Deer Hero

Deer Hero is a super fun and challenging Action-Platforming RPG that has kept me hooked for many hours. Even at 36.8 hours, I haven't quite completed everything there is to do, although I have beaten the main campaign. It is very much a game that requires skill, with few opportunities to grind your way through the campaign. If you want to progress, you've gotta get good by coming up with new strategies and learning enemy patterns. If you're struggling, you might be able to play other unbeaten levels to get more Stars (the currency for buying new "Mana Weapons") or Skills, thanks to the not-quite-linear stage selection; but most of the time, progression relies on your own personal skill and ability. [b]Pros / Things I Liked:[/b] - Many "optional" bosses and temples you can complete to gain extra HP or Powers (though, unless you're really good at this game, you may find that they aren't all that optional) - A wide selection of equipable Mana Weapons, special weapons that consume MS/MP for high damage output (similar to the special weapons in the Castlevania games) - Challenging gameplay - An interesting story that keeps you engaged - A translation that is easy to understand, leaving…

I don't think it's a bad game, there's definitely some charm to it, but I can't "recommend" it, except to a very, very specific minority. It's a short game, or an extremely long one, depending purely on skill, but leaning towards extremely long. The reason is two fold, and why I can't recommend it: 1 - Control responsiveness. My control input has failed me multiple times leading to cheap deaths. Either dash doesn't trigger, or worse, it triggers where it shouldn't, given the pause I have been doing. This is hard to get right, but yeah, even if you're a super crazy skilled player looking for punishment, this will be the main reason why I wouldn't recommend. 2 - Late game enemy hp. Mind you I'm not even talking about overall difficulty, just... purely.... hp. It gets so ridiculously inflated it becomes difficult by virtue of needing to stay focused for extremely long periods to whittle that hp. This leads to deaths and frustration because you die in 5 hits and need 120+ to kill an enemy, including multiple mana weapon casts. This is more of a late game issue, though, for most of the game the hp is not that ridiculously inflated. Personally?. I had fun and it helped me kill some time…