delta Rune builds on the concept as expressed in Undertale. Toby said of his first game, what I want to get across is that although determination is a necessary part of life, it's not always a good thing, you know? If someone is too determined, if their will is too firm, they could end up impacting the future of the entire world all by themselves, and there's no telling whether that could end up good or bad. It's worth noting that the goal, with Delta Rune as with Undertale, is to emulate some of the complex themes found in the Mother or Earthbound series. Said Toby, The Mother series, especially Mother 3, hits a spectacular balance between humour and seriousness. In the less serious parts, it really feels like you've become friends with the game somehow, and that makes it all the more painful when you get to the sad parts. This, perhaps then, is the point of Delta Rune's snow-grave weird route. It brings a hidden, sinister extra level of sadness to the game. This is triggered entirely by the player's choice. You have to choose to bring out the worst in your friends, and in so doing, see a side of the world that would otherwise be out of reach. The moral of the story, you might not be able to choose everything about your circumstances, but you can choose whether to be kind or cruel to those around you. While it may not always seem like this decision makes a big difference to your journey through life, the consequences can often be greater than you initially realise.