Deer Avenger

Lore & Background

Deer Avenger was announced in October 1998. The player controls a deer that cannot move forward, only rotate in place, while searching for clues such as beer cans or magazines. Hunters appear but only run and hide, never fighting back. The deer's commentary, written by a comedy writer, includes lines that poke fun at the game itself. Players can use odd weapons including a bazooka that incinerates targets and a slingshot that fires poop.

Reader's Guide

Deer Avenger is significant as a commercial success and a notable parody of the hunting game genre. It became the top-selling software title at Walmart and reached number 10 on PC Data's best-seller list for all of 1999, selling 343,756 units. Inside Mac Games gave it a score of 4 out of 5, noting that it delivers what it promises. The game also generated controversy: following its release, Simon & Schuster received email complaints from hunters, to which vice president Walter Walker responded with a quoted remark in the Los Angeles Times. The game spawned several sequels: Deer Avenger 2: Deer in the City, Deer Avenger 3D, and Deer Avenger 4: The Rednecks Strike Back. An unreleased Dreamcast port of Deer Avenger 3D, developed by Westlake Interactive in 2000, was discovered in 2017 on a pre-production GD-ROM found at a garage sale in New Jersey. A fifth game was teased in the fourth edition but has not been made.

Did You Know?

• An unreleased Dreamcast port of Deer Avenger 3D was discovered in 2017 at a garage sale in New Jersey.
• The game was the top-selling software title at Walmart in late 1998.
• Simon & Schuster received email complaints from hunters after the game's release.