Deltarune Chapter 2 has an alternative ‘Snowgrave’ route, and it’s dark

The cold never bothered me anyway

The second chapter of Deltarune dropped Friday, and over the weekend, a lot of people logged on to see what’s next for the Undertale follow-up.

But it’s possible that most folks who played through it missed the optional route it held, one fans are calling the “Snowgrave” route. It isn’t just a little tough to find, but it’s got some big departures from the “usual” route.

The route was reportedly found by Discord user “Great Brandini,” and the methodology of getting to it—and what transpires therein—has been archived in a Google Doc here. I’ll say here and now, you should probably beat Deltarune Chapter 2 before checking this guide out. The odds are high that you won’t stumble upon this naturally unless you’re prone to backtracking, but even describing how to get there entails some mild spoilers. And it feels like an alternative route too; it’s already being compared to the darker route of Undertale where the player kills every monster, often referred to as the “Genocide” route.

Note: Deltarune Chapter 2 spoilers to follow. Don’t read on if you want to stay unspoiled!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQjf7Ym4V5g

The Snowgrave route of Deltarune, as fans are dubbing it, can kick off once you’ve split off from the main group and met up with Noelle. This side character becomes a prominent part of Deltarune Chapter 2‘s story, but here in the Snowgrave route, we see what happens if we go down a darker path. Rather than killing every monster, you can use Noelle’s power to freeze them all, making her more powerful in the process.

By using Noelle’s ice powers to freeze everything, you start to radically shift the world, much like killing the monsters in Undertale did. As you keep winning and freezing everything in sight, everything comes to a head in the Berdly fight, which has a much different ending if you follow the guide. Once you see it through, you’re locked into the Snowgrave route, and things only get darker from there. A new boss, new scenes, and some pretty dark implications of what’s transpired—and your role in it—make for a pretty different route to the finale.

I’ll refrain from elaborating further, in case you want to experience it yourself. I haven’t yet played the route myself, though I’ve skimmed some playthroughs and guides to verify it. And well, if you thought Deltarune has been a little too cheerful for the time being, the Snowgrave route might just be for you.

Deltarune and Undertale developer Toby Fox has confirmed that his team is working on at least three more chapters of Deltarune. And while these first two chapters are free, it will eventually be a paid product. I’m really curious to see how decisions like these might carry forward into later chapters, or if I’ll even want to carry an outcome like this forward. But another part of me is curious… so maybe I’ll keep a Snowgrave clear file around, just to see where it goes from here.

Lead image via YouTube/NintendoProductions.