This article may contain spoilers for recently-released DELTARUNE chapters. If you wish to not receive spoilers for Chapter 3, please refrain from reading this article.
“Late Night” is the third chapter of Deltarune, first released on June 4, 2025, alongside Chapter 4, as a paid purchase. Both were released as a Nintendo Switch 2 launch title the next day.
In this chapter, the heroes participate in a game show hosted by Tenna, the Darkner form of the Dreemurr family’s TV. This chapter notably marks the first appearance of the Roaring Knight, who serves as the twist final boss of the chapter.
The chapter begins right after the previous one, with Kris and Susie waking up in a Dark World. After reuniting with Ralsei, the three of them explore the area. During this, Susie asks Ralsei if he can come to the upcoming festival in the Light World. While Ralsei would be happy to do so, he says that he unfortunately cannot go to the Light World, even if he wanted to, much to Susie's confusion.
Ralsei reveals that the Dark World is really an illusion; an alternate view on reality seen through the lens of shadow. Darkners aren't just objects simply brought to life, they're given form and identity by the perception of the Lightners - the vague shapes and silhouettes of objects in the dark, molded into something tangible by the Dark Fountains. For example, in the Light World, in reality, Lancer is really just a playing card, Queen is a laptop, Rudinn and Hathy are also playing cards, etc. When light is present, the Dark World and its denizens are no longer "real." Same goes for even Ralsei himself, the one revealing all of this.
Susie, not being able to handle the truth, questions Ralsei on how he can deny his own existence, pointing out how she can see, hear, and feel him, and that "normal objects" don't have feelings. And Ralsei points out that they shouldn't, and that she and Kris shouldn't worry about it. He shows remorse over "selfishly" feeling bad about being unable to befriend them in real life. He tells them to try to make more real friends and forget the ones who are Darkners. Susie, now furious, berates Ralsei for everything he's said, telling him that none of them will forget each other, no matter what.
Suddenly, a voice notices them and cheers them for their "amazing performance," much to their surprise. An introductory tape for a show called Mr. (Ant) Tenna's TV Time!!! starts to play, ending with the host, Tenna, physically appearing in front of the three.
Tenna plans to have the three participate in a game show called Mr. Tenna's Marvelous Mystery Board: TV Time. Susie initially refuses, but Ralsei convinces her to go along with it, saying that while he can’t be with them in the Light World, he wants to have fun with them while he can, much to Tenna's joy.
Thrown into the first board, the trio participate in a virtual game called TV Time: The Legend of Tenna where they end up in a desert and have to find three keys and the Mooncloud Stone. Along the way, they find the Power Croissant that allows Susie to pull up weeds and throw things. Facing Elnina & Lanino, they battle them for the Mooncloud Stone, but before the Delta Warriors can complete the challenge, an argument between Elnina and Lanino causes the couple to split. Due to the technical difficulty of accidentally destroying a marriage, Tenna finishes the challenge for them. With the stone in hand, they continue on, solving puzzles and solving quizzes until they have all the keys.
Heading to the pyramid, they enter it for their first Physical Challenge, where they must cook and serve as many customers as possible before time or popularity runs out. After completing the Physical Challenge, Tenna, not wanting the fun to end, informs the Delta Warriors that there will be a second round, and shows the Delta Warriors the Green Room. After a bit of exploring, they seek Tenna to begin the next round.
When the Second Board comes up, they start by playing the TV Time: Legend of Tenna again, this time on Kodakoda Island where the purpose is to take as many pictures as they can, looking for two lovers to open up the Rainbow Bridge to Atlantis. Upon finding Lanino/Elnina (Whoever the offender was in the previous Board) they take them to Lovers Cove where its discovered that the Offended Spouse has already begrudgingly replaced their significant other with Rouxls Kaard. Despite being in a relationship with the one, Rouxls invites the other to join, and despite the awkwardness of the situation, the rainbow bridge opens and the Delta Warriors proceed to their third physical challenge, a rhythm band game, playing a song called "Raise Up Your Bat."
And with this, the second round ends. But Tenna's neediness causes Susie and the others to agree to a third round just for him. However, before it can start, Susie realizes after overhearing Tenna that he's hiding something from them, and refuses to do another round until they figure it out. Investigating a door that had been barred by one of Tenna's henchmen, they discover Toriel outside of the studio in the frozen wasteland. Before they can rescue her though, they are discovered by Tenna who forces them into a final board against their will.
