The Deer God Reviews

The Deer God is ranked in the 7th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8 / 10.0
Dec 8, 2014

This game is really fun to play, but it does have many issues. Nothing you would not expect from a Beta version of the game. Once they get this fixed, the game should do rather nicely.

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Feb 26, 2015

While the inclusion of permadeath and the lack of handholding might be a deterrent for some, the beautifully crafted world of The Deer God is more than enough to warrant a look, especially for those with a penchant for exploration.

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7.2 / 10.0
Feb 27, 2015

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.

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6 / 10.0
Feb 27, 2015

I really do feel that there are some great ideas and potential here, though. I enjoyed running around the beautifully serene landscapes as a majestic deer, so if that's all you really expect from The Deer God, then you'll likely get some enjoyment out of it. Anyone looking for something more, however, might be left disappointed.

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4.5 / 5.0
Mar 2, 2015

The Deer God takes a somewhat strange concept and turns it into one of the most enjoyably relaxing games on the market. It combines platforming skills with a touch of action and an unbelievable amount of atmosphere.

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5 / 10.0
Mar 2, 2015

The Deer God is, sadly, a mediocre game suffering from an identity crisis hiding inside of a grandiose shell.

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Gameplanet
Top Critic
5.5 / 10.0
Mar 5, 2015

The Deer God has some wonderful ideas and attention-grabbing presentation, but it's mechanically underdeveloped and repetitive.

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60 / 100
Mar 11, 2015

[S]adly despite its lofty aims The Deer God doesn't gel, doesn't coalesce in any holistic way. Its disparate parts don't align toward the same end: the karma system doesn't mean anything here , just like the pixel art doesn't mean anything, and the roguelike bits don't mean anything. They're tangential to theme and subtext and meaning. They're words that don't string together into a coherent sentence. This is not in itself damning, but The Deer God could've been more than dumb fun, and it wants to be more than dumb fun.

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7.4 / 10.0
Apr 8, 2015

Take simple, Pitfall-like platforming (minus the rope swinging), mix in a hint of Sword & Sworcery's art style, and then you have an overreaching X-meets-Y makeup of The Deer God. I feel like its motivations are far better than half-hearted; creatively and intentionally. But The Deer God keeps asking me to return to a life I find less and less interesting with each reincarnation.

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4 / 10
Apr 22, 2015

Beautiful but boring, a failed experiment

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Ian Howarth
Top Critic
3 / 10
Apr 28, 2015

I'm afraid that whilst The Deer God was boasted as "a breathtaking 3d pixel art game that will challenge your religion and your platforming skills", the only thing that it really challenged was my patience. It did look pretty nice though.

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May 2, 2015

The beautiful and mystical world of 'The Deer God' is unfortunately not without problems, including inescapable pits and problematic procedural generation.

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7 / 10
Sep 1, 2015

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

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4 / 10
Sep 4, 2015

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.

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Ken McKown
Top Critic
6 / 10.0
Sep 8, 2015

The Deer God mostly stumbles over its random nature and lack of explanation. It is the kind of game that is best enjoyed with a FAQ explaining all the systems and how to progress. Still, even with that the random nature really drags down some of the quests. Xbox One owners get to try it for free this month if they have a Gold subscription so definitely check it out, but just be prepared for the many issues the game will present along the way.

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Unscored
Sep 9, 2015

Overall, The Deer God is a fun game with some frustrating flaws. Once its game-breaking bugs are fixed, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

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7 / 10.0
Sep 9, 2015

The Deer God ultimately lacks in impact, beyond its calming visuals and music.

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7 / 10
Sep 15, 2015

The Deer God can be a very absorbing experience. I found myself just running along the landscape exploring the world, and testing my powers on the creatures around me. It's not a tough game to master and it isn't long either once you have the basics in hand. The Deer God is a great looking game for what it is, and if you're looking for something to fill a couple of hours then this may do for you.

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6.7 / 10.0
May 2, 2016

The Deer God is visually stunning and creates a great environment but the game play has some bugs and isn't that engaging.

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4 / 10
May 18, 2016

The Deer God is beautiful. Sadly, that beauty is only skin deep. Poor design choices take away from fantastic visuals that really have to be seen. With the right level of polish, this could have been one of our favourite indie games on Wii U.Instead, clumsy quest design, repetitive environments and poor performance ensure The Deer God will be remembered as little more than eye candy.

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