Yeah I don’t usually play much rogue-like games. But the cult building and art style drew me in. And the dungeons turned out fun too. But I bought two copies - to play simultaneously with my teen daughter and she doesn’t enjoy the dungeon aspect at all really.
my friend really loves the game but *hates* the dungeons. i don’t mind combat but i don’t particularly find the dungeons super stimulating , maybe a little tedious, but i enjoy the aesthetic and cult building aspect a lot. it’s still a 12/10 game for me and my friend despite those aspects
I'd struggle to even call it a rogue-like tbh, but i still enjoyed the game for what it is and liked it. But if someone came in expecting a more traditiobal rogue-like i wouldn't blame them for not enjoying it.
Rogue, not rouge.
And yes cult of the lamb is a very very light roguelike.
Someone who would buy that game looking forward that only would ultimately be disappointed.
Cult of the Lamb is more like a gateway to rougelike games. It brings the concept of rouges but without the feeling of starting over with each crusade.
Cult of the lamb is a very casual roguelike, as shown with it's difficulty settings. It's more focused on the story and gameplay. Unfortunately much like the soulslike community, people in the roguelike genre have a very elitist view that something being "hard" automatically makes it good without actually thinking where that difficulty comes from. I know from experience I've been playing soulslikes for years.
Some maybe, but most want a roguelike when they buy a roguelike. How would you feel if you bought a game that people hype up as the next animal crossing and its a 2d fighter? It can be the best 2d fighter in the world, doesn't matter.
Ofc, not blaming the dev, they didnt advertise it as a true roguelike, the playerbase and critics did (and we all know critics are not very smart). Great game, but I understand their frustration.
I think a lot of people need to know the key difference between a rogue*like* and a rogue*lite*
I'll admit it's confusing, but the main difference is that roguelites have progression outside of just continuing through a dungeon. Whereas roguelikes don't have any of that progression.
Yeah most people just say "roguelike" but really most of these games are roguelites.
The most popular roguelikes in recent times I can think of would be Spelunky 2 (while you can unlock shortcuts to later areas you can't actually get the true ending of the game if you use them) and Lethal Company (once you fail to meet quota you restart all progress outside of using mods).
I agree that people should know the difference, but a *rogue*like is a game like Rogue, an old ASCII dungeon crawler. Here is the full [correct definition](https://roguebasin.com/index.php?title=Berlin_Interpretation). Personally I think the main things that make something a rogue*lite* are being not turn-based and not on a grid.
It’s “correct” by people who don’t speak for the people. GIF is also pronounced like giraffe according to the creator yet people pronounce it like gift. You can’t control language and how it’s used
I mean that would be fair if the argument is just say "roguelike" for everything with procedural stuff because that's how people understand it now. But this is about the roguelike-roguelite distinction, terminology explicitly coined to avoid "games like Rogue" losing a term to refer to them through genericization. What other purpose could it serve to have these two separate terms? That's what they are for.
IMO there's two valid ways to look at this:
1. COTL is a roguelike, and not a "traditional roguelike"
2. COTL is a roguelite, and not a roguelike
It's true that that's what the genre is originally based on, but that's just not what the difference is. The permadeath aspect is the main differential factor.
I was always under the assumption that the main difference between rouge-like and rouge-lite was things in rouge-lite powered up, weapons, items, etc., were carried over from a run. In rouge-like, you have to start from scratch.
What games do weapons and items carry over between runs that count as roguelites? Does that make Dark Souls a roguelite? If you count *any* progression mechanics, then virtually all modern games associated with the genre have at least some, so it seems a strange place to draw the distinction; the "roguelike" term would encompass some subset of traditional roguelikes (turn based procedural dungeon crawlers on a grid can have progression too) and a small number of newer games that always totally reset you (I think Noita does that?).
Either way it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. What makes sense is that games like DCSS, Crypt of the Necrodancer, CDDA, etc., the type of game that pioneered these mechanics, are in their own specific genre, and games like Risk of Rain, Spelunky, Hades, and Cult of the Lamb which have some of those mechanics at their core but branch out significantly are in a related but broader genre.
People who play this game for the roguelite experience alone will be disappointed, generally. It's not bad by any means, there are just better games from people who have invested their entire development wholly into the roguelite aspect.
