Deer & Boy Review - Should This Game Buck Off?

There have been a few cinematic puzzle-platformer stories that feature children who befriend an animal and embark on a supernatural, life-changing adventure, running away from enemies, solving puzzles, and using their animal companion to assist them in their multi-location-spanning quest. Games like Planet of Lana 1&2 set the precedent for what these games should look and play like, and now with Deer & Boy, we get to see what else can be done with this simple formula. But does Deer & Boy speak for itself, or is it just another silent protagonist? 

Deer & Boy features our titular Deer & Boy on a journey across the country, spanning forests, factories, mountains, and caves, and with every part of our journey, we face a whole host of hazards, challenges, and beautiful vistas to ogle at. Developers Lifeline Games have touted Deer & Boy as ‘an animated film you can play,’ and that is exactly what they have achieved, with a beautiful story, gorgeous world, and all the adorable animal companionship Disney made commonplace. 

The story is a true narrative masterpiece. We meet ‘Boy’ as he runs away from home, setting off into the night with a backpack full of snacks and a map. He meets a deer foal for the first time as they both shelter from the rain in a bus stop, but as with all animals, our little pal disappears into the night, and we embark on the first leg of our journey, running from the police that are searching for our little runaway. 

Gameplay consists of running through locales, scaling houses, cliffs, or machinery, avoiding being caught by adults, animals, or other beasties that want to get you. Occasionally, progress will be hindered by gaps, doors, or other puzzles that can be solved using environmental clues and objects that are in the vicinity of said blockage! 

We reunite with our furry pal in the forest, and after some, perhaps predictable, tragedy, the two begin adventuring together, helping each other through difficult obstacles. While we may begin our journey with our tiny foal, throughout our time together, which is presumably a few months given how our deer grows, Deer gains new skills and abilities that you’ll need to use to continue on, which does make for some fantastic gameplay changes as we continue on our adventure. 

I remember seeing a bit about this game during some showcase months ago and being totally on board from the SECOND I saw that baby deer, which for some reason meant I had completely forgotten that there was a supernatural twist to the story, so imagine my surprise when a pig I saved is consumed by dark matter and turns into a terrifying murderous beast that suddenly turns the game a bit more Little Nightmares than I was expecting. Saying that though, this supernatural twist leads to some really fab atmospheric moments and a final act that is chock-full of tension. Plus, these pesky dark matter goo piles all over the place look like they would be the absolutely TASTIEST jelly! 

As our deer grows and discovers some abilities, the way in which we can use him shifts. When we first work together, our poor little guy is injured and must be carried in your backpack, stopping you from being able to jump, so you’ll need to drop him off in a safe space while you make a path forward. After he recovers, you can ask him to hit buttons and levers or help move things, then once he’s learned of his anti-goo powers, you can get him to push back against the encroaching sherbet jelly, and then as he gets a little bigger, our deer companion can throw us higher, knock down bigger items, and help shove heavy items into place. 

Our deer companion can be tasked with any of the abilities by holding down the B button and moving the cursor to select an interactable item and releasing it when it goes green, though sometimes it isn’t super obvious that he has heard you. The same with the button to summon him; much like a regular animal, he can have a mind of his own, which did result in me getting stuck in a specific area where he didn’t jump out of an air vent like he was supposed to. But aside from a few little finicky moments that were frustrating, overall controlling and using the abilities was a neat inclusion, and with our ever-changing set of abilities, it never gets stale. 

My other occasional source of frustration was the occasional depth of some areas. Many of these 2.5D side scrollers remain on one plane, with the background being used exclusively as decor, but at a few points within Deer & Boy we scale ledges to access new depths, which isn’t always super clear despite the faintly marked edges. This depth also makes a few areas a little unclear to see, with one specific example being a set of jumps across a snowy mountain, with it not being obvious where a ledge ends thanks to the angle, and thus I threw this poor child headfirst down a ravine over and over until I realized the deer could knock a log down… poor kid is gonna have a serious concussion… 

Oh, and in the third act, we meet a void boy that can help launch us over gaps and up difficult-to-reach heights, but I have to be honest he does not listen to me, AND I still have no idea what button I was supposed to hit in order to get Boy to do the jumps, it was truly luck of the draw if I hit the right one. 

I won’t go into too much detail about the end of the game and the overarching story as I think it is one you absolutely need to experience for yourself if you fancy playing this one. But it is remarkably compelling, we learn why our runaway leaves, what is going on with this gooey dark matter, and what happens to our furry pal. These nonverbal games always have such wonderful narrative design, and this one is no different; it’s deep enough for us adults to enjoy and cute enough that any younger gamers would still be able to have a good time. Though the final gameplay segment can be a little tricky and requires some practically perfect timing that may make it a little inaccessible. 

The idea of an ‘animated movie you can play’ continues into the sound and visual design, because every moment of this beautiful game is accompanied by a gorgeous soundtrack and fantastic visual design. 

The atmosphere is built in each area with layers of brilliant sound design placed perfectly atop one another. Jaunty tunes carry you through the moments of levity and light, conveying the childlike wonder of a sunset walk through the forest chasing a new friend, tense music and devastating animal noises punctuate the moments of sadness between our 2 little guys, and as we enter the heart of the corruption, our music is drowned out by a thrumming bass that pulses through the area. 

This impeccable sound design is accompanied by equally beautiful visuals, with each area feeling like it has been pumped full of life. Our woods and fields feel vast, sprawling with nature and movements and some of the most gorgeous lighting design one could ask for, factories and warehouses are packed full of moving parts, with people getting on with their day-to-day tasks, machines moving boxes and rain pummeling the ground even up into the mountains the snow glistens, the wind moves the world around you and our heroes leave trails in the snow.

Each piece of this game has been created with such true artistry, and there isn’t a moment that doesn’t leave you feeling some type of way about what they have created.

Apart from the one bug that resulted in my Deer not plopping out of an air vent, the game runs pretty much perfectly, with no visual glitches, no crashes, and all the frames a Deer or Boy could ask for! Plus, with it being pretty low intensity, it runs really well on Steam Deck too. 

I’ve already mentioned the issue with climbable ledges not being the most obvious, and there may be a few more accessibility features that may be welcomed, highlighted interactable items for our visually impaired friends to be one that I think should be included asap, but in general, I don’t think we’ll need too much more than we have, as the game is pretty simple, even without any instructions.

Deer & Boy was a genuinely lovely experience, this 8ish hour story is full of twists, heartfelt moments, and puzzles that only occasionally get frustrating, and I think this is most certainly one that I will recommend to anyone looking for a bite-sized narrative adventure. I am a big fan of other games in the genre, and I knew this one would have to do a LOT for me to feel slightly negative about it, and thankfully with how gorgeous it looks and sounds, how well put together the story and puzzles are, and how stinking CUTE the deer is, it most certainly did not disappoint… even if I think there is a little room to tweak a few little things, so I am pleased to award Deer & Boy a Silver Genie Lamp of Approval.

GREAT