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Cult of the Lamb is anything but ordinary, but is the melding of genres really that good when placed alongside this oddball story? The reviews are in and most sentiments are positive. It’s a highly enjoyable game, though there are a few things that may keep it from achieving cult status.
8 Best: The Art Style
There are a lot of indie games out there that go for a cartoon-like aesthetic like Cuphead. While the animation here isn’t as fluid as Cuphead, Cult of the Lamb still looks great. Everything is flat with a fake 3D rendering of the backgrounds almost like the Paper Mario series.
The juxtaposition between the cute animals and the subject matter of creating cults with bloody sacrifices should also be praised. The game is dripping with style which will make it easy to sell merchandise. Let’s see those adorable bloody plushies on the shelf, pronto.
7 Worst: The Story
The artwork and overall theme of the game are good but the story is lacking that punch. The game can’t decide if it wants to be a serious look at creating a cult and fighting god-like beings or if it wants to be silly. It’s not completely devoid of interest or humor but it is certainly not the selling point of this roguelike.
It would have also been nice if these critters spoke in English instead of gibberish. It’s hard for a game like Cult of the Lamb to live up to the standards of Hades which paved the way for good stories in roguelikes.
6 Best: The Tight Gameplay
This game is a combination of action roguelikes like the aforementioned Hades and sim-like games akin to Animal Crossing. The combination might sound weird but it works surprisingly well with only a few caveats.
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Of the two gameplay styles in Cult of the Lamb, the dungeon crawling and action are the stars. Controls are tight, resulting in an addictive experience that will be hard to put down. It is the perfect game for Switch owners to pick up and play, either for minutes or hours at a time.
5 Worst: Hard To Manage Manually
Cultivating one’s own little cult village is fun but the gameplay loop could be better. The further players get in Cult of the Lamb, the more mechanics will unlock which makes it hard to manage everything.
This is because there is not a good menu system to help alleviate the repetitive nature of talking to followers, cleaning up messes, cooking, and so forth. Returning from the roguelike dungeons can feel like a chore worth dreading too. It’s not a terrible aspect of the game but things could definitely be more streamlined.
4 Best: Adjustable Difficulties
This is one of the most challenging genres out there. Roguelikes are similar to the Dark Souls series, which are also renowned for being difficult. Not many roguelikes include difficulty options or assist features but Cult of the Lamb does.
There are four difficulties to choose from and they can be bumped up or down at any time. This flexibility will allow players to experiment with the challenge level. It should also allow more beginners into the game as it is easily accessible on the lowest difficulty setting, albeit with a bit of grinding like in an RPG.
3 Worst: The Load Times
The Switch is perfect for a couple of genres like roguelikes, puzzle games, and RPGs. Again, Cult of the Lamb is a good fit for the system as the gameplay loop lends itself easily to pick-and-up play sessions.
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Unfortunately, there is one major downside to this portable hybrid: the load times are not as good as the ones on PC or newer consoles. At most, loads will take between ten to fifteen seconds long, so it is not an eternity. Things do add up over time though so this is worth mentioning for players that wish to purchase the ultimate version of the game.
2 Best: The Branching Paths
After completing a floor in the game, players get to choose where they go next. The branching paths idea is not new for roguelikes but it is a more rare mechanic. That’s why it is a welcome sight to see in Cult of the Lamb as it adds more customization for players.
If they wish to avoid conflict, players can pick a route with more resources like lumber or rocks. If they wish to gain as many new followers as possible, they can look for NPC icons, and the list goes on. There are plenty of choices here.
1 Best: Customizing Your Cult
NPCs will have a certain look to them when they are rescued such as a black cat. However, once they become followers, their entire outlook can be changed. A black cat can turn into a yellow giraffe via the power of the underworld.
Species, colors, and names can be changed at the drop of a hat. It might not make a lot of sense but it’s yet another thing that allows players to inject their own personality into the game. Not even the great Animal Crossing series allows for that magnitude of customization.
Cult of the Lamb was released on August 11, 2022, and is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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