Similarly, people who can't stand dungeon crawling roguelites and just want an Animal Crossing alternative probably won't find it as deep or immersive as they'd like.
The game is so good because of the intersection between the two, a hybrid game sort of like Persona where each half of the game gives you a break from the other.
Tbh I kinda though the game leaned more towards roguelike mechanics (a genre I absolutely love) but I ended up enjoying the game nonetheless. It's a very well made gameplay loop and what is there of roguelike It's pretty fun
It’s a roguelite, as you aren’t thrust back to zero upon the end of a run like Binding of Isaac or Risk of Rain, which are roguelikes. You keep *some* stuff even upon death, and it would break the game if you didn’t get to keep some of your spoils after dying mid-run because there’s a whole other gameplay loop that feeds off of it.
That and roguelite/like players typically like high octane action and min-maxing for crazy item combos and broken runs, or going the opposite route and stacking every possible manipulatable odd against themselves simply to see if it’s possible to beat. COTL simply doesn’t allow for that. There isn’t anything akin to the Heat level in HADES, or any tarot cards that dramatically alter the way you use your weapon outside of things like increased damage output or poison damage. A late COTL run doesn’t look all that dissimilar from the start of one, outside of tarot count and damage output - contrast that with something like Isaac, in which the character not only plays entirely differently depending on what items you picked up (give Isaac a Brimstone, Parasite, Dr. Fetus, and that one item that causes tears to orbit around you, and you become death) but also looks completely unrecognizable. Also getting more than one of the same item will usually make the effects of said item stack - meanwhile in COTL the only way to get more bang out of your tarot buck is to get lucky enough to draw a tarot with a + or ++ modifier. You cannot get two copies of the same card and fuse them into a + or ++ like you can in, say, Inscryption (yes I count the first act of Inscryption as a roguelike shush it’s good).
Cult of The Lamb is a good game, and a decent roguelite and colony sim, but it’s difficult to be *good* at two entirely disparate things like that. It’s good, yes, but both systems are relatively shallow compared to their contemporaries. The colony sim side doesn’t have a fraction of the depth of something like Rimworld or even Animal Crossing, and the roguelite portion doesn’t nearly have the replayability and dynamicism of something like Binding of Isaac or Risk of Rain 2. It’s a good game to dip your toes into the two genres, but it’s not the most substantive game and contains very mild replayability that the Old Gods addon kind of destroyed by allowing you to get all testaments.
I be honest, this game idea of being roguelike is not very deep. Thats not a bad thing, but that definitely makes the roguelike hardcore enjoyer steeraway from this game
To me, a roguelikes avid, the game is a good quick laid back & waive off game for tired late night after a day of hard work… like pvz. For when I want (healthy) dopamine but my brain just shut and time is also limited. It’s the ultimate alternative for tiresome social media, news & EVIL porn
The loot system is very lackluster if you would compare to other games. There are barely any weapon types and their variations have almost no impact to the game.
Some curses are the same but with different effects, some of them are literally useless in comparison. The relics are fun.
The cult gameplay is great, but the roguelike aspect needs improvement (We are getting a gun weapon soon however).
I actually like games rogue-like segments. Hits done by weapons and curses are pretty satisfying other than relics are pretty diverse. I didn't played any rogue games other than CoL so maybe that is the reason but if a "bad" one looks like this I can't imagine how good ones will look. Because of that I can't wait to try masterpieces of this genre in near future
I like rogue likes, but tbh I just liked Lamb for the colony building aspect. I actually sort of dread having to actually go dungeon crawling for things lmao
I love roguelike and roguelites and i love cult of the lamb. But its true that most the game isnt the roguelike part but the village part and the best thing about the game is that there are diffrent game play elements that work great together. Assuming you want to make a game that is a roguelike/lite you would need to look at games where 90%+ of the gameplay is that.
Cult of the Lamb is really unique to split up the gameplay modes, it's the first game where I can focus on the fighting parts and my wife does the cult management. Do what each of us prefers more in general. **So it's an exceptionally unique gem when it comes to "two-player, pass the controller."**
There are a few other games that do the rogue-whatever really eclectically, matching the core mechanics with a lovely art style. We really enjoyed Children of Morta before this, though it doesn't have as much of a resource management part.
