local cishet guy’s gay furry outlet

The FOMO that UTDR brings is absolutely understandable to the point where I get stressed whenever a new chapter comes out. Each version of the fanbase is a time capsule until the next version of the chapter comes out. Different interpretations and perspectives on the game rise and fall as each chapter phase comes and goes, and those stretches are growing smaller and smaller.

Notably, I don't think the chapter releases are a good thing just because the fandom gets creative in-between. It is a silver-lining for someone who is already "in", but now that ch5 has passed, I am fatigued and would like the game to END. Every loop, there's hidden lore to discuss, lines that people aren't paying attention to, new ARG material that starts to come out, teasers, soundtracks, sprites, new perspectives on theories! And at some point, the fandom becomes a tad bit hostile if you aren't keeping up with all of this. With accusations of media illiteracy being thrown around like hotcakes, it feels like you HAVE to be in the know, or you're a "fake fan". It becomes absolutely exhausting to keep up with.

The thing is, I want to disagree with you! I WANT to tell you that these games can be experienced at any time. However, ch5 has mangled that HORRENDOUSLY.

Because ch5 does STUPID amount of nostalgia baiting. It nostalgia baits your love for Chapter 1 despite Chapter 1 only happening days prior in-lore. If you're fresh to UTDR and just played Undertale before the game, or worse, DIDN'T PLAY UNDERTALE, what's the point of all of the Undertale references? You don't have the same nostalgia, so you don't really care for why all of these flowers are humans, why they keep saying buzzwords, and why they take up so much screentime despite the plot of Deltarune almost starting to kick off last chapter!

If you don't have that nostalgia, if you haven't been here as long as the game predicts you have, it is far more likely to miss.

Mind you, I am the person you are describing. I played UT when it first came out, though I was entirely spoiled. I played each stage of Deltarune as it came out, unspoiled of its contents. And the thing is... I STILL have gripes with the game at this point! I still feel exhausted. I still feel like Chapter 5 has dashed many of my hopes. It seemed like it was meant to be a love-letter to Undertale fans, but it almost felt patronizing due to the fact that I'm interested in what DELTARUNE has to say right now! I'm not interested in retreading old ground! Deltarune was priming itself to finally take off with its own wings, but then it got scared and became so self-referential that it comes off as insincere and insecure.

Also I'm gonna be so fr, people say the old UT fandom was bad, but I think they're conflating "bad" with "cringe" while citing the same 2 or 3 big events to prove it was entirely a cesspit. The UT fandom was cringe, but by god we were free. People were throwing wacky ideas at the wall and doing whatever with zero regard for canon! And like, yeah! Respecting canon is cool! If you take away all of the traits of The Character and The Setting, you have made a whole ass different thing. But by god it was cool to see how many different perceptions could shape something. You saw so many people being unabashedly creative, so much so that all of it was celebrated in the UT 10th anniversary stream.

People say the DR fandom is much better, but while we tend to try to figure out what is "canon", people are a lot more... restrictive? Mean? Cruel? If you deviate from canon at all, it's no longer a "Oh that's neat!" type of deal. It becomes "Well clearly you are media illiterate and should never engage with a piece of media again". Awesome way to encourage creativity and engagement with something people love, everyone! Wonderful job! You have to be "RIGHT" to be allowed to deviate from canon. "Headcanons" are no longer a thing that really is allowed to exist. People feel like they have to justify headcanons as actual theory or they're not allowed to exist, and it's genuinely stifling in a way I cannot describe.

So I'm really, really sorry that you've gained those fears of being pushed out because people might think you're a poser. That is not at all what someone should feel like when wanting to join the conversation about something they enjoy.

Here's the thing.

All of this sounds very doom and gloom. You'd expect me to convince you not to engage. However, you have not experienced these games for yourself. You, as of now, are stuck in decision-paralysis where you do not want to be disappointed, but you feel like you want to take the leap and surprise yourself.

These games are not bad.

Undertale introduced me to the very idea of writing fanfic even after it was already over. Like, you're worried about Deltarune being over and the flame dying out, but the Undertale fandom didn't know Deltarune would exist. We were just having fun with a finished story, filling in the gaps and creating new scenarios where the game didn't. The chapter release schedule probably makes everyone feel like the game will die out when it's over because it is "solved". Lol. Lmao. People are going to rally behind something they enjoy for a WHILE. It might not be as active as it once was, but if you enjoy it enough, it'll still be something.

Deltarune Ch1-4 were all very enjoyable for me. Those 4 chapters made up one of the most potent gaming experiences I've had, making it my second favorite game of all time (first will always go to Outer Wilds lol). Those four, despite my grievances with Chapter 5, are worth it alone. I will say, the high highs make the low lows of Chapter 5 imo incredibly brutal. The story feels like it's finally coming to fruition and narrowing its scope before it just kinda spirals out of control. Then again, I'm not the arbiter of Chapter 5! A lot of people did like it, even if I think my criticisms are legitimate and it could've been WAYYYY better.

I think it is worthwhile to take the leap.

Even if you find these games not living up to the hype, you might find something within all of them that really hooks you. For me, it was the metanarrative. I've written countless stories in my pinned post because I wanted to combine all of the things that resonated with me.

You should go in. You should play. You should decide what speaks to you and what doesn't. Right now, you're stuck not knowing. The time will pass regardless. The past snapshots of the fanbase and the "correct" times to play are gone. However, I believe that there is still something worthwhile there even if you are not experiencing it in the "authentic" way.

I hope you find the time to let yourself have a little bit of fun. Honestly, I envy you a bit. You won't be disappointed after 10 years of investment. For you, it'll hopefully be short if you get disappointed, or maybe it'll really shine if you end up liking it.