At first glance, Cult of the Lamb doesn't look like something revolutionary (the first thing that will probably catch your eye is the art style, more on that later) but it's a really interesting mix between a roguelike/dungeon crawler and a management sim (think something like the Sims with a much darker edge). I'll start with the roguelike side of the game, I knew what I was getting into with CotL but this aspect of the game isn't my chosen genre normally. Playing a game that requires combat that doesn't have clear goalposts to run through and a linear path to plan for was never my favourite (see zombie mode in Call of Duty for another example). While I still didn't love every minute of the dungeon crawling/fighting, it was pretty well done. There's enough variety in the enemies and the game doesn't punish you too hard for making the occasional mistake. The enemies are presented as cute/mildly threatening but many of them evolve into some hideous monstrosity which all have a unique/ugly visual flair that makes them more fun to beat up. I still do have a couple of complaints, the hit boxes on the enemies aren't perfectly calibrated and that gets more frustrating when you're on your last half heart and the boss has 33% of it's health left. The random nature of the stages still wasn't something I treasured but in fairness, it kept me on my toes and I got the intended experience from CotL.
Moving onto the management sim aspect of the game, when you're not dicing up or cursing soldiers of the Old Faith, you're taking care of your own followers. I enjoyed this aspect of the game more, you get to recruit as many people as you like, perform rites and rituals to increase their devotion and look after their day to day. To be fair, the early days in the game can be annoying, your followers can't tend to any of their basic needs and the experience can quickly morph into being a parent for a dozen whiny and needy toddlers. But once again, the variety is key and they give you other areas to explore, some side characters to bounce off of and you can design your cult to suit. You can marry your followers, sacrifice them to the One Who Waits (your personal saviour and a savage bishop to say the least), give them hallucinogens or make them eat poop. There's many different things to do and the permutations of different choices help keep things fresh.
I also wanted to give credit to my favourite part of the game which was art design/direction and the sound design. The animation is very innocent looking and cartoonish, you probably looked at the lamb for the first time and imagined something like a children's book. But while everything appears cute and cuddly, this game flips a switch when it wants and the ramifications of serving the whims of these angry and rampaging gods become more startling. Mini-bosses grow rows of teeth, blood spurts everywhere and it certainly raises the stakes. Nothing in the game is too frightening or scary, but the dichotomy between view looking in of this colourful and seemingly cheerful management sim to the gory and threatening edge of the roguelike combat is a fun contrast. I also really liked the music and sound design, the characters speak in gibberish but the tone is so exaggerated that there's no confusing the conveyed emotion. It reminded me of a time before the minions in Despicable Me were completely played out but in a good way. The sound of the followers cheering or suddenly fighting when I was focused on something else made me laugh several times and it was a nice bonus.
Wrapping up the analysis, the plot of the CothL is pretty simple and it's laid out quickly but it never bothered me that it didn't delve too deeply. You're not here for an A level story, you're playing Cult of the Lamb to mash enemies and manage your subjects. The game is extremely well rounded otherwise, the balance is a real credit to the developers and the creative team. It was a small group (relatively) that made the game and they should be applauded, they definitely punched above their weight class. I never completely fell in love with CotL but it has few noticeable flaws and it accomplishes what it wants to do with aplomb. I'd recommend it strongly, even as someone who doesn't flip over this style of game normally.
