Cult of the Lamb

[darksnowman]

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Cult of the Lamb is available as a free trial if you’re a member of Nintendo Switch Online, so you can start your own cult just in time for Halloween!
You can start downloading right now, and start playing the title from tomorrow.

The free trial starts 25th October 18:00 UK time and ends 31st October 23:59.

https://www.n-europe.com/news/play-cult-of-the-lamb-for-free-with-nintendo-switch-online/

There's still time to try out the full game. It seems to have some pretty satisfying gameplay. Send it to your Switch and start your cult today!

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Games/Nintendo-Switch-download-software/Cult-of-the-Lamb-2210770.html

[darksnowman]

I played about a fortnight's worth of in-game time. I was only starting to give in to what the game expects of you because there truly seems to be no "good" or even "less bad" way to go about playing this. I just wanted to build up the camp and feed off the follower's devotion positively but nope, every upgrade goes against that and there's that entity reminding you your followers are to be treated as objects to be used and abused. Last thing I did was perform a ritual that sacrificed a follower! Thought it was going to be a celebration that'd level them up. I was horrified! Benevolent cult leaders need not apply. Boo. 

It'd be great if you can unlock the option to build them a toilet. I wanted to give them beds, provide the foundation to be self-sufficient with cooking and cleaning up after themselves (poo and puke!) and build from there. Like, if they could take care of themselves and leave me free to venture out on crusades, I'm sure we could build a little utopia. 

The first time I died, a dissenter rose up in the ranks because apparently, my leadership credentials were a sham if I was getting bested out there in Darkwood. The game told me I should either put him to death or in prison. I left him free to roam around and tried engage with him in the hopes of re-education and reintegration into the flock. My attempts fell on deaf ears because he disappeared. Not sure if he's defected to another cult and I should expect him back to steal my followers away. By the second time I'd a dissenter I'd built a stockade so I put him there and re-educated him before he could leg it. The others would wander over and point and laugh at the confused fellow. 

One follower told me it'd be funny to feed another one a bowl of poop. I didn't want to but if you say no you lose 25 faith with the requesting follower. So I begrudgingly did it and I think it cost me with the victim. Then he came back and said it was such a lark we should do it again. I declined and took the -25. So even though I said I was starting to give in to what the game wants from me, I suppose I wasn't exactly all in on it.  

Moral quandaries aside, it's reminiscent of ActRaiser, Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing and the gameplay feels great—can't fault it there. The dice minigame is cool, fishing's not bad. It's cute that load screens are labelled summoning, but I just wish it was better optimised to load quicker but this seems to be a thing with pretty much all rogue-like/lite games that aren't Shiren the Wanderer. 

They've unapologetically gone for it with their vision... as troubling as that can be.