Parents' Guide to

The Deer God

By David Wolinsky, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Reincarnation game gets lost in repetition and confusion.

Game Linux, Mac, Windows 2015
The Deer God Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • The Deer God Game: Screenshot #1
  • The Deer God Game: Screenshot #2
  • The Deer God Game: Screenshot #3
  • The Deer God Game: Screenshot #4

Community Reviews

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age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

Robert E. Wilson
Robert E. Wilson Adult
March 22, 2019
age 18+

Incredibly Violent and Discomforting

This game is horrifying. It involves a protagonist impersonating the legend of Ra, an Egyptian god. In the game the character hunts for "the noodle", a sacred object revered among the deer population. This as a plot alone would be acceptable, however the main charecter goes around defecating and urinating on multiple subjects, including the peaceful deer of the clan.
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

When THE DEER GOD opens, you're a hunter who's shot and killed a stag deep in the woods. As punishment, the titular deer god takes your life and puts your life force in a young doe. From there, you wander a pixelated forest and lots of different vistas to uncover why this has happened to you. Along the way, you learn about the plight all animals go through just trying to survive among each other, as well as about the assortment of hassles and threats humans incur upon them. It's an exploration in empathy and compassion.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Unfortunately, The Deer God falls flat in largely everything it sets out to do except rendering gorgeous nature scenes. The pixelated art style conveys a surprising amount of warmth and depth, but it's about the best thing this game has going for it. Navigating the landscapes feels dull and extremely repetitive, especially as you will die often and be reincarnated at previous save points. That's another odd thing about The Deer God: You will amass so many extra lives that enemies and spikes do not truly pose the threat they're intended to. All this adds up to an experience where you mosey about, aimlessly accomplishing your goals with extreme leisure.

But even accomplishing your goals can be confusing. You are meant to monitor your karma levels, but the hierarchy of animals is just as confused: Harm any herbivore, and you will be docked. But regardless of what's done during play, it's possible to amass loads of good karma and unlock the bad-karma magic or spells. There's a lot at play here, but very little of it gels together either in a satisfying way or even in an objective way. There's a lot that could have been neat and impressive here, but The Deer God is a tough one to recommend.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about animals and how they're like, and not like, humans. How do we resemble animals? How do we differ?

  • Do you think your pet has feelings? What about animals in the wild?

  • Why do people hunt? What do they think of animals if they're able to hunt them?

  • What does compassion mean? Can you think of a time when you should have shown more compassion but felt unable to? Why couldn't you?

Game Details

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