"Deer Diary" is an adorable and upbeat slice-of-life story about self-discovery and finding your place in a group. The first thing that really jumps out at you is the production and art quality. The storybook cartoon aesthetic is bright and cheerful, and all the sprites are expressive and adorable. Stuff like UI, logo, and text box really give it that innocent and youthful feel to it. I wasn't expecting the voice acting, which was a welcome surprise. The lines that were chosen to be voiced seem a little bit random, but it's great at giving some 'character' to the different characters. The writing is also just a nice tight sitcom length script, doing double duty of introducing all these cute characters and still having a simple plot of solving a crisis at the campgrounds where they work. There's light hints at romance, but nothing that would trigger any higher age ratings over general audiences which fits the overall vibe. What's nice about this VN plot is that I think it's something that young adults are going to easily relate to, the feeling of starting a new job and being extremely unsure of yourself and putting your coworkers on pedestals, only to realize that you are also capable of being a contributing member of the team. There's something familiar with navigating the social dynamics, about what is and isn't acceptable things to talk about in the workplace, and adjusting yourself to fit in with the culture. Overall, this is a really nice and sweet little package of a slice-of-life story, great as a palate cleanser from all the dark and heavy drama/horror VNs that seem to be very popular in these kinds of game jams. I'm a big fan!