“Cult Of The Lamb: Woolhaven” DLC Review by Nick Navarro
(NOTE: The beginning of this review is for the base game which was originally posted 3 years ago. The DLC review will be at the bottom)
Over the course of reviewing games over at Gaming Cypher, I’ve become more and more accustomed to the roguelike genre. Some I have enjoyed more than others, but with the release of Cult Of The Lamb, this may be the most approachable and addicting one of its genre. Developed by the team over at Massive Monster and published by Devolver Digital, this roguelike mixes things up by incorporating a village sim aspect to the gameplay, not too different from the likes of Animal Crossing, but with a bit of a darker twist.
In this world filled with incredibly adorable characters, you play as the cutest lamb in all of video games, but also perhaps the most devious. Your objective as this lamb is to form an all-powerful cult, harvest your followers’ faith and devotion (which is essentially this games’ use of currency) and use it towards eliminating all the false prophets in the lands of the “Old Faith.” All of this cleansing is to prepare for the coming of your God to rule the world.
What’s so cool about Cult Of The Lamb is it balances its two hybrid genres really well. Part of the time you will be playing a management sim game, where you are using your followers to work around the village, not just to make it grow, but to make yourself more powerful. The other part is very much a roguelike where you fight your way through four dungeons, where you will be randomly assigned a weapon and a superpower. Fighting your way through, potentially using buffs you may have worked to get in your village, and ending the dungeon with a boss fight, taking out a bad God. This is very much Animal Crossing meets Hades and I’m all about it.
As many are aware, management sim games tend to be quite addictive for a lot of gamers; with Cult Of The Lamb, it’s no different. Setting this in a very cutesy and approachable art design, but ultimately basing everything you do to be extremely dark, is oddly satisfying and entertaining, which adds its own original stamp in the genre. Speaking of approachable, the difficulty is also just that. There is a list of difficulties to choose from (Easy, Medium, Hard, and Extra Hard), but even if you are really bad at roguelikes it offers you ways to make your experience going through the dungeons easier to complete. For instance, you can summon a summoning circle and turn one of your cattle, I mean faithful followers, into a demonic sidekick to assist.
Devolver Digital has been killing it publishing games that are off the beaten path and aren’t afraid to try new things and give the players very unique experiences to what’s more common out there. Cult Of The Lamb is no different; I was hooked from the very beginning and dumped a lot more hours into this game than I was expecting. Don’t be surprised if you spend 10 or 20 hours playing as this adorable cult leader. If you’ve always been turned off from the roguelike genre, drink what this lamb is offering, because it’s an amazing gateway drug to see if this is the kind of cult you want to be a part of.
Base Game: 9/10
Returning to “Cult Of The Lamb” after several years, “Woolhaven” immediately feels like a meaningful escalation rather than a nostalgic victory lap. This frozen mountain setting is steeped in rot, forgotten gods, and unresolved sins, turning every step forward into a reminder that some things were buried for a reason. The atmosphere does a lot of heavy lifting here, blending bleak winter visuals with an ever-present sense of decay that perfectly complements the game’s already macabre tone.
Mechanically, “Woolhaven” is the toughest the game has ever been, and that added brutality feels completely intentional. The winter mechanics introduce a constant pressure that reshapes how you approach exploration and combat, making survival feel earned rather than routine. It’s punishing at times, but that cruelty aligns seamlessly with the Lamb’s role as both savior and tyrant, reinforcing the uncomfortable balance at the heart of the experience.
What impressed me most is just how substantial this expansion feels. Massive Monster doesn’t simply add a new zone and call it a day; “Woolhaven” layers in new dungeons, new threats, and fresh ways to interact with and grow your cult that meaningfully extend the endgame. There’s enough here to stand on its own as a post-game chapter, offering dozens of hours of content that feel thoughtfully integrated rather than tacked on.
At the end of the day, “Woolhaven” succeeds because it understands exactly what makes “Cult Of The Lamb” special. It gives fans more of what they love, but reshaped through a harsher, colder lens that makes returning feel exciting instead of familiar. For anyone who enjoyed the base game, this is a genuinely compelling reason to step back into the hooves of the Lamb and embrace the chaos all over again.
Woolhaven DLC: 9/10
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Related: Nick Navarro Reviews
Gaming since I was given an original Nintendo as a kid. I love great storytelling and unique ingenuity. When both collide in a single game, I'm a happy gamer. Twitter/IG @NickNavarro87
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