Kill the old gods and bring about the rule of a new one

Jul 5, 2022 14:52 GMT  ·  By

I lose half a heart of health as a giant worm leaps on my small lamb, but I get my revenge by slashing him down with my sword before I attack one of his cultist companions from a distance. The room is cleared, which nets me some gold and bones, and I wonder if I lost a little too much health to successfully deal with the coming boss.

Cult of the Lamb is developed by Massive Monster and published by Devolver Digital. I played the game via Steam on the PC, but it will also be available on August 11 on the Nintendo Switch, the Xbox Series X and S, the PlayStation 5, and older consoles from Sony and Microsoft.

After a deal with the devil of this universe the player controls a lamb, apparently the last of his kind, who is building a following as he seeks to bring his dark lord back from his imprisonment. This entails recruiting other cute animals to the cause of evil, interacting with them to set up tasks, and finding ways to develop a village where they can live and work as they seek to bring about the apocalypse.

Gameplay in Cult of the Lamb has two sides. Players will spend most of their time moving through relatively small combat arenas, slashing and dodging their way through foes. This allows them to pick up gold and resources. Bosses pop up at the end of a series of encounters and tarot dealers allow gamers to unlock upgrades.

Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lamb
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Between combat runs, the lamb hangs out in the cult village with the other animals he indoctrinates. All of them can be set to work to produce resources, including the devotion that opens up new buildings and upgrades. The cult can also be developed with sermons and rituals.

Cult of the Lamb has a distinctive look that works well with the world and gameplay. The player-controlled lamb manages to be both cute and threatening and all the enemies and followers have a distinct presence. The world, especially the combat levels, could use a little more variety but most players will be too focused on the gameplay to care. The sound design is equally solid, and the soundtrack is also good.

Conclusion

Cult of the Lamb has the ingredients to be a solid experience. The combat is fast and fun. I found no major difficulty spikes (playing on Normal) when bosses pop up. Cult village development and follower management are exciting initially, although I can see how they might become annoying in the long run.

The game also has a fictional universe that mixes the desecration of enemy skeletons with very cute followers in an interesting way. Cult of the Lamb shows a lot of potential and I look forward to playing more when the full game arrives.

Preview code provided by the publisher.

Cult of the Lamb screenshots (16 Images)

Cult of the Lamb key art
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