Review: The Deer God (Xbox One)

G'day there guys and gals!

There have been many Indie games over the last few years that I have come to utterly love and enjoy countless times: LIMBO, Bastion, Transistor, Five Nights At Freddy's, the list can go on. The Deer God once started as a Kickstarter project from the minds and hands of a few Indie developers with a dream to "challenge your religion and platforming skills". I have nothing but respect for all Indie Developers, but as a gamer, while they've definitely hit the mark they have fallen short of their goal.

You are an unnamed human on a hunting trip with a buddy when the character spots a deer. As he takes the shot, wolves descend from the shadows, knocking his aim and shooting a baby deer instead. As the character dies and dissolves to ash from lightening, a deer god tells him of his crimes against her kind and how he must learn what it is like. And thus, the character is reborn as a deer.
This is the point where you take control of the character.

Gameplay is simplistic enough; a 2D sidescroller, your platforming skills will most definitely be challenged as every nook and cranny will become a godsend. While the areas do vary (green fields and forests, deserts, wetlands, graveyards, caves, etc), they very quickly become repetitive, almost within the first ten minutes of gameplay, and often repeat as you run. The saving grace of this is how the game loads almost seamlessly (bugs are frequent during this however  - we'll touch on that later) and the enemies are never lacking. While there are dangers from drowning in water, falling on spikes and starvation, plentiful enemies are there to try and kill you: foxes, saber cats, bears, ghosts, skeletons, wild hogs, snakes, spiders, etc. It is a little ridiculous how bats, hedgehogs and spiders also pose a serious threat but I digress; killing these enemies will give you good karma while killing friendly deer or harmless animals will result in bad karma. There is also a large amount of collectables as you play that can give you a useful boost in your playtime or against bosses. Players can also learn an abundance of abilities from the gods, from fireballs to making it rain hail, even some passive ones such as light conjuring and tree growth, these abilities must be obtained by solving statue puzzles (which some are glitched where unnecessary blocks need to be placed in specific areas just for the ability to unlock), while other main abilities you gain as the storyline progresses.
Graphics are plain, but beautiful enough; there aren't any "wow" factors from the look, but the lighting and scenery is definitely well worth the pause in running, but these moments only truly happen during the more open areas where the camera pans out. Musical score, what's there, is lovely and peaceful but also repeats quite often as well, never really changing until the final boss fight.

This brings me onto the more disappointing areas of the game, beginning with storyline. While there is plenty of storyline, the story itself is...sadly lacking. As a deer, you must aid those seeking your help or those offering guidance; while some can give you items (some useful, others not), main story missions give you relics, fulfilling the prophesy of the transhumant deer. However...none of this is explained in game. The prophesy isn't even mentioned until near the end of the game, nor do we actually see it until then as well. The main reason I mentioned the quote from the developers of "challenge your religion" is because this actually took me back when I first read it: at no point during my gameplay time did I make any sort of connection between this game and a religion at the time. There is a single deer story in Christianity, but nothing holy-like (other than the obvious deer gods) as this game presents. I digress.

Bugs are plentiful in this game unfortunately, with many invisible walls when speeding through regions, which leads to taking damage for no reason (even with full hunger) or outright dying. There are some glitches on the final boss (which I should mention killing the other bosses isn't necessary to finish the game), including simple graphical glitches on the walls of the pillar, the baby birds not dying and being forced to refight the final boss if you die before reaching the deer statue.
Speaking of deaths, there is no consequence for dying over and over on Normal Mode (on hardcore you lose your gamesave): when you die without a baby deer with you or without and deer skulls (a collectable to help you respawn), the deer goddess will say "One life left...". However if you die again, the screen will fade to white, you'll respawn as a baby deer and nothing has happened. No inventory loss, no abilities lost, no nothing. Also mentioning losing gamesaves, *SPOILER ALERT* at the end of the game you're left with two decisions - one leaving you with the ability to continue playing your game, the other erasing your save after a 10 second cutscene and a cut to a single credits scene! That ending leads to dialogue (with no voice despite having it in the short cutscenes) and the character talking to a deer while seeing a gravestone named "Tim". Who the hell is Tim? Is he that other guy we saw? Why was he sacrificed? Why did he become a deer? What is he in relation to our character? Was he a bad person too? None of this is answered in the game! *END SPOILERS*
One achievement is also frozen for me (ironically "Put Them On Ice") but for the majority, you can earn a decent amount from multiple playthroughs, but only if you can tough out the endless repetitiveness.

My final gripe with the game is also the asking price and play time. While the game is free for Gold Xbox Live users, it's current asking is $20. During one playthrough of the story, you can manage to finish the game in a hour! One hour, for $20! You can start the game again for both endings (one of which doesn't even lead to a end to credits or a cutscene at all!) but if you play it twice, 2 hours for $20. At least on Steam it's $15!

I want to be kind to this title and express to the developers that they have made a great game with a lot of promise, but in all honestly, for whatever fun I had playing this game, I cannot get past its bugs, its glitches and the issues I've presented above. Technically speaking, the game plays fantastic, there was no issue I could find with the gameplay controls, but that cannot excuse the major issues I've experienced. My experience, overall, is sadly mediocre. 

Try it while it's free (if you can), but I'd still suggest wait for a price drop at the very least.

Out of 10, I give The Deer God 5/10