I really didn’t know what to expect when I fired up the trailer for the upcoming simulation game Deer Journey. I certainly didn’t expect it to worm into my brain so thoroughly, or to be the thing that I spend the rest of the day thinking about. But here we are.
The trailer begins innocently enough, with a few piano notes as the camera moves toward a sleeping deer. But there’s something about this deer that caught my eye. Maybe it’s the weird coloration of its fur, or maybe it’s just the fact that at first it seems kind of cozy, but then you kind of get the feeling that there’s a deep sadness or an overwhelming loneliness to this imagery.
We then see several shots of a lush riverside forest and a gorgeous field of purple flowers, where deer are frolicking and playing as if they have no cares in the world. Here, I felt a little relief — my little deer friend is going to be okay after all.
Then the odd-colored deer bounces down a forest path. At first it seems playful, but once again, I’m starting to sense that something is off here. Maybe it’s running from something? Maybe there’s a hunter shooting at it or a bear chasing it or something. I don’t know, but the next shot shows the deer in the river and I definitely get the feeling that this little guy is fighting for its life.
But then there’s an incredible scene where the deer is surrounded by fireflies, and there’s a sense that it’s overwhelmed by the visual stimulus of this imagery. Aw, look at that little guy!
But then it happens. At about the 0:36 mark in the video, you see a massive wall of flames. A forest fire has broken up, and it’s engulfing the entire forest. I kid you not, I think I may have audibly gasped when I saw that for the first time. How on earth will my deer friend make it through that? It it going to be okay?
And then there’s a scene of the deer in a rainstorm, holding its head down in misery. Once again it is overwhelmed, but this time by the cold, by the relentless rain, and the terrifying thunder. This poor little deer seems like it might not make it.
The trailer ends where it began, with another shot of the deer sleeping, but now it gets up and walks into the forest. At this point I feel like I’ve somehow developed a deep emotional attachment to this creature. I really want this little deer to be okay — I feel protective of it, like I would do anything just to see it survive and be happy.
This trailer is a minute long, and it managed to take me on an intense emotional journey. I’ve watched it about a dozen times now, and I can’t even point out exactly what it is about it that caught my attention, but I’ve been thinking about this game all day.
The full game is said to be about 45 minutes long, and it’s due out on Steam on July 21, 2022. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be one of the first to try it.
You can watch the minute-long trailer for Deer Journey below.
