RoguedexPart 1 (Sep 2023) · #18 of 35 in that tierWatch the moment (0:30:22)
Cult of the Lamb
- Developed by
- Massive Monster
- Published by
- Devolver Digital
$24.99
Start your own cult in a land of false prophets, venturing out into diverse and mysterious regions to build a loyal community of woodland Followers and spread your Word to become the one true cult.
Consensus
B75.1/100
Steam players95.9% positiveOverwhelmingly Positive130,095 reviews
Metacritic ↗82/100Users: 7.9/10
OpenCritic ↗84/100
VG Insights estimate ↗≈3.9M copies · ≈$67.1M gross
What creators say
Ranked Aug 2024 · #2 of 7 in that tierWatch the moment (0:53:42)
Ranked Jul 2023 · #25 of 48 in that tierListen to the episode
Scored 6.83/10 · tier derived from the score
Ranked Apr 2023 · #30 of 42 in that tierWatch the moment (2:03:54)
Ranked May 2026 · #5 of 7 in that tierWatch the moment (0:13:45)
Ranked Apr 2025 · #2 of 8 in that tierWatch the moment (1:12:09)
What players say
A cute-but-macabre action roguelite from Massive Monster (published by Devolver Digital, 2022) where you play a sacrificed lamb who founds a cult, alternating between dungeon runs and managing a village of followers.
Cult of the Lamb is received as a highly successful, charming genre blend: critics sit at Metacritic 82 (88 reviews) and OpenCritic 84 (143 reviews, 88% recommend), and Steam players rate it Overwhelmingly Positive (about 96% of 130k reviews). Praise centres on art, music, tone and the addictive loop between combat and cult management; criticism centres on thin combat depth, limited run variety and management that can turn into micromanagement. It has been supported for years with free updates and paid DLC (Sinful Pack, Pilgrim Pack, and the large Woolhaven expansion in January 2026), and is not early access or abandoned. A minority of players find both halves shallow or repetitive, and Woolhaven launch brought some save-corruption and bug complaints.
Players love
- Distinctive cute-meets-dark art style, humour and tone; very widely praised
- Catchy, memorable soundtrack that players mention repeatedly
- Combat is responsive, fast and easy to pick up, with short, satisfying dungeon runs
- The loop of running dungeons to feed cult management, then returning to build, is called addictive and cozy
- Emotional attachment to followers (naming, marrying, reviving them, grieving deaths) creates stories players love
- Strong accessibility and difficulty options let players with disabilities or different skill levels enjoy it
- Generous free post-launch content and later DLC; co-op on the Steam version
- Rich lore, hidden quests and steady new unlocks keep progression engaging for fans (though some find the ending and final boss underwhelming)
Common complaints
- Combat is shallow compared with Hades or Binding of Isaac: few real builds, limited weapon/curse variety and little run-to-run difference
- Dungeons start to feel samey once you have cleared several; repetition sets in over time
- The two halves do not fully integrate and some critics call it two genres each done competently but not deeply
- Vague or unexplained mechanics and building descriptions, which the game then punishes you for missing
- Bugs and technical issues: performance on some platforms, menu pause not stopping the village simulation, and save corruption reports around DLC
- Enemy bullets and clutter can be hard to read, and healing items are rare, so early damage can ruin a run
- Endgame does not go as far as other roguelites for players wanting huge replayability
Can feel tedious
- Constant follower needs (feeding, cleaning waste, curing illness, sermons, quests) can feel like chores or laundry rather than fun
- Day/night pressure and timed follower quests add stress and a sense of maintenance over achievement
- Unlock pace slows sharply after the first ~6 hours, with long unlock animations and grindy costs, so progress feels slower over time
- Losing part of your haul on death and rare healing feels punishing to players who came for base building
- Grinding resources and travelling between activities (for example fishing just to support base management) feels like busywork to some
- In co-op, the village management phase leaves one player bored or left out
- Followers age and die quickly, and naming or bonding with them makes deaths and forced sacrifices feel bad for some players
What's unique
- Fuses an action roguelite with a cult-running colony sim (Animal Crossing/Stardew style) in one loop
- Adorable woodland-animal aesthetic used to tell a dark, sacrificial cult story with black humour
- Followers have traits, loyalty and lives; you can indoctrinate, marry, sacrifice or revive them
- Choose moral direction of your cult through doctrines, rituals and sermons, with real tradeoffs
- Side activities like fishing, farming, gambling and decorating plus a large cosmetic/customisation set
- Woolhaven adds winter, animal husbandry and new enemies as a second campaign-scale layer
Players want
- Add more combat depth: parry mechanics, more build-defining weapon and curse synergies and more run variety
- Explain systems, quests and building effects better in-game
- Split-screen or independent village play in co-op so the second player is not tethered and idle during management
- Fix save corruption and pause behavior; clearer timers that do not punish absences
- More variety between dungeon layouts and more endgame replay incentives
- Clearer readability of enemies and projectiles
Summarised from Steam reviews and community discussion.
Steam tags
Base-BuildingCuteAction RoguelikeSingleplayerDungeon CrawlerCharacter CustomizationRogue-liteDark HumorColony SimBuilding
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Tier list Part 1 (2023)
Cult of the Lamb is a management sim fused with an action roguelite: you tend a cult village between short dungeon runs. He feels combining two very different design approaches leaves both halves underdeveloped, with minimal building and underwhelming combat. He nonetheless got invested thanks to the art and characters and recommends it, placing it just above Children of Morta rather than naming a letter tier.
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