What if you were able to play as a cute animal on a quest to grow a demonic cult to do your bidding? Cult of the Lamb answers that question beautifully and does it in an interesting way.
Cult of the Lamb was released on August 11th, 2022, and was published by Devolver Digital and developed by Massive Monster. The game revolves around a lamb being saved from being sacrificed to demonic forces only to become a cult leader in the process.
Charming and Deadly
The aesthetic of Cult of the Lamb is one of the first things that is instantly noticeable. The game’s visuals are a mix of adorable and the most awful of unearthly horrors. These two designs might be thought of at opposite ends of the spectrum but they blend together pretty well and are reminiscent of the 2000s web series Happy Tree Friends. Every cult member is designed to be cute and would easily fit in among other stuffed animals if Devolver were to ever produce multiple characters from the game.
It is easy to instantly fall in love with the members of your cult and if you integrate the game with your Twitch account, you can even have your followers on Twitch become part of your unholy flock. The icing on the cake is that you are able to name your cult whatever you want. Names online have ranged from the Unholy Divers to the Pizza Party Club. Feel free to get creative. If not you can just accept the default name.
Strike, Dodge, Repeat
The gameplay is a mix of two different types, a town management sim, and a roguelike. Both of these elements come together in marriage which makes it impossible to progress without investing in both aspects of the game. Need stronger weapons so you can take out enemies much quicker while on your runs? Then you better make sure your cult is devoted. Is your cult unhappy? Make sure you collect enough resources on your runs so they have enough food and shelter to sustain themselves.
You cannot succeed on a run without building up your cult and you can’t build up your cult if you do not succeed on runs. Even if you choose to do the bare minimum with cult management you will need your cult to grow to a specific size if you want to roll credits.
Speaking of rolling, you’ll be doing a lot of that during the combat sequences in Cult of the Lamb. While your defensive maneuvers are limited to just avoiding damage, the way you fight is up to you within the limitations of the run. There are a variety of different weapon types that all have benefits and costs. Want to be able to attack as quickly as possible? The dagger may be the weapon for you but what you gain in speed may be sacrificed in damage per hit. Other slower weapons such as the axe or the hammer may have slower attack speeds but will do much more damage to an enemy. Along with weapons you also have abilities known as Curses which act as a secondary form of attack and come in a variety of different styles. Some Curses can be used like projectiles while others give you another melee attack. These have limited uses but can pack a punch when you’re at risk of losing your run.
The Power of the Crown
As you progress through the four main areas of the game, additional abilities known as Crown Abilities can be unlocked. Some are much more useful than others early on but these can be unlocked in any order depending on your playstyle and cult status.
Within each run, you also have the opportunity to utilize temporary buffs from Tarot Cards that can range from dropping extra food for your followers to doing more damage overall. Some of the Tarot Cards must be unlocked from side areas of the game but are not required to beat the game. They just increase the likelihood of you succeeding on your next run.
As your cult grows so will your power over them. The earlier parts of the game may be challenging from the cult management side. Be prepared to run into potential failures, such as a lack of resources, as this may cause members to leave or to speak out against your cult. Losing cult members or dealing with betrayal will lower the cult’s devotion. It is up to you to determine how you solve these issues but one of the easiest ways to regain lost devotion is through rituals. Rituals allow you to spend resources to gain devotion with additional caveats. Some rituals may cause your followers to no longer feel hunger for a period of time while others may sacrifice a member of your choosing. The rituals you choose to write into your divine doctrine for your cult are entirely up to you.
Error: Cult Not Found
During my time with Cult of the Lamb I unfortunately ran into some bugs while playing on Playstation 5. A resource known as Fervor would usually be absorbed when I walked past it but during some boss fights the particle movement was very framey. Despite the Fervor pickup being right on top of me, it would not be absorbed. It seemed like the tracking was playing catch up which resulted in Curses taking far longer than normal to recharge. This wasn’t a huge setback but it would have been nice to have a few extra attacks at my disposal.
Another more common issue I ran into was the game locked up on me a few times while transitioning to a new animation. The first time this happened was when one of the four main bosses was about to make an appearance but never did which resulted in a run having to be restarted and losing any resources I had previously gained. Another time the game got stuck was when I was performing a ritual for my followers. Instead of the ritual beginning, the game just hung in the pre-transition state until I restarted the game. This may not have been as detrimental as I did not incur as much of a loss as I did with the previous issue, but it was still a bit frustrating. Given that the game was developed by a smaller studio I’m willing to let these issues go but those playing on PS5 might want to save as often as possible.
The last complaint I have is that when a structure known as a stone farm or wooden farm collapsed and needed to be rebuilt, the opposite message would appear. When the stone farm fell, I would receive a message stating the wooden farm fell and vice versa. This didn’t impact my playthrough as the farms could be rebuilt rather quickly but it seemed like a strange oversight to miss.
Eventually, you get into a good groove with your routine. Collect any resources your cult might need, build any required structures, make sure they’re happy and satisfied with your leadership, then go on a run to progress the game. Rinse and repeat until all bosses are defeated.
As stated previously, you cannot progress very easily in the game if you neglect your cult. You will need to achieve a cult of a specific size to complete the game. If you choose to ignore the cult management part of the game your followers will most likely leave or worse die. This will result in making Cult of the Lamb much more difficult than it needs to be, so make time for your cult. You’ll need the follower numbers to reach the numeric goal the game requires.
If you’re worried that defeating the final boss will end the game, know that Cult of the Lamb doesn’t end until you let it. Once you roll credits you can still continue to manage your cult if you really connect with that part of the game.
Final Thoughts
Overall the cult management systems that are tied into the roguelike elements of the game allow for players to have a varied style of gameplay that lets them take a break from the action every once and a while. The roguelike part of the game is definitely addicting, the successes feel great but the failures make you want to come back and try again. Even when you do fail the punishment feels temporary and isn’t a huge setback. Cult of the Lamb is a fantastic experience that combines two genres and aesthetics but makes them work together seamlessly. Outside of minor bugs, this is a must-play if you’re looking for a different spin on the roguelike genre.
