Highlights

  • Deer and Boy, a new cinematic action platformer, draws comparisons to The Last of Us series with its emotional bond between a boy and a deer.
  • Summer Game Fest highlights indie standouts like Deer and Boy, pushing the frontier of gaming through smaller teams and unique experiences.
  • Deer and Boy's trailer hints at a journey of growth and kinship, paralleling themes of loss, progression, and survival similar to The Last of Us.

Among the new IPs debuted at 2024's Summer Game Fest, one early standout was the premiere trailer for Deer and Boy. A cinematic action platformer that pulls on heartstrings with its titular bond between a boy and a deer, Deer and Boy evokes similarities in its moment-to-moment gameplay and overall tone that has many likening it to Naughty Dog's The Last of Us series, despite some key differences.

Game reveal season is in full swing, kicked off by Summer Game Fest on June 7, showcasing a plethora of premieres, teasers, and release dates slated for 2024 and 2025. Scattered among the heavy-hitting AAA titles were a few notable indie standouts that made waves during the event. At a time of tumult in the game industry, with mass layoffs sweeping through studios, Geoff Keighley cast a supportive spotlight on smaller teams, pushing the frontier of the medium forward through indie development. One such title was Deer and Boy, the first entry from Lifeline Games, with its rustic wanderlust charm, and foreboding tinge of the supernatural.

Summer Game Fest 2024 Key Art iridescent bubble
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Deer and Boy Walks in the Footsteps of Giant Fungal Zombies

HidingFromBoarDeerandBoy (1)

The Last of Us comparisons kick in early during the trailer for Deer and Boy, hitting hard on the motif of loss, showing mirrored shots of a boy grieving over a memorial to what is presumed to be his mother, along with a mewling fawn, nudging the inert body of their own mother. The two find each other, forging a bond through mutual grief, and for a reason the trailer leaves ambiguous, both set out on a great trek, answering the call to adventure. Over the subdued twang of acoustic guitar, evoking the instrument's powerful resonance across both of Naughty Dog's TLoU games, Deer and Boy's trailer lays bare a journey of growth and kinship, two wanderers who will have to rely on each other to overcome insurmountable odds.

Sense of Progression from Deer and Boy's Trailer

The reveal trailer for Deer and Boy elapses from when the two first meet, through the deer's progression from fawn, to yearling, to adult buck. This is quite an interesting parallel to The Last of Us, given Ellie's character arc in TLoU, which initially puts her in the role of cargo to Joel, more than anything else. Throughout the series, her abilities grow alongside the bonds that develop between her and Joel, until she becomes more of an asset to survival than he was. Deer and Boy starts with the frightened but still ever-curious fawn riding in the backpack of the boy, but by its last frame, the trailer shows a deer fully-grown, with an imposing and radiant rack of antlers.

Deer and Boy Might Veer Into Apocalyptic Terrain

Gentle Stream Deer and Boy

The primary conflict in Deer and Boy, shown briefly in several segments of the trailer, hearkens to the rampant fungal infection which upends civilized society in The Last of Us. A noxious purple goop which appears to take control of any wildlife that it comes into contact with, the parallels between it and the Cordyceps mutation are apparent. Deer and Boy's journey also shares traits with The Last of Us' traversal puzzles, showing the boy holding open gates for the deer to squeeze through, and the deer providing a boost for the boy to reach high places. It would not come as a shock to encounter a section of the game where the boy has to ford a river, guiding a buoyed pallet that the deer clings to.

The Highest Form of Flattery

Comparisons to The Last of Us are glowing praise, given the franchise's impact on gaming. Initial impressions of Deer and Boy are incredibly encouraging, but without a concrete release date, until more is divulged, all fans have to go on is speculation. Despite the tonal reminiscence to The Last of Us, Deer and Boy will undoubtedly look to leave its own mark on the medium, and many will wait with keen interest for information on how Lifeline Game Studio will achieve that with its debut title.