Roguelikes and Roguelites have skyrocketed in popularity over the last few years and for very good reasons. There have been a number of awesome games, mostly indie, that have been keeping the fans very busy in 2022. And so when Cult of the Lamb was first unveiled at Gamescom 2021, fans were quite thrilled about it.
And while the game did manage to get a decent amount of followers well before its release, it wasn’t expected to take the whole world by storm like that. But how did this indie Roguelike title become so popular in such a short period of time? Let’s find out!
What is Cult of the Lamb?
Cult of the Lamb is an epic-looking roguelike title with a pretty unique and innovative story. In the game’s plot, you take on the role of a lamb who strikes an agreement with a captive demon to return him to power in exchange for killing the four other demons that put him there. And in order to do that you need to navigate through numerous randomly generated dungeons.
Every time you enter a dungeon, a random weapon and spell are provided to you to wield. These battles require you to move from one chamber to another eliminating every foe in order to clear the way forward. Similar to other roguelikes, players are expected to collect random objects like power-ups, in this case, tarot cards, that make you stronger for a short period of time.
The boss fights in Cult of the Lamb are also pretty enjoyable. The bosses in this game offer just the right amount of difficulty, teach clear playing patterns, and are fun to fight with. However, these battles are not perfect by any means. The Camera movement during the boss battles does feel a little off, throwing you off your combat.
Why is Cult of the Lamb so Popular?
The simplicity of the game is what has driven a lot of fans to buy Cult of the Lamb. In terms of gameplay, the battle fundamentals are straightforward; you have an invincible roll; the chambers are simple to navigate; the maps aren’t super difficult to understand as well, all you need to do is simply swing around your weapon and hope for the best.
And you might be thinking the game needs to be richer and more complex with its gameplay features. However, having straightforward gameplay is what makes it the most broadly attractive to a wider audience in the first place. But that’s just half of the story, the most important reason why Cult of the Lamb has become so popular is Streaming!
The game was picked up by many popular streamers and soon enough everyone started talking about this strange game about a sacrificial lamb on a path to create a massive following for its demonic cult. However strange, the story is probably one of the main reasons why a lot of streamers wanted to try this game out for themselves and unknowingly created a cult following for this cult game, pretty ironic.
It’s More than Your Usual Roguelike
While you are fighting other strange creatures in the dungeons, you visit your cult of devoted followers. There, you work with them on a variety of projects to increase their faith and dedication, which in turn gives you more strength for your next dungeon battles.
You can discover followers in these dungeons who will be added to your cult; they will carry out your directions constantly, including while you are in the dungeon; you can give them tasks like building structures to increase your faith, increase your income from farming, or whatever you do in a demonic cult.
All these things lead to leveling up various resources like faith and devotion and allow you to access perks and talents down the skill tree, which then unlock better buildings, greater power-ups, and resources. Doing all of this requires keeping your cult happy, healthy, and alive. It’s more than just a regular roguelike title, it also feels like a city simulator.
Because your followers also have their own needs. They require beds to sleep in, care when they are ill, food to eat, and cleaning up after them. This adds a whole different dimension to this game and attracts a whole different gaming audience as well.
Is it Worth Playing?
This has been a question for many gamers around the world and the answer is YES! It is totally worth playing and while there’s a ton of controversy about the game promoting demonic cults. But once you actually get to play the game, you wouldn’t feel that in any way, especially with the cute characters and cartoony visuals.
This game offers a ton of super fun content that not only provides you hours of thrilling fun but also intrigues you with its unique and innovative story and colorful characters.
