Skip to main content

Cult of the Lamb’s town (and cult) building has me hooked

My favorite roguelikes are the ones that give players the tools to break the game. The Binding of Isaac is on the top of that list — I’ve crashed the game too many times to count at this point. Cult of the Lamb is absolutely not one of those games. It’s much tamer. But by combining its own roguelike action with town-building (more cult-building, really) mechanics, it’s already set itself apart.

Cult of the Lamb | Sacrifice Yourself in 2022

A lamb in a hard place

My demo of Cult of the Lamb at PAX East 2022 started with the game’s titular lamb being led to the slaughter. Animals are sacrificed to keep some old god locked away, but being sacrificed instead sends this lamb straight into that god’s arms. It resurrects the lamb to be its conduit in the world and starts a cult in its name.

Recommended Videos

That’s what’s happening in the background of Cult of the Lamb. As far as I could tell, it wasn’t that important. Once the lamb is brought back and given power through the old god’s dark crown, I was pointed to some monsters to kill — and to the first part of the game that really impressed me.

Cult of the Lamb is deceptively fast-paced. I found that dodge-rolling around (which you can do as much as you want) makes me zip around much faster than just walking. I quickly got into the habit of rolling around enemies’ attacks before hitting them with a quick combo from my sword. I didn’t stick to that strategy during my whole demo though. Eventually, new abilities and a new weapon made me want to switch things up.

Attacking enemies in a dungeon in Cult of the Lamb.
Players can fight through dungeons with conventional weapons or magical attacks. Image used with permission by copyright holder

Over the course of runs, players can pick up new abilities and weapons, all of which drastically change gameplay. Picking up a dagger, for instance, immediately changed my attack move set. However, it came with the added bonus of summoning spirits that flew into enemies whenever I destroyed a pile of bones. I wasn’t able to see any other weapons during my time with the game but I’m excited to see how they can mix combat up further.

What Cult of the Lamb doesn’t have are any character stats to change or passive items to stack. It’s a bit flat for a roguelike in that way; the only ways I could change my run were by picking up new weapons or new abilities. I wanted a bit more out of the game’s combat, but it made up for that letdown with its cult-building features.

Cult following

After defeating a boss to finish up my run, I was given a small animal citizen to indoctrinate into my cult. The game then brought me over to my cult’s site, a small area filled with natural resources, as well as the newest recruit. I was able to customize them as much as I wanted before commanding them to start harvesting materials.

Like so many other town-building games (my gut reaction is to liken this bit of Cult of the Lamb to Rimworld), the goal here is to automate everything. I was told by a member of publisher Devlover Digital guiding me during my demo that whether it was cooking food or gathering materials, players would want to gather up enough cultists so the cult itself became a well-oiled machine of praising an old god and gathering materials.

Those materials — which were just twigs and rocks as far as I could tell — could be used to build different structures for my cult. I only got to make a small kitchen where I could cook food for my cultists, but there was plenty of space for more buildings to go. I wasn’t able to build them, but press materials show tents for cultists to live in, weapon training camps, and naturally, temples and statues to pray at.

A cult site packed with buildings in Cult of the Lamb.
Constructing a self-sustaining cult site is essential in Cult of the Lamb. Image used with permission by copyright holder

But collecting those materials to make new structures and cook food for my cultists was essential because one of the most important parts of any cult is keeping its members happy. Each cultist has their own stats; things that they are good or bad at or things that they especially don’t like. My lone cultist, for instance, really wouldn’t like it if I sacrificed another member.

Sadly, I wasn’t able to sacrifice any of my cultists to the old God during my demo. It’s especially a bummer because Cult of the Lamb‘s combat isn’t what makes it unique. Incorporating town-building mechanics into its gameplay loop is just the wrinkle that could make the roguelike really stand out from its peers though. I can already see myself playing the game, unable to tear myself away because I need to build one more structure for my cult.

Cult of the Lamb is set to release sometime this year for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. The game can currently be wishlisted on Steam.

Topics
Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
Digital Trends’ Best of CES 2025 Awards
Best Of CES 2025

Las Vegas is overrun. Every billboard in town is shouting about AI, hotel bar tops now sport a sea of laptops, and after hours The Strip is elbow to elbow with engineers toting yard-long beers.

That means CES, the year’s biggest tech bacchanalia, has come to town, and Digital Trends editors have spent the last four days frolicking among next year’s crop of incredible TVs, computers, tablets, and EVs. We’re in heaven.

Read more
Why do I keep playing a game that I hate?
Moltres and Zapdos cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.

It’s 9 a.m. when my morning alarm goes off on New Year’s Eve. I quickly shut it off and then jump into my usual morning routine: doing a round through my most used apps before getting out of bed. But my first instinct isn’t to look at the weather, check my social media notifications, or read the news. Instead, I open up the one app that I know I’m going to spend a chunk of my day complaining about: Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.

Since its release in October, the free-to-play card collecting game has taken up more and more real estate in my head. What started as a harmless curiosity has since grown into an infuriating obsession. I fiddle with it constantly as if I’m using a digital fidget toy. When I don’t have packs to open, I aimlessly scroll through my card collection. I’m in multiple Discord chats where friends screenshot photos of the same few cards that every player can pull.

Read more
Wordle Today: Wordle answer and hints for January 8
Someone playing Wordle on a smartphone.

We have the solution to Wordle on July 16, as well as some helpful hints to help you figure out the answer yourself, right here. We've placed the answer at the bottom of the page, so we don't ruin the surprise before you've had a chance to work through the clues. So let's dive in, starting with a reminder of yesterday's answer.
Yesterday's Wordle answer
Let's start by first reminding ourselves of yesterday's Wordle answer for those new to the game or who don't play it daily, which was "ATLAS." So we can say that the Wordle answer today definitely isn't that. Now, with that in mind, perhaps take another stab at it using one of these Wordle starting words and circle back if you have no luck.
Hints for today's Wordle
Still can't figure it out? We have today's Wordle answer right here, below. But first, one more thing: Let's take a look at three hints that could help you find the solution, without giving it away, so there's no need to feel guilty about keeping your streak alive -- you put in some work, after all! Or just keep scrolling for the answer.

Today’s Wordle includes the letter D.
Today’s Wordle uses one vowel.
Today's Wordle is a word for a first attempt at a paper.

Read more