The Balloon Ending in Deltarune Chapter 5 is one of the most talked-about secrets in the game. It requires no collectibles, no secret boss, and no alternate route. You just need to make two specific dialogue choices near the very end of a normal playthrough. What happens after those choices is small on the surface — Kris returns with an orange balloon — but the implication of what is inside that balloon has sent the Deltarune community into a spiral of theories about where the story is heading in Chapters 6 and 7.
- The Balloon Ending requires no special preparation. Play through Chapter 5 completely as normal.
- The two key dialogue choices appear after the chapter ends and Kris and Susie return to the Light World.
- When Susie asks if Kris wants to walk home with her, decline the offer.
- When asked to confirm, choose to confirm the refusal.
- Kris briefly leaves the screen, then returns holding a bright orange balloon.
- The SOUL — the red heart representing the player — is visible trapped inside the balloon.
- Control is never returned to the player. The rest of the chapter plays out as a continuous cutscene.
What Is the Balloon Ending?
The Balloon Ending is an alternate ending introduced for the first time in Chapter 5. Previous Deltarune chapters effectively led to a single conclusion regardless of choices made during the run. Chapter 5 changes this by branching the final moments of the chapter based on two dialogue responses made after the main story is already complete.
It is not a secret route, a different dungeon, or a hidden boss. The entire chapter plays identically up to the final moments. The only divergence happens right at the end, making it easy to miss on a first playthrough and simple to see on a second one.
This is also completely separate from the Weird Route, which is a full alternate story path that requires carrying forward a specific save state from Chapter 4. The Balloon Ending is available on any normal playthrough, on any save file, with no prior requirements beyond finishing the chapter.
How to Unlock the Balloon Ending — Step by Step
Step 1: Complete Chapter 5 Normally
Play through the entire chapter on the normal route. Attend the festival, explore the Flower Shop Dark World, clear the Garden and Flower Castle, defeat Flowery, and watch the ending cutscenes. There are no special actions needed during the chapter itself. You do not need to spare any specific enemies, collect any items, or avoid any choices. Just play the chapter through to the end.
After the final boss is defeated and the chapter’s story concludes, Kris and Susie return to the Light World. The post-game sequence begins. This is where the Balloon Ending becomes available.
Step 2: When Susie Asks to Walk Home Together, Decline
Near the conclusion of the chapter, after returning to the Light World, Susie asks Kris whether they want to walk home with her. In the standard ending, you agree and the two walk together. For the Balloon Ending, you need to decline this offer. Select the option to say no when the prompt appears.
Step 3: Confirm the Refusal
After declining, the game asks Kris to confirm the decision. Confirm the refusal. This is the second and final dialogue choice needed. Once you confirm, the sequence immediately changes.
Step 4: Watch the Scene Unfold
After confirming the refusal, Kris briefly walks off-screen. A moment later, they return holding a bright orange balloon. Susie notices it and comments on it. From this point, the ending continues in much the same way as the standard version — the same scenes, the same characters, the same Hometown locations. The only visible change is that Kris carries the orange balloon throughout every remaining scene.
But there is one more significant difference. In the standard ending, you regain control of Kris after the final cutscene and can freely explore Hometown. You can revisit the school, walk around familiar spots, and eventually head to the closet to return to Castle Town and finish the chapter. In the Balloon Ending, that playable section is removed entirely. Control is never returned to the player. Every remaining scene plays out automatically as a cinematic sequence until the credits roll. You simply watch.
What Does the Orange Balloon Mean?
This is the question the Deltarune community has been asking since the ending was discovered. If you look closely at the orange balloon Kris is carrying, you can see the red SOUL — the heart that represents the player — trapped inside it.
The implication is significant. In Deltarune, the SOUL is the player’s means of control over Kris. It is what allows you to direct their actions. In the Balloon Ending, after Kris refuses to walk home with Susie and steps off-screen briefly, they appear to have physically removed the SOUL from their own body and placed it into the balloon. The player is then watching the rest of the chapter from inside the balloon. Kris is walking around, interacting with the world, and carrying the player along — but the player has no control over any of it.
This connects directly to a recurring theme across all of Deltarune. Kris is increasingly shown to have their own will, separate from and sometimes opposed to the player’s direction. They tear the SOUL out at the end of Chapter 1. They take independent actions throughout the series. The Balloon Ending takes this further — Kris is not just resisting the player’s influence. They have physically contained the player and are now walking forward on their own terms, carrying you with them but not letting you act.
The meaning of this in the broader story is not yet explained. Whether the SOUL remains in the balloon going into Chapter 6, what Kris plans to do, and what this suggests about where the relationship between Kris and the player is heading — all of that remains open. The Deltarune community has extensive theories, but Toby Fox has not addressed it directly. The answer likely comes in the final two chapters.
Standard Ending vs Balloon Ending — Key Differences
The two endings are nearly identical for most of their runtime. The differences are small but meaningful.
- Visual: In the Balloon Ending, Kris carries a bright orange balloon containing the red SOUL in every remaining scene. In the standard ending, no balloon is present.
- Player control: The standard ending returns control to the player for a final Hometown exploration segment. The Balloon Ending removes this entirely and plays everything as a cutscene.
- Narrative implication: The standard ending suggests normal continuation. The Balloon Ending explicitly separates the player from Kris and raises questions about who is actually in charge going forward.
- Credits and save file: Both endings roll credits and save the chapter completion. The Balloon Ending does not create a different save state or mark the file differently from the standard ending.
Do You Need to Do Anything Special During the Chapter?
No. The Balloon Ending has no prerequisites during the main chapter. You do not need to take a specific route, spare or fight any enemies differently, collect any items, or avoid any dialogue choices earlier in the run. The entire chapter plays the same. The only thing that matters is the two dialogue choices at the very end after Susie and Kris return to the Light World.
This means you can see the Balloon Ending on your very first playthrough if you know what to choose. You can also see it easily on a second run using the festival skip, since the skip takes you straight to the Dark World and the ending dialogue is the same regardless. For how to unlock that shortcut, see our guide on how to skip the festival in Deltarune Chapter 5.
Should You Get the Balloon Ending?
Yes, absolutely — especially on a second playthrough. The ending takes no extra effort beyond two dialogue choices and adds one of the most narratively interesting moments in the entire chapter. Seeing the SOUL inside the balloon and losing control of Kris for the final sequence is a deliberate and striking creative choice, and it recontextualizes everything Deltarune has been building around the relationship between the player and Kris.
The standard ending is worth seeing first so you know what is different. Then replay the final segment or use an earlier save to trigger the Balloon Ending and compare. Having both experiences makes the final moments of Chapter 5 considerably richer.
For more on Chapter 5’s secrets and alternate content, check out our guides on how to get the secret Egg in Deltarune Chapter 5, what happens if you let Yellow die from the Hyper Punishment Gun, all Cafe Break interactions in Deltarune Chapter 5, and how to remove the Floradinn blocking the path.
Where to Play Deltarune
Deltarune Chapters 1 through 5 are available now on all major platforms.
