Cult of the Lamb Tells Players How to Start a Cult in New Trailer

Cult of the Lamb is a roguelike game where the player takes on the role of a sheep saved from sacrificial slaughter by a strange entity. While the game does have a cutesy aesthetic, the developers at Massive Monster have discussed using the cartoonish style of Cult of the Lamb as a juxtaposition against its horror elements, similar to shows like Over the Garden Wall. As well as having a horror theme and allowing the player to venture out into a procedurally generated world to destroy rival cults, it also lets them build their own collection of worshippers.

This mechanic was shown off in a new trailer for Cult of the Lamb, which almost acts as a tutorial for how to begin a cult. To begin collecting followers, a player must first take down a rival cult through exploring the roguelike element of Cult of the Lamb. Once the false prophet of that cult has been dealt with, a new follower for the player's cult can be recruited. When a new follower is indoctrinated into the cult, a player can customize their new worshipper how they see fit.

Things like the follower's name and appearance can be altered. Each addition to the cult will also come with a unique trait, but examples of these aren't given in the trailer. Basically, collecting followers in this new Devolver Digital title sounds like a creepier version of getting new villagers in Animal Crossing, except with a bit more customization options. Followers can give the player power from daily sermons and will follow differing rules depending on the chosen doctrine of the cult.

If step one in growing a cult is getting the followers, step two in the Cult of the Lamb trailer is then making sure the faithful followers are rewarded. Players can do this by feeding their followers with grand feasts, granting them gifts, or even marrying them. If the flock is happy, then the shrine in the center of the player's base will shine with devotion. However, if things aren't going so well in the cult, some may grow unfaithful.

The unfaithful can be dealt with in numerous ways in Cult of the Lamb. There are re-education methods to bring an unfaithful follower back into the flock, but there's also always the option to feed an unfaithful follower to a tentacled monster, something that was shown off in Cult of the Lamb's initial reveal. It seems that these darker rituals will have their benefits in growing a player's power as well, perhaps making the idea of sacrificing a loyal follower that much more enticing.