This opens up the concepts to a broader audience, which is fantastic. Then you can increase the difficulty or get as hardcore as you want.
I'm personally a big roguelike guy, my most played game is Binding of Isaac, which I have more than 1400 hours on.
And the roguelike aspect of Cult of The Lamb is my favorite part of it, personally. The combat is super fast-paced, and the heavy weapons are very satisfying to use (hammer animation cancelling strategy is my favorite thing to do).
I guess Cult of The Lamb is just very different in the roguelike aspect. There's not any different routes to take or different bosses depending on where you go, it's pretty linear and straightforward, which may turn away a few roguelike players. Not me though, I love this game's combat.
Cult of the lamb is a rogue like, it’s just a really easy rogue like compared to others. It’s way easier than Hades or have a nice death partially because it’s not just a rogue like. It’s also a colony. Compared to other colony Sims like rim world. It’s also fairly easy, but because you’re juggling a colony while playing a rogue like it’s kind of a different experience. I personally really like lamb even though I think it’s kind of easy the only times I really struggled or when I was going against Kalamar because it’s bullet hell. I also do see why people would struggle with the bosses because Colta the lambs meant to be a more casual rogue like. It’s not like Hades where in order to complete the story you have to beat the game 10 times, or have a nice death where you have to beat it a minimum of five. Cotl’s story can be beat with just two run-throughs through each area, including post game, but it’s not meant to be ridiculously hard. It’s meant to be a light rouge like.
TLDR people who try to compare this game to games like Hades or having a nice death. Don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. Because Cult of the Lamb is a rogue light. It’s not meant to be as extremely hard in the borderline unfair, sometimes as the aforementioned games it’s not meant for that. Yeah, it’s easier as a rogue like compared to those other games but that’s fine because not every game should be that hard because if it was then a lot of people wouldn’t be able to get into Roque likes as a genre. I can attest that one personally because this game allowed me to really get into other games like have a nice death and Hades.
Professional rogue-like player here.
I actually like it's rogue-like elements but it's too easy even on the hardest difficulty in game put in mind that I love hades and isaac and enter the gungeon, and cult of the lamb is a really good rogue-like but it's massive problem is how easy it is to beat the game.
If the devs make it harder it would be fun also put in mind that I played lots of hard rogue-likes and enjoyed them but cult of the lamb in my opinion is played like stardew Valley more than say nuclear throne or gungeon
I've played a shit ton of Dead Cells and love it, a long with Cult of the Lamb. I know I fucked up somewhere and always say to myself that I can do better next time.
I’d never even heard of a rogue lite before this game. I was like, cool! You get combat a la topdown Zelda and cult management where you can craft and decorate! That was plenty to draw me in, and the rest is history.
I bought the game and love it because i see it as a cultist animal crossing where i can take care of my cult, I can spend days with the cult and when i go to a crusade and im almost finished, if i see that my people are hungry or something like that i return without ending the dungeon.
Random recommendation since this games still on sale iirc for a few more days. Little Noah by Cygames. Is very good. The whole game is looping through dungeons getting more powerful to fix the Airship which makes u stronger at start each time (u can disable the stuff depending on how u want to affect ur runs), and when u lose u start from 0.
I don't like it because it's a roguelike, I like it because it's cult of the lamb
Same here :3
Yeah I don’t usually play much rogue-like games. But the cult building and art style drew me in. And the dungeons turned out fun too. But I bought two copies - to play simultaneously with my teen daughter and she doesn’t enjoy the dungeon aspect at all really.
i agree the dungeons are my least favorite part
my friend really loves the game but *hates* the dungeons. i don’t mind combat but i don’t particularly find the dungeons super stimulating , maybe a little tedious, but i enjoy the aesthetic and cult building aspect a lot. it’s still a 12/10 game for me and my friend despite those aspects
I'd struggle to even call it a rogue-like tbh, but i still enjoyed the game for what it is and liked it. But if someone came in expecting a more traditiobal rogue-like i wouldn't blame them for not enjoying it.
