The Deer God Reviews
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.