Cult of the Lamb is adorable. Of course, it is; you’re playing as a little lamb, rising to the impossible task of spreading an entity’s holy word to all who would hear it. It’s a weird game, half management sim (of your terrible cult) and half roguelike (where you spread the word of your terrible cult by murdering minions of the deities trying to stop you).
The cutesy aesthetic of Cult of the Lamb and its cast of characters betray its dark subject matter and violent gameplay. This is not a game for kids, even though, at first glance, it might look like one. However, that’s part of the charm, and every character sits between the crossroad of eldritch abomination and little forest friend. Sometimes both.
10/10 The Lamb
Your adorable cult leader, who boasts eyes so big and cute they could convince any of us to do anything. Including, you know, joining their cult in the first place. The Lamb is the perfect mixture of sweet and sinister, ricocheting between the two extremes with almost frightening ease. One moment, their face is a pleasant mask of cheer – the next, they are “ascending” souls through arcane rituals.
The Lamb perfectly captures everything about Cult of the Lamb that makes it unique and charming. The perfect unassuming vessel for our foray into cult-building. Encapsulating whatever way we want to play – surprisingly sweet or a tormentor. They, like us, contain multitudes.
9/10 The One Who Waits
The literal shadow pulling all the strings, The One Who Waits, is an old, unknowable god who has been waiting for you for literal ages. You are their holy vessel, sent into the world to spread the good word about their eldritch return. Their goal and yours, thanks to a literal deal with the devil you make, is securing their freedom.
The One Who Waits always paints a striking portrait — a stringy, shadowy presence whose smile curls unsettlingly, their arms nothing but bone with sharpened claws. They’re death personified, and they will not rest until they’ve had their fill. There are no choices to be made — their presence is oppressive, and you will obey.
8/10 Ratau
Your mentor and first knucklebones combatant, Ratau, is an older-looking rat who doesn’t look too different from most regular followers. He’s small, hunched over with a walking stick, and his hat a poor imitation of the red crown you receive — everything about him is shabby, neglected, and breaking at the seams.
He was once a cult leader and vessel like you. Yet, he was deemed an ill fit by The One Who Waits — everything about Ratau seems to be a grasp at former glory, a glory he never had in the first place. You are the better cult leader, with all the frills that entail. Ratau is the better person, and so he appears rundown.
7/10 Bishop Leshy
Clearly taking inspiration from the mythological creature of Slavic folklore, the Bishop Leshy is formed from branches, leaves, bark, and a lot of bite. Ruling Darkwood with a wooden fist, this horror is the last thing you’d ever want to catch alone in the forest. Leshy is the only one of his siblings you could see and not register as a threat — he just looks like a tree at first glance, after all.
Worse still is his boss form, a leech-like monstrosity with teeth that never seem to end. He goes from uncanny, yet almost normal, to an eldritch entity in the blink of an eye. So don’t blink.
6/10 Bishop Heket
Bishop Heket is an oversized, crimson toad with red-on-black eyes and cross-shaped pupils. She exists in the space between wholly uncanny and achingly familiar. While she’s always intimidating, it’s hard to look at something as standard (and cute) as a frog and immediately assume the worst. A frightening visage painted over a creature we are all familiar with.
Still, Heket looks like a monster. She acts like one, too, sending famine to your cultists without a second thought. Why should a frog care about the bugs it will consume, anyway?
5/10 Bishop Shamura
Of all the bishops, Shamura is the least frightening. While you’d think a spider would be scarier by default, Shamura’s design emphasizes their regret about being a part of this strange holy war. They do not look monstrous in the ways their siblings do – they are just a giant, sad spider, eternally bleeding from the head.
There’s nothing uncanny to Shamura, nothing unexpected. Leshy was more or less a malevolent leech tree, while Heket was a twisted toad. Shamura is just a spider. Almost normal, if not for the god part. Even their robes, flowing down them in an almost perfect rectangle, speak to their rigidity, the control they have since lost.
4/10 Helob
Oh, our cannibalistic spider-friend. Helob procures new worshipers for you to, ahem, buy. He thinks you’re going to eat them (and maybe you will, that’s not our business) and keeps them trapped in webs for you. The issue with him is that, as sinister as he is and how loathsome his trade seems, he’s also…adorable?
Like, a critter-eating spider creature has no business wearing a little hat, clasping his (many) hands together, or being purple and fluffy. So why does he have to be so disarming? Well, probably by design — if you’re going to deal with him, he may as well seem appealing. You wouldn’t be as enticed by his deals if he wasn’t weirdly pleasant to look at, would you?
3/10 Clauneck
The keeper and reader, of the tarot cards, is not the only bird you run into during your travels, though he’s likely the one you’ll see the most. Clauneck is practically just a cone on your screen. Yet, somehow he manages to be the most alluring, if not strange, variation of your blackbird helpers.
Something striking about this bird’s appearance is his vibrant red coloring, defeated eyes, and triangular shape. Everything about him pulls you in. His design communicates that he’s not just a bird and always knows more than he’s saying.
2/10 Rakshasa
This little multicolored shrimp doesn’t play too big a part in your cult activities, but we can’t help but adore him and his little chef hat. Finding him during a run is always a welcome breath of fresh air, where you can recharge for a minute and just vibe among Rakshasa’s patrons.
His rainbow coloring doesn’t exactly suit his stern expression. However, he still radiates safety and a moment of peace during your bloody, arduous journeys. A lot of the characters in Cult of the Lamb are cute. Rakshasa is cute and incredibly serious about his job and his beautiful snail partner.
1/10 The Fisherman
Is he a fish, or is he a man? The eyes on either side of his head say fish, but the impeccable mustache says man, so who can really say? The Fisherman is a fun character because he teaches us to fish (and we all love to virtually fish) and because his fishy disguise is downright adorable.
His hair? That’s his mouth, actually. Those eyebrows are definitely not natural, and we already know that the nose and mustache aren’t real either. Instead of being cute or disquieting, he’s just fun to look at. A new discovery to make with every tilt of your head.
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