Dear Deer

Dear Deer is a narrative-driven visual novel set in the late 1970s that follows Charley, an actor whose life unravels into addiction and darker impulses. The alpha build presents the opening day of the story with branching routes, quick-time events and rhythm-game segments that put player choices and timing at the center of the experience. Players who enjoy tense, character-led psychological drama and multiple endings will appreciate Dear Deer for its moody atmosphere and hand-illustrated visuals. This title targets mature audiences due to strong themes and disturbing content.

Key Features

⭐ Multiple endings and many branching routes that change with player decisions.

⭐ Quick-time events (QTEs) and rhythm-based gameplay sequences that test timing and reflexes.

⭐ Hand-illustrated artwork created by the developer to reinforce the game's 1970s mood.

⭐ Compact play sessions with single-route runtimes designed for focused, narrative-driven play.

⭐ Demo content includes Day 1 of the story so players can sample the atmosphere and choices.

Advantages

✅ Dear Deer emphasizes player agency with routes that lead to very different outcomes.

✅ A distinctive late-70s setting and original illustrations give the game a strong, cohesive tone.

✅ Shorter routes (around 30–45 minutes) make it easy to experience a complete story in one sitting.

✅ QTE and rhythm mechanics add interactive variety beyond standard visual novel reading.

Disadvantages

❎ Current release is an alpha build, so content and systems are still under active development.

❎ Artwork placeholders are present during development; final assets are not yet complete.

❎ Mature, disturbing themes (including addiction, trauma and violence) make the game unsuitable for younger players.

Development Team

The game is a solo project: the developer created the illustrations and authored the story as their first visual novel, drawing creative inspiration from indie titles that motivated them to start making games.

Version Information

Dear Deer is currently in an alpha state and the available build covers Day 1 as a playable demo. A fuller demo is planned for mid 2027. The complete set of routes runs about 2.5 hours in total, with individual routes typically lasting 30–45 minutes depending on reading speed; one forest route is noticeably shorter.