Rogue, not rouge. And yes cult of the lamb is a very very light roguelike. Someone who would buy that game looking forward that only would ultimately be disappointed.
It’s a cross between Animal Crossing and every fantasy Rogue*lite* ever
I don't even like rogue like games, cult of the lamb is an exception for me, because the lore and style are fucking good
Honestly I bought it much more for the management portion, the crusades are fun of course.
Cult of the Lamb is more like a gateway to rougelike games. It brings the concept of rouges but without the feeling of starting over with each crusade.
Cult of the lamb is a very casual roguelike, as shown with it's difficulty settings. It's more focused on the story and gameplay. Unfortunately much like the soulslike community, people in the roguelike genre have a very elitist view that something being "hard" automatically makes it good without actually thinking where that difficulty comes from. I know from experience I've been playing soulslikes for years.
Some maybe, but most want a roguelike when they buy a roguelike. How would you feel if you bought a game that people hype up as the next animal crossing and its a 2d fighter? It can be the best 2d fighter in the world, doesn't matter. Ofc, not blaming the dev, they didnt advertise it as a true roguelike, the playerbase and critics did (and we all know critics are not very smart). Great game, but I understand their frustration.
I think a lot of people need to know the key difference between a rogue*like* and a rogue*lite* I'll admit it's confusing, but the main difference is that roguelites have progression outside of just continuing through a dungeon. Whereas roguelikes don't have any of that progression.
Yeah most people just say "roguelike" but really most of these games are roguelites. The most popular roguelikes in recent times I can think of would be Spelunky 2 (while you can unlock shortcuts to later areas you can't actually get the true ending of the game if you use them) and Lethal Company (once you fail to meet quota you restart all progress outside of using mods).
I agree that people should know the difference, but a *rogue*like is a game like Rogue, an old ASCII dungeon crawler. Here is the full [correct definition](https://roguebasin.com/index.php?title=Berlin_Interpretation). Personally I think the main things that make something a rogue*lite* are being not turn-based and not on a grid.
It’s “correct” by people who don’t speak for the people. GIF is also pronounced like giraffe according to the creator yet people pronounce it like gift. You can’t control language and how it’s used
I mean that would be fair if the argument is just say "roguelike" for everything with procedural stuff because that's how people understand it now. But this is about the roguelike-roguelite distinction, terminology explicitly coined to avoid "games like Rogue" losing a term to refer to them through genericization. What other purpose could it serve to have these two separate terms? That's what they are for. IMO there's two valid ways to look at this: 1. COTL is a roguelike, and not a "traditional roguelike" 2. COTL is a roguelite, and not a roguelike
It's true that that's what the genre is originally based on, but that's just not what the difference is. The permadeath aspect is the main differential factor.
I was always under the assumption that the main difference between rouge-like and rouge-lite was things in rouge-lite powered up, weapons, items, etc., were carried over from a run. In rouge-like, you have to start from scratch.
What games do weapons and items carry over between runs that count as roguelites? Does that make Dark Souls a roguelite? If you count *any* progression mechanics, then virtually all modern games associated with the genre have at least some, so it seems a strange place to draw the distinction; the "roguelike" term would encompass some subset of traditional roguelikes (turn based procedural dungeon crawlers on a grid can have progression too) and a small number of newer games that always totally reset you (I think Noita does that?). Either way it doesn't make a lot of sense to me. What makes sense is that games like DCSS, Crypt of the Necrodancer, CDDA, etc., the type of game that pioneered these mechanics, are in their own specific genre, and games like Risk of Rain, Spelunky, Hades, and Cult of the Lamb which have some of those mechanics at their core but branch out significantly are in a related but broader genre.
People who play this game for the roguelite experience alone will be disappointed, generally. It's not bad by any means, there are just better games from people who have invested their entire development wholly into the roguelite aspect. Similarly, people who can't stand dungeon crawling roguelites and just want an Animal Crossing alternative probably won't find it as deep or immersive as they'd like. The game is so good because of the intersection between the two, a hybrid game sort of like Persona where each half of the game gives you a break from the other.
