Have you ever thought of leading a cult? Shaping it as you wish, leading your followers and spreading your wisdom? Well, with Cult of the Lamb, you can. In the shape of a Lamb, of course. COTL combines rogue-like dungeon crawling with a fun and relaxing village builder. The game has periods when you can relax as well as times when it needs intense focus.
COTL is a masterful blend of genres. On one hand, you have a fun, replayable and extensive rogue-like to go through that is addictive, and on the other you have a village-builder that has you taking care of followers and upgrading your powers and abilities, all the while listening to some chill beats. The most remarkable thing about the game is how it blends these vastly different aspects together, making them complement each other.
The rogue-like has you crawling through randomly generated dungeons, each with a boss at its end and various paths to choose within. The choice you make regarding your paths influences the rewards you get from each run, which are relatively short compared to other rogue-likes. These rewards range from resources to build your village with to power-ups to help you mid-run to new followers. The best part is each boss you defeat can turn into a follower! Each run feels like a considerable step forward and, inspite of the fairly simplistic though refined combat, it feels extremely satisfying to hack and slash your way through.
The village-building is satisfying too, with each upgrade and new technology that you discover with the help of your followers being actively beneficial to the rogue-like segment of the game. You unlock new weapons, new powers and new clothing. The village itself is pretty customisable and it’s very pleasing to see it visually upgrading as your game progresses.
However, towards the late game, it does feel very cluttered. At times it becomes hard to keep track of where everything is.
Like its gameplay, COTL is a master at blending its themes and styles. The art style blends cute hand-drawn 2D sprites with its demonic aesthetic, making it a game with a unique style that is quite pleasing to look at. This flows into the story and gameplay as well, with there always being a fair share of goofiness.
The narrative itself, however, is nothing to write home about and it’s fine that way; it is clearly not COTL’s focus. There are other segments of the world that are explorable with their tiny secrets and fun minigames.
What COTL nails is the vibe. It’s an extremely fun game to pick up in short bursts and it is constantly being updated with new content. It’s pure fun, through and through.
VERDICT: COTL is a fun, albeit short, romp that has you fighting monsters, recruiting followers and building your own little village as you aspire to overthrow an eldritch deity. All with good vibes, of course. I would give it an eight out of 10.
