Snowgrave / Weird Route

Editor's Note: This entry contains spoilers for Deltarune: Chapter 2; read at your own caution.

About

Snowgrave is one of the names used for the Weird Route, which is also known as Pipis Route, Command Route or Genocide Route, in the video game Deltarune Chapter 2. The route is most commonly known as the Snowgrave route because the way to lock in that you are on this route is by fully unlocking and using the move "snowgrave" in a battle, which is a fatal attack used by the character Noelle. The steps to unlock the move, and lock your game file into the weird route, require careful planning and purposeful intent, making it very referential in nature.

Origin

Snowgrave Route Explained

The steps to completing the Snowgrave route, or weird route,^[1] can be complicated and hard to fully understand upon the first playthrough, so it is encouraged to attempt it on a second file, especially because it is unclear what future ramifications this route can have on the narrative going forward. On September 20th, 2021, YouTuber^[2] 2 Left Thumbs uploaded a video that goes into detail about the route and the different choices that can be made within it, as well as what happens at the end should you follow through with it. The video received over 600,000 views in one week (shown below).

Upon getting Noelle into your party, she will have the ability to freeze enemies using IceShock. Go back to the dumpster area and start freezing enemies without sparing them or having Kris defeat them (keep Kris Defending to increase TP). This will start the route and cause enemies to spawn where the cars would normally cross.

When you get to the Ferris wheel billboard, Noelle will talk about it and give some dialogue choices. Select "I will ride with you" at the first box, then select "Noelle will ride with me" on the second box. After that, walk to the right and talk to the shopkeeper and select "We're something else" at the first box. While walking away from the shopkeeper, they will offer you a Freeze Ring. Select "Get it" at all the boxes that pop up next. The screen will fade to black and you will hear Noelle using her IceShock. When the screen returns to normal, the shopkeeper will be gone and you will have the Freeze Ring. Equip it to Noelle as soon as possible.

Next, you will encounter an electric barrier that Noelle will deactivate for you, which will trigger the next dialogue box. Select "It's natural" when it appears so the route can stay on track. Don't forget to save at the area with the three cardboard boxes, as well as fill up on CD Bagels on the right cardboard box. Afterward, continue freezing any enemies you see with Noelle's IceShock. There'll be even more enemies on the roads where cars would be crossing in the normal route. Hidden in an alleyway off to the side of one of the roads is a dumpster where Spamton is hiding. He'll tell you how many enemies are left.

To the right of the room with the roads is another mouse puzzle. Keep selecting "Proceed" when Noelle asks how to do it. The screen will fade black as Noelle "solves" the puzzle by freezing it. She will do the same on the next mouse puzzle that pops up without having to select any choices. Just keep freezing any enemies you see on the path, then head back to the dumpster that Spamton is in once you've frozen the enemies in the area that's full of traffic cones. If you've defeated enough enemies he'll off you the [Ring] of [Thorns]. Say "Yes", and he'll offer it to you for 1997 "Kromer" (Dark Dollars). Say yes again with enough money, and you will have the Thorn Ring. Equip it to Noelle immediately.

Once Noelle has the Thorn Ring equipped, head past the area that's full of traffic cones to start the Berdly fight. Select "Proceed" as it pops up in the dialogue before the fight. In the battle, have Kris defending and building up TP to MAX. Noelle will have a new ice attack called SnowGrave that she can use, but normally it would cost 200% TP. With the Thorn Ring equipped it only requires 100% (TP MAX). Once available, select SnowGrave. Noelle will say she doesn't know that spell, but keep selecting SnowGrave anyways. She eventually will get angry enough to try casting it, saying "Watch what happens when I cast a spell I don't know!". Her eyes will go white as she floats to the center of the screen as a massive storm of snow and ice fills the screen, and freezes Berdly inside a massive crystal of ice.

After the battle, Noelle will say she isn't feeling well and heads back to the castle. She clears a path in the traffic cones in the process, which lets you take a shortcut to get to the castle yourself. At the castle, most of the puzzles and areas are skipped, as well as a few boss battles. However, the castle is full of bomb-like objects called "Pipis", which explode with images of Spamton's face.

Instead of fighting Queen at the end, you have to fight Spamton NEO by yourself at the dark fountain. Halfway through the battle, he'll drastically raise his defense, making him impossible to damage. You call for Ralsei and Susie for two turns, but they don't show up. Eventually, you call for Noelle, which causes Spamton NEO to crack some jokes about you using her before the screen fades to black as he's hit with a final attack from her. This immediately leads to your soul sealing the fountain and everyone returning to the light world.

After returning to the light world, Noelle wakes up, but Berdly does not. She awkwardly and hurriedly leaves the library, cracking a joke about leaving Berdly to sleep, because he's earned his rest. The chapter proceeds normally from this point on, with minor differences in text.

Spread

Fan reactions to the route were mixed. While there is a largely positive response to this different style of gameplay, and the hidden secret route being able to be unlocked at all, there were some who weren't happy with the direction the story went. This is because one of the biggest points of Deltarune Chapter 1 was that it was explicitly said to the player that choices you make will NOT influence the world in the same way that they did in Undertale. Memes of the route began to spread shortly after the release of the game on September 17th, 2021, with one of the first being posted to 4chan's /v/ board^[3] (shown below).

On September 19th, Redditor^[4] FR0GB0X uploaded a fan art of the character Noelle in which they are repeating their lines of dialogue said after the point of no return in the route is accomplished, earning 2,800 upvotes in eight days (shown below).

On September 20th, Twitter^[5] artist @AdvosArt used the classic Where's The Caveman? meme to represent the Snowgrave conclusion, earning 780 likes in six days (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References