Cult of the Lamb

Cult of the Lamb is a Great game. This is because it's two Good games bolted together. Half the game is a short-run rogue-(very)-lite, with responsive gameplay where you go and fight varied bosses. The other half is a lite town management game, where you have to keep people fed and faithful. Both of them are fun, but not complex. The rogue-lite is 10 minute runs with one attack and one spell. There's a range of options there, but not a huge amount. This is not Binding of Isaac, even if it feels like a love letter to it's themes. The town management is something you are juggling in-between runs, keeping the faithful happy and unlocking new buildings that ease the strain of managing the town. They are cute and satisfying, but they are fairly simple and self-contained and don't require a lot of thought, while the aesthetic options suffer in that you are on an awkward diagonal grid which lessens the excitement of town design. This is not Planet Zoo, even if you can have one of every animal with the multitude of options. The Woolhaven DLC adds some spice to the game, adding a bit more challenge to both the combat and the town management just when everything is starting to be a bit more routine and I think that part of the game is the highlight for me. Neither is really much more complex, but you can tell it's really been developed with Love. So I stick with my rating that this is a Great game - provided you like both Rogue-lites AND Townbuilders. The big thing the game is bringing to you is the novelty of their fusion. If one of those genre's leaves you cold, you might be better served with one of the exemplars in that genre on their own.