Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lamb is a roguelike video game. It was published by Devolver Digital and was developed by Massive Monster.[1]
| Cult of the Lamb | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Cosplay of Cult of the Lamb's main character | |
| Developer(s) | Massive Monster |
| Publisher(s) | Devolver Digital |
| Director(s) | Jay Armstrong James Pearmain Julian Wilton |
| Programmer(s) | Jay Armstrong Harrison Gibbins William Mesilane Julian Wilton Paul Kopetko Matthew Roland |
| Artist(s) | Julian Wilton James Pearmain Jonathan Swanson Carles Dalmau Reid Armansin Daniel Sun |
| Writer(s) | JoJo Zhou Jay Armstrong |
| Composer(s) | River Boy (Narayana Johnson) |
| Engine | Unity |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | August 11, 2022 |
| Genre(s) | Roguelite, construction and management simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
It was released on August 11, 2022 for the macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.[2]
The game is about a lamb who is saved from death by a stranger called "The One Who Waits". To come back to life, they are given the task of recruiting followers for a cult in the name of The One Who Waits.[3] The player can recruit followers by rescuing them, defeating bosses, and doing quests. Players can also tell followers to do different tasks such as building structures, getting items, and helping in battle. The needs of the members have to be looked after or else they will dissent and leave the cult.[4]
Gameplay
changeCult of the Lamb is centered around a lamb, controlled by the player, who is given the job of forming a cult in order to calm down the god "The One Who Waits". Having saved the player character's life at the start of the game, it instructs them to start on roguelite-style "crusades" by going out into one of the game's four areas in order to defeat different enemies (so-called "heretics"). There they can find or rescue other lost or imprisoned animals in order to create and grow a cult dedicated to the player.[5][6] The randomly generated world contains valuable supplies to gather, perks and weapons to collect, enemies in the form of rival cultists and non-believers to fight, and other animals to rescue; these animals can be indoctrinated into the player's cult. They have appearances that can be changed and both positive and negative qualities, which can affect how they act in the cult or how they react to the player's actions relating to the cult.[7]
The player can manage their followers in their team's village. Followers can be assigned tasks at the base such as gathering valuable supplies, building structures, worshipping, sending them to help the player during the fight, or sacrificing them, which can affect the player's abilities and the team itself.[7] The player must make sure their followers' needs are met by performing sermons and rituals to strengthen their faith, cooking food for them to survive, providing them with shelter, and making sure the village is clean and sanitary.[8] Otherwise, the followers can turn against the player, spread disagreement, and eventually leave the cult with other followers; to prevent this, the player can provide for them, give them gifts, reeducate them, or put them in prison until they stop disagreeing.[9][10]
Twitch Integration
changeThe game has Twitch integration via the "Companion of the Lamb" Twitch extension.[11] Viewers can customize their follower by entering via a "Follower Raffle", which (when chosen at random) will have their username displayed above their character at all times.[11] Other features include the "Twitch Totem Bar" which lets viewers add channel points, resulting in a random reward for the player, and a "Help or Hinder" event where they can vote to either help or interfere with the player's progress.[11]
Reception
changeThe game received positive reviews by game critics. Critics said that they liked the combat, art style, customization, and replayability. However, critics also felt that the cult customization was too difficult at times and resources were sometimes too hard to find.[12][13][14][15][16]
The game would also win many awards. Among the awards won, it won Game of the Year, Excellence in Music, Excellence in Art, and Excellence in Gameplay at the 2022 Australian Game Developer Awards.[17] It also won Best Indie Game at the 2022 Golden Joystick Awards and was nominated for Best Independent Game at The Game Awards in 2022.[18][19]
References
change- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb". IGN. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "The Biggest Game Releases of August 2022". IGN. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb is that rare game: a fun critique of organized religion". Polygon. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Interview: Cult of the Lamb will let you 'sacrifice naughty followers'". TrueAchievements. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ Romano, Sal (9 June 2022). ""Cult of the Lamb launches August 11"". Gematsu. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ↑ Regan, Tom (19 April 2022). ""'Cult Of The Lamb' is 'Happy Tree Friends' meets 'Midsommar' – and it just might be your new favorite game"". NME. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 McKeand, Kirk (24 June 2022). ""Cult of the Lamb is set to be the next big indie hit"". USA Today. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ↑ Donlan, Christian (10 August 2022). ""Cult of the Lamb review - a genre mash-up with a lot of ideas"". Eurogamer. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ↑ Nicholas, Heidi (30 April 2022). ""Interview: Cult of the Lamb will let you 'sacrifice naughty followers'"". TrueAchievements. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ↑ Smith, Nathan (16 June 2022). ""Cult of the Lamb Demo Released During Steam Next Fest"". mxdwn.com. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Harrison, Christian (2 August 2022). ""Cult of the Lamb to have Twitch integration that allows viewers to interact with the streamer's playthrough"". Dot Esports. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb Review". IGN. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb Review - A Cult Classic". GameSpot. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb Review". Game Informer. Archived from the original on February 7, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb review". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb Wins Big at the Australian Game Developer Awards". IGN. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "Cult of the Lamb wins Best Indie Game at this year's Golden Joystick Awards". GamesRadar+. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
- ↑ "The Game Awards 2022 Nominations Sees God of War: Ragnarok Leading With 10 Awards Nods". IGN. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