The charm of the games has died out and begins to show how desperate Tenna is, how much he craves attention, and how he is afraid of "the family fighting again." After a few battles, the Delta Warriors manage to get away and explore the wider TV World, and even encountering a fun Cowboy Game in the process. As they wander through TV World, they cause mayhem, initiating a mass walkout by Tenna's employees, that leaves his studio abandoned, and cause Lanino and Elnina to split from Rouxls and return to their own previous relationship.
Eventually, getting back to the Green Room, they find it empty and cold, some of the remaining Darkners of TV World slowly turning to stone due to their actions. Entering in, they head back toward where they found Toriel before, only to encounter Tenna again, who eventually explains why he wants to play games so badly, referencing Kris' homelife, the subtle quarrel with the Dreemurrs and the Holidays, as well as the break-up of Asgore and Toriel. He says he used to be watched all the time and was abandoned. That is, until the Knight appeared, and told him that if he followed their orders, he could have all the viewers he wanted. When he then tries to force them into a new round, Susie refuses, causing Tenna to initiate a battle with the Delta Warriors.
But after a short battle, he is defeated, and proceeds to admit that he just doesn't want to be thrown away. Ralsei tries to get him to accept it for peace of mind that he, like all Darkners, will become obsolete. But Susie pushes past Ralsei and informs Tenna that it doesn't have to be that way. She tells him that she also knows what it's like to be thrown away, and explains how she found Kris and Ralsei, and found a place to belong, and that he will, too.
Due to feeling as though he has a future, he decides to give the Delta Warriors what they want and presents them Toriel. However, he is suddenly attacked and seemingly killed, with his arms being severed, and his assaliant revealed to be none other than the Roaring Knight themself. The Delta Warriors do battle with the Knight, but regardless of whether or not the player "defeats" them, the Knight knocks all of them down in the end. When they procceed to take Toriel, Susie attempts to stop the Knight, but doesn't have the strength.
Suddenly, some spears are thrown at the Knight. There are revealed to be from Officer Undyne, having stumbled into the Dark World. However, the Knight decides to capture her instead. Kris and Susie give chase to them, and race out of TV World into the Light World again. With Susie still seeing someone, they follow them to the shelter, where they are locked out. They discover a hidden electronic panel, which possesses three entry fields and three symbols beside of them. One of a pine tree, one of a police badge, and one of the Delta Rune. Susie, having no other idea, decides that the only productive thing they can do is close the TV World Dark Fountain and leaves. Before Kris can follow though, the shelter's door slowly opens for Kris...
If the player gets a Z, S, or T-Rank on the first board, they will gain access to the S-Rank room, where they can find Ramb, the Green Room's bartender, who will give Kris secret access to the "original" game behind Tenna's back. This is known as the Sword Route, and the game played appears to be a parody/retelling of Chapter 2's secret questline, and/or foreshadowing of the future of the Weird Route. Completing the route grants the player access to the secret armor, hinted at by Seam in the previous chapter, known as the Shadow Mantle, which makes the battle against the Knight far more bearable for those who having difficulty with them, though it does not guarantee a victory.
Chapter 3 is a somewhat unique chapter, being the first to do a number of things:
It is the first chapter to begin in a Dark World, rather than the Light World.
It is the first chapter where the Light World, and by extension, Castle Town, are inaccessible.
It is the first Chapter where the SOUL isn’t removed by Kris from their body.
It is the first chapter where you have to do a puzzle to obtain the Egg, instead of repeatedly entering and leaving a specific room.
The first where the Dark Fountain remains unsealed.
It is the only chapter aside from Chapter 2 to show Spamton.
During the TV World segment, if the player fought Spamton NEO and acquired the Dealmaker or PuppetScarf, in a certain room with a closet and a Pipis, the aforementioned item will briefly leave Kris' inventory and manifest as Spamton. Spamton thanks Tenna for keeping the Pipis, then when Tenna notices Spamton, he freaks out before spraying Spamton with some sort of foam. Once Tenna leaves, Spamton promptly tells Kris that he's "never [doing that] again." The Spamton item returns to Kris' inventory, ending the interaction.
The first to change its chapter select icon upon completion.
The first chapter where the main antagonist doesn't serve as the final boss (Tenna is the former, while the Knight is the latter).
The
It is currently the only Chapter to have a mandatory Shadow Crystal boss (not counting Spamton NEO from Chapter 2’s Weird Route), though defeating it is optional to story progression.
An explanation as to how Undyne ended up in the Dark World could be how at the end of Chapter 2, Toriel calls the police to report a prowling figure (Kris) outside her house, who slashed her car tires.
"Late Night" could be a play on "Late Knight," alluding to the Knight's debut at the Chapter’s end.
The bedroom that appears in the beginning of Ralsei’s explanation of the Dark World is widely believed to be Susie’s room.
