You are a lamb that runs a cult. You are responsible for recruiting new followers, preaching the word, managing resources and completing excursions. It’s a roguelite and city-management crossover with some dark undertones that make the whole experience feel unique.

The roguelite elements are pretty standard. Each time you go on a run you will get a weapon and a power. These are randomized each time and you can unlock more through the progression tree at your base. Weapons have two attacks, a heavy and a normal. Some heavy attacks are straightforward to use, but others require specific timing. Both the heavy attack and the powers rely on a resource you collect from vanquishing foes called fervor. Because both use fervor it leads to interesting decision-making within combat scenarios. On top of these aspects, there are also trinkets. These are essentially super moves that have various applications like crowd control, or summoning assistance. The final piece of the puzzle is the tarot cards. Each one has a different passive perk, like increasing damage, increasing attack speed or damaging all on-screen enemies when you take damage. The perks do not make much of an impact to the gameplay as a whole however are not intrusive enough to be a hindrance to the experience. With all of these facets, each run is unique and the combat is solid enough to carry you from zone to zone.

When you’re on a run, you get to choose paths. There aren’t too many options and most icons are self-explanatory so you can discern what direction you want to go from the start. The options include combat encounters, shops and resources. There are other special ones, but I’ll let you discover those. Choice plays a huge part in the game as a whole, and the route options attribute to this as well. The game has multiple bosses you need to beat before completing your mission. You can tackle these in any order as long as you have the necessary amount of followers. These engagements don’t feel particularly special, but there is a sense of satisfaction upon slaying them.

The other half of this experience is a city-management type game. You have to manage your cult’s resources and upgrade your base to ensure you garner the most devotion you can. Devotion powers you up in differing way depending on how you use it. You can upgrade your food production, devotion generation or resource gathering. There are also rituals you can perform to increase faith or save on resources. If you choose to start a fast, then your followers will lose faith, but won’t eat for three days. There is a give and take with the rituals, but once you unlock a few, you will be able to have a net gain on any that you perform. Generally you have to ensure your cult is fed and faithful to prosper. These aspects are not difficult to manage, but they do cut your dungeon runs short if you’re unprepared. Before you head out, you need to ensure your cult has enough food and faith or you’ll have to head back early. Lack of faith results in dissenters, who will preach against you, and without re-education, will eventually leave the cult. You can choose whether to kill them or re-educate them and one has more repercussions than the other, but both have merits.

The cult upgrades are relegated to “evil” and “not-so-evil.” Looking at the cute animals, I could not choose any evil options initially, however as the game went on, I did end up sacrificing a few of my members. Members are disposable assets and the game treats them as such. Their lifespans are relatively short, and allowing them to die naturally does nothing for you. The fact that the game forces you to look at them like this, further emphasized the theme of the game. This is a cult after all.

Cult of the Lamb is a fun experience that relies on its style to differentiate it from others in the genre. It combines two gameplay types seamlessly and they compliment each other well. The cult can get in the way of the roguelite elements if you are unprepared, but forcing you to come back to base helps to accentuate the importance of both gameplay types. It’s a careful balance the developer has cultivated here and it’s overall a great package. Gameplay elements are standard and most are revealed at a steady pace initially, but once this influx of content stops, the game settles into a groove that can get repetitive. If you like roguelites or city-management games, you will enjoy what Cult of the Lamb has to offer. It’s cute, creepy and an experience worth having.