The Deer

About

The Deer is a single player action game. It was developed by Dodo Digital and was released on December 16, 2019. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"The Deer" is a first-person shooter game with three modes: Origins, Story, and Rudolph's Revenge. Origins mode places you in the role of a deer hunter trying to prevent a curse from taking over Grapeberry State Park, while Story mode follows a bigfoot hunter uncovering the truth about the park's closure. Rudolph's Revenge mode tasks you with saving Christmas from Rudolph's revenge. The game takes place in a highly detailed map inspired by the Colorado wilderness and features dynamic gameplay with changing spawns. Collectibles and multiple endings add replayability.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

72%

Audience ScoreBased on 67 reviews

story4 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and meditative experience, immersing players in a captivating and eerie atmosphere with minimalistic visuals and an ambient soundtrack.
It presents an intriguing concept of exploring a cryptid world, encouraging players to reflect on themes of existence and connection with nature.
Despite its bugs and technical issues, many players find it to be a fun and engaging experience, especially for a free game, with multiple endings and moments of genuine suspense.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues, including poor collision detection and a lack of clear objectives, which can lead to frustration and confusion.
There is no save option, meaning players must restart from the beginning after dying or completing tasks, which can be discouraging during longer play sessions.
Many players find the lack of direction and the bare-bones menu system cumbersome, detracting from the overall user experience.

story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
The game's story is generally perceived as simplistic and lacking depth, with many players noting that it primarily revolves around a quest to find Bigfoot, often resulting in humorous or nonsensical situations. While some appreciate the multiple endings and find the main narrative entertaining, others criticize the overall coherence and execution of the plot, describing it as a grade C horror experience with minimal substance. Despite its flaws, the story provides a brief, engaging distraction for players.
- “Its suspenseful and what storyline that is there is very interesting, so props to the devs for making this. I'd definitely recommend playing through this as there are four different endings.”
- “The main story is the most entertaining part, as Origins is overly simplified in terms of the wire-thin plot and takes five to ten minutes to complete, and Rudolph's Revenge is a nighttime scamper trying to avoid a killer reindeer.”
- “There is no story even in the origin; it just kicks you into a deer stand and then says shoot deer.”
- “The main story is about you and your buddy Chad looking for Bigfoot in the woods, but finding something far less trendy and a bit more murderous.”
- “The whole plot of the story can be summed up as 'we are looking for Bigfoot and we are pretty bad at it.'”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The gameplay of "The Deer" is characterized by a mix of exploration and survival elements, but it suffers from a lack of fluidity due to cumbersome item management. While some players appreciate its interactive aspects, many criticize it for being overly simplistic and lacking essential features like menus and save options, leading to a generally negative reception.
- “The deer is a free-to-play game that offers an intriguing blend of exploration and survival mechanics.”
- “A memorable gameplay experience.”
- “Gameplay: very simple, pretty much a walking simulator, but there is still a level of interactivity.”
- “Players might find themselves fumbling through their items at critical moments, which impacts the fluidity of gameplay.”
- “Gameplay: very simple, pretty much a walking simulator but there is still a level of interactiveness.”
- “I'll ignore the fact there is no menu, no saves, no continues, no interesting gameplay, no reason to play this game.”
graphics
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the immersive atmosphere created by the visuals and sound design, others criticize the performance issues and lack of visual variety. Overall, the graphics are deemed adequate for immersion, but many feel they could be significantly improved to enhance the gaming experience.
- “The graphics and sound design effectively contribute to a sense of isolation and suspense, enhancing the overall immersive experience.”
- “Graphics: obviously not the best, but good enough so you are still immersed in the game.”
- “The game feels interesting and has a lot of potential, if the graphics were better.”
- “The graphics are ugly, performance is bad, almost everything looks the same, it's short.”
- “Too much graphics and hard to run on a PC.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag; while some players find it genuinely funny and appreciate the comedic elements alongside the horror, others feel it lacks sufficient humor and criticize the poor voice acting, which unintentionally adds to the comedic experience. Overall, the game's humor is seen as both a highlight and a point of contention among players.
- “It's so buggy but also funny, not gonna lie.”
- “Funny and scary at the same time!”
- “The voice acting is just god awful, but so god awful that it is actually hilarious.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its captivating and eerie atmosphere, enhanced by its unique setting and effective use of scares. While some players found the experience to become monotonous over time, the atmospheric design remains a highlight, making it a worthwhile exploration, especially given its free-to-play model.
- “Atmospheric design: the game excels in creating a captivating and eerie atmosphere.”
- “The game's atmospheric charm and unique setting make it worth a try, especially considering its free-to-play status.”
- “There were some cool scares at a couple of points throughout my playthrough, and the atmosphere was pretty good in some spots.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, including invisible barriers, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players find the issues amusing, the lack of a coherent plot further highlights the game's instability.
- “It's so buggy, but also funny, not gonna lie.”
- “It's weird, and there are quite a few glitches and invisible barriers everywhere, with really no plot.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers suggest that while the game's art direction and premise are satisfactory, it lacks sufficient replayability compared to other titles like Skinwalker Hunt, which may offer a more engaging experience.
- “The art direction is fine, the basic premise of the game is fine - but I'd recommend checking out Skinwalker Hunt if you're looking for something a little more playable.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The music in the game receives mixed feedback; while the soundtrack is praised, it lacks humor and fails to reach its full potential.
- “The music is repetitive and lacks variety, making it feel dull after a short time.”
- “While the soundtrack has some good moments, the overall music experience is underwhelming.”
- “The game’s music fails to create an engaging atmosphere, leaving it feeling flat and uninspired.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users noting poor graphics quality, subpar performance, and a lack of visual variety, contributing to an overall unsatisfactory experience. Additionally, the game's short length further detracts from its value.
- “The graphics are ugly, performance is bad, and almost everything looks the same.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering.”
- “Despite its potential, the lack of optimization makes it nearly unplayable on lower-end systems.”