The Deer God is an indie platformer originally funded through a Kickstarter campaign. The game starts with the player being a hunter. As a deer hunter, he gets attacked by wolfs and dies. Mother nature wants the hunter to learn his lesson, and thus the deer hunter reincarnates as a deer himself. At this point the player can start controlling the character.
The gameplay in Deer God involves 2D platforming through a world where the player encounters food sources, obstacles, enemies, and NPC's. Surviving for a long time lets the player grow to an elder deer. The game contains a lot of friendly NPC's which are helpful to the player. These can nonetheless be killed, but it'll affect the in-game moral system, giving bad points for killing innocents and good points for enemies.
The game features various enemies including ex-fellow deer hunters and foxes. Several bosses offer an alternative to the normally encountered enemies, including an eagle, snapping turtle, beaver, snake, and a toad. The world also features big deer statues which can be used to upgrade the antlers of the deer.