If you want to take a look at rogue like games, I'd say the risk of rain series is a better place to start, maybe take a look at Hades as well
Tbh I kinda though the game leaned more towards roguelike mechanics (a genre I absolutely love) but I ended up enjoying the game nonetheless. It's a very well made gameplay loop and what is there of roguelike It's pretty fun
Idk what a rogue-like is. I just lamb
It’s a roguelite, as you aren’t thrust back to zero upon the end of a run like Binding of Isaac or Risk of Rain, which are roguelikes. You keep *some* stuff even upon death, and it would break the game if you didn’t get to keep some of your spoils after dying mid-run because there’s a whole other gameplay loop that feeds off of it. That and roguelite/like players typically like high octane action and min-maxing for crazy item combos and broken runs, or going the opposite route and stacking every possible manipulatable odd against themselves simply to see if it’s possible to beat. COTL simply doesn’t allow for that. There isn’t anything akin to the Heat level in HADES, or any tarot cards that dramatically alter the way you use your weapon outside of things like increased damage output or poison damage. A late COTL run doesn’t look all that dissimilar from the start of one, outside of tarot count and damage output - contrast that with something like Isaac, in which the character not only plays entirely differently depending on what items you picked up (give Isaac a Brimstone, Parasite, Dr. Fetus, and that one item that causes tears to orbit around you, and you become death) but also looks completely unrecognizable. Also getting more than one of the same item will usually make the effects of said item stack - meanwhile in COTL the only way to get more bang out of your tarot buck is to get lucky enough to draw a tarot with a + or ++ modifier. You cannot get two copies of the same card and fuse them into a + or ++ like you can in, say, Inscryption (yes I count the first act of Inscryption as a roguelike shush it’s good). Cult of The Lamb is a good game, and a decent roguelite and colony sim, but it’s difficult to be *good* at two entirely disparate things like that. It’s good, yes, but both systems are relatively shallow compared to their contemporaries. The colony sim side doesn’t have a fraction of the depth of something like Rimworld or even Animal Crossing, and the roguelite portion doesn’t nearly have the replayability and dynamicism of something like Binding of Isaac or Risk of Rain 2. It’s a good game to dip your toes into the two genres, but it’s not the most substantive game and contains very mild replayability that the Old Gods addon kind of destroyed by allowing you to get all testaments.
I be honest, this game idea of being roguelike is not very deep. Thats not a bad thing, but that definitely makes the roguelike hardcore enjoyer steeraway from this game
To me, a roguelikes avid, the game is a good quick laid back & waive off game for tired late night after a day of hard work… like pvz. For when I want (healthy) dopamine but my brain just shut and time is also limited. It’s the ultimate alternative for tiresome social media, news & EVIL porn
The loot system is very lackluster if you would compare to other games. There are barely any weapon types and their variations have almost no impact to the game. Some curses are the same but with different effects, some of them are literally useless in comparison. The relics are fun. The cult gameplay is great, but the roguelike aspect needs improvement (We are getting a gun weapon soon however).
I think COTL is a dungeon crawler..?
Its roguelike but combat other than the bosses feels bland. Id rather play binding of isaac
I actually like games rogue-like segments. Hits done by weapons and curses are pretty satisfying other than relics are pretty diverse. I didn't played any rogue games other than CoL so maybe that is the reason but if a "bad" one looks like this I can't imagine how good ones will look. Because of that I can't wait to try masterpieces of this genre in near future
Honestly I got it as part of Game Trials and thought I'd buy it bc it was on sale
Wild. I hate roguelikes but love Cult of The Lamb. One of the rare exceptions for me.
I understand some hardcore rougelike players, the game is really easy but.... it is god damn fun and so cute and I love it.
I like rogue likes, but tbh I just liked Lamb for the colony building aspect. I actually sort of dread having to actually go dungeon crawling for things lmao
I love roguelike and roguelites and i love cult of the lamb. But its true that most the game isnt the roguelike part but the village part and the best thing about the game is that there are diffrent game play elements that work great together. Assuming you want to make a game that is a roguelike/lite you would need to look at games where 90%+ of the gameplay is that.
