The Deer God Reviews
It's certainly worth playing - if only for the epic sense of journey that comes from crossing multiple procedurally environments - but the gameplay is sorely lacking.
In the end The Deer God plays out as an odd collection of concepts that just aren’t working together in harmony. Blend this with a spiritual theme that generally seems to be discarded quickly aside from things like when you die with bad karma you can come back as something like a porcupine and it is hard to really put a finger on what the design goals and final messages for the game are. Perhaps it is meant to be profound and leave you to ponder the question yourself further? For me I just decided to move onto something else.
If you're after a strong example of a 2D platformer with depth and challenge, you won't find it here. The Deer God may look pretty, but it's a pitiful experience that deserves no place on the Switch eShop.
The Deer God is an interesting take on the platforming genre. After an accident while out hunting, you are reincarnated as a deer and must now live out your life as one for as long as you can. With treacherous terrain, plenty of other wildlife that would eat you and more hunters that are out to shoot you, expect to restart as a fawn several times.
Summary The Deer God seems to be content with being below average and makes no effort to convince you it’s worth any of your time.
The technical problems that plague the game can make even the most casual player a bit leery. Even if we give the benefit of the doubt and assume that the bugs from previous versions are fixed, the problems that do exist in the Switch version are enough to make someone think twice about spending time and money in the game. And that's unfortunate because this debilitating blemish prevents The Deer God from realizing its true potential.
The Deer God is an interesting, successful pairing of genres that is well presented and fun to play. What it lacks in-depth it makes up for in character, keeping the adventure light and enjoyable regardless of your experience as a gamer. Right at home on the Switch, it’s a great title to unwind with at the end of a workday, or to spend a full afternoon with on the couch.
The Deer God is a good exmaple of good intentions not coming to fruition
The Deer God had me saying “Oh Deer.” A game this artistically beautiful shouldn’t be so lifeless and outside of its opening moments I really can’t think of many redeemable segments of the game. It’s slow, repetitive and has no clear direction for where it wants to go or what it wants to be. Not only is it not worth your money, it’s certainly unworthy of your time.
I did enjoy this game but the longer I played the more bored I get. Running and jumping from platforms was fun but seeing the same platforms gets dull.
The Deer God feels like a bit of a chore to play with simple missions and a lack of any interesting or varied level structure.
With quite an unsatisfying combat system that sees you charging at enemies to headbutt them, you'll be tempted more often than not to flee
The Deer God is visually stunning and creates a great environment but the game play has some bugs and isn't that engaging.
The Deer God is a tough sell, its visuals and music can't help make this game any less frustrating. If you have a lot of time and more importantly a lot of patience maybe this game is good for you, but as it stands, I would stay clear.
The blurb for The Deer God promises to "Challenge your religion and your platforming skills," but it does neither. The platforming moments are ridiculously easy, and the combat is easily abused. The worst of the game, though, is the "story," which constantly stresses a morality that makes no sense at all, all culminating in an absolutely moronic ending. There are many fantastic indie titles that have made the jump to Nindies. This is not one of them.
The art style is beautiful and it makes for some nice shots of the locations, but other than that, there is really no need to delve into this endless-platformer.
Overall The Deer God is certainly an interesting game with some very good graphics. Due to the randomization and roguelike elements, this one has a lot of replay value. Other than the problem with some of the quests, which is not a deal-breaker, you should consider this one for your PS4 collection.
Although beautiful and with an interesting theme, Deer God fails in fundamental parts, like the level design and gameplay. Frustrating, confusing and filled with bugs in every system and mechanics, it's a game with a wasted potential, due to execution problems.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Deer God gets points for trying to mix things up in two genres that are growing increasingly stale. It's a balancing act that the game manages to maintain, but much like the tightrope walker who never falls but is always flailing, the illusion is definitely broken. Perhaps if the formula was tweaked to make the experience a bit more fair and to have a lot more going on, The Deer God would be the game it clearly set out to be.
The Deer God will inevitably divide gamer's opinions. Some will love its pixelated art style and be carried away by its themes and the emotions it invokes, while others will find it a frustrating, boring trudge from left to right. There's no denying that there is potential here and there are some very touching moments, but the flaws are so game breaking that at times it's just not any fun to play.