Deer God is a beautiful 3D pixel-art game about karma and reincarnation. A game which the Kickstarter campaign boasts “will challenge your religion and your platforming skills.” And, honestly, we really believe them—because minutes after watching the trailer, I saw a deer standing stoically in my backyard and couldn’t help but wonder whether his deadpan stare wasn’t trying to communicate something about how to correctly live my life.

Please don’t eat all my flowers, potential deer God.

In Deer God, you begin as a hunter. After shooting an innocent deer in a hunting incident, a being comes to you who is a deer and also a God. He is angered by your callous ways, and transforms you into one of his own as punishment. As a baby fawn, you must traverse across majestic, randomly generated forests while avoiding predators and growing big and strong. As an adult stag, you gain more badass deer abilities. You also become capable of making sweet love to beautiful female deers, who bear you offsprings that serve as extra lives so that after death, you respawn as one of your fawn children.

However, your ultimate goal is (obviously) to appease the Deer God by uncovering secrets of the ancient deer race. The reward for which is returning to your human form, though presumably a more enlightened one in the aftermath. And probably with a new hankering for your neighbor’s tasty flowers.

Among gaming influences such as Sword and Sworcery, Metroid and Zelda, Deer God is also inspired by a child-like wonder for nature and the adventures to be had in a woodland full of lively creatures. The game is also, in part, dedicated to a small cardinal that the creator accidentally ran over and killed recently.

The small developer teem, Crescent Moon Games, aims for a January 2015 release date. Aside from the Kickstarter, you can also support Deer God on Steam Greenlight.