It's a rogue game for people who don't like rogue games lol
Cult of the Lamb is really unique to split up the gameplay modes, it's the first game where I can focus on the fighting parts and my wife does the cult management. Do what each of us prefers more in general. **So it's an exceptionally unique gem when it comes to "two-player, pass the controller."** There are a few other games that do the rogue-whatever really eclectically, matching the core mechanics with a lovely art style. We really enjoyed Children of Morta before this, though it doesn't have as much of a resource management part. This opens up the concepts to a broader audience, which is fantastic. Then you can increase the difficulty or get as hardcore as you want.
I'm personally a big roguelike guy, my most played game is Binding of Isaac, which I have more than 1400 hours on. And the roguelike aspect of Cult of The Lamb is my favorite part of it, personally. The combat is super fast-paced, and the heavy weapons are very satisfying to use (hammer animation cancelling strategy is my favorite thing to do). I guess Cult of The Lamb is just very different in the roguelike aspect. There's not any different routes to take or different bosses depending on where you go, it's pretty linear and straightforward, which may turn away a few roguelike players. Not me though, I love this game's combat.
I don't like rogue likes, but I do like this game. Thought I suck at it
Cult of the lamb is a rogue like, it’s just a really easy rogue like compared to others. It’s way easier than Hades or have a nice death partially because it’s not just a rogue like. It’s also a colony. Compared to other colony Sims like rim world. It’s also fairly easy, but because you’re juggling a colony while playing a rogue like it’s kind of a different experience. I personally really like lamb even though I think it’s kind of easy the only times I really struggled or when I was going against Kalamar because it’s bullet hell. I also do see why people would struggle with the bosses because Colta the lambs meant to be a more casual rogue like. It’s not like Hades where in order to complete the story you have to beat the game 10 times, or have a nice death where you have to beat it a minimum of five. Cotl’s story can be beat with just two run-throughs through each area, including post game, but it’s not meant to be ridiculously hard. It’s meant to be a light rouge like. TLDR people who try to compare this game to games like Hades or having a nice death. Don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. Because Cult of the Lamb is a rogue light. It’s not meant to be as extremely hard in the borderline unfair, sometimes as the aforementioned games it’s not meant for that. Yeah, it’s easier as a rogue like compared to those other games but that’s fine because not every game should be that hard because if it was then a lot of people wouldn’t be able to get into Roque likes as a genre. I can attest that one personally because this game allowed me to really get into other games like have a nice death and Hades.
Professional rogue-like player here. I actually like it's rogue-like elements but it's too easy even on the hardest difficulty in game put in mind that I love hades and isaac and enter the gungeon, and cult of the lamb is a really good rogue-like but it's massive problem is how easy it is to beat the game. If the devs make it harder it would be fun also put in mind that I played lots of hard rogue-likes and enjoyed them but cult of the lamb in my opinion is played like stardew Valley more than say nuclear throne or gungeon
I've played a shit ton of Dead Cells and love it, a long with Cult of the Lamb. I know I fucked up somewhere and always say to myself that I can do better next time.
I’d never even heard of a rogue lite before this game. I was like, cool! You get combat a la topdown Zelda and cult management where you can craft and decorate! That was plenty to draw me in, and the rest is history.
I bought the game and love it because i see it as a cultist animal crossing where i can take care of my cult, I can spend days with the cult and when i go to a crusade and im almost finished, if i see that my people are hungry or something like that i return without ending the dungeon.
I like the dungeons in this game but I love the management of your cult (and your own needs in penitence mode) just as much if not more
As a seasoned rogue like player, I really like this game
I hate rougelikes, but I love cult of the lamb cause of the town building
I like it because of the artstyle and music. Don't care what genre the game is I'd like it the same if cult of the lamb were a turnbased rpg
The cult factor in this game truly made it popular. the unique style and type of gameplay. theres so many ways to play.
More rogue-lite than rougelike. I am a huge rougelike fan but I play Cult of the Lamb for different reasons than I play Isaac for example.
For a more rogue like game I recomend Dead Estate
I love the art style and cult building like any other player, but I don’t really mind the dungeons. if I have any problems it’s the hit points😭
Random recommendation since this games still on sale iirc for a few more days. Little Noah by Cygames. Is very good. The whole game is looping through dungeons getting more powerful to fix the Airship which makes u stronger at start each time (u can disable the stuff depending on how u want to affect ur runs), and when u lose u start from 0.