Summary
Warning: Spoilers for Cult of the Lamb!
TheCult of the Lambcomic is the best video game adaptation I’ve read in a very long time. It succeeds not by ignoring what happens in the video game to make a story, but by taking the events, the random chances, the repetitive battles, andaddingthem to the story. There aren’t just Easter eggs and characters to check a list;this is a narrative first, and it incorporates only what it needs.
For those who still have yet to experienceone of 2022’s greatest games(and one that’s still releasing free updates),Cult of the Lambis the story of Lamb, a slaughtered little creature who’s offered a chance at resurrection by a shady god, in exchange for starting a cult worshiping him. Lamb cuts a deadly swath through the world, taking vengeance on the other old gods on behalf of their new master, but also rescuing fellow adorable forest creatures - and inducting them into the cult.
If you haven’t played it, it’s available on practically every platform and ishighly recommended.
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The Comics Give the Lamb Their Own Reasons For What They Do
Panels fromCult of the Lamb#1 by Alex Paknadel and Troy Little
As the player, you also decide what kind of cult you’re running - where the sleeping quarters go, how your believers handle death, if they work themselves to the bone or have a comfortable life.No two cults are exactly the same.I was instantly drawn to the combination of cute and horror in both the game design and writing, but aimed to minimize the horror by being a benevolent cult leader. I built the best beds, gave them days off, and never sacrificed anyone, despite how often they just pooped everywhere, even though they had so many latrines.
TheCult of the Lambcomic by Alex Paknadel and Troy Little has only released two of its promised four issues from itsrecord-breaking Kickstarter campaign, but they’ve already been golden. That cutesy design can dampen the violence when you play the game.The comic, by focusing on Lamb’s desire for blood and vengeance, shows how horrific they are as they kill anyone - god, animal, or rival cultist - who stands in their way. It also gives Lamb agency: when you keep fighting and building the cult, it’s because that is the purpose of the video game you have chosen to play, and Lamb is your avatar.
Cult of the Lambwriter Alex Paknadel is known for their previous work with mystical horror comics:Red GoblinandThe Darkhold.
In the comic, Lamb is happy to ignore their promise toThe One Who Waits, enjoying a free life in the woods with their new friend, fellow rescued animal Nana. However, when Nana gives Lamb a gift of thanks, the ancient red crown on their head activates the sleeping god within, setting them on their path. Her gift is one of friendly devotion, but to an old god,any devotion is enough to awaken their hunger.Thus, rather than “the Lamb goes on this destructive path because that’s what you do in the game,” Lamb has their own drive, albeit due to possession from their deal with the devil.
TheCult of the LambComic Opened My Eyes on Dissenters
Gamer Casey tossed dissenters in jail until they were nice. Reader Casey can’t imagine doing that to Nana.
Another fun mechanic in the game is the idea of “dissenters” in your cult. Some arrive already dissenting, and others turn dissenter when there’s not enough to eat, enough beds, or too much death. If you leave these characters alone,they turn other cultists against you. As the player, do you sacrifice them? Feed their meat to other cultists? Or re-educate them so they can come back happy? I wanted to be a kind cult leader - I re-educated all my dissenters. But was it truly kind? I’m not letting them leave, free to hold their own opinions;I’m forcing them to follow me, or else.
By the end of issue #2, Nana, the rescued bunny, has become a dissenter. In the game, dissenters have silly, angry demon eyes as they run around disparaging you. Nana isn’t angry - she’s afraid. She was happy Lamb rescued her, and recognized the forest was full of abundance. She even built a house for everyone to safely share. However, as Lamb edges closer to what The One Who Waits wants from them,Nana is the only one who can see that it’s wrong.Gamer Casey tossed dissenters in jail until they were nice. Reader Casey can’t imagine doing that to Nana. She is, after all, right.
Cult of the LambShook Me to My Core
The biggest twist for me was when Lamb brings back a Commandment Stone. As a gamer who can’t help but attempt to collect every little McGuffin a game offers, I set after these items with fervor.Commandment Stones allow you to create doctrinesand rituals for your cult. Again, aiming to have a “nice” cult, I was excited whenever I could announce the “good” doctrines: we’d hold large feasts, I’d give my cultists days off, we’d hold funerals to honor our buried dead. When Lamb returns with their first Commandment Stone, however,Nana reacts with horror.
I didn’t understand at first - she doesn’t know what kind of doctrine Lamb will announce in the comic! Maybe they’ll pick the one that makes the lazy comic cultists work harder, helping her build latrines and housing! Maybe they can all go fishing together! As I thought about it, however, I understood Nana’s horror:even a “nice” doctrine is a ritual forced onto the cult.Maybe my dissenters hated the holiday ritual because everyone took a day off and no one got to eat. They never gave specific opinions in the game, it was just another mechanic, another thing to check off as I sent Lamb on little quests.
ReadingCult of the LambMakes You Realize You’re the Villain
Panel fromCult of the Lamb#1 by Alex Paknadel and Troy Little
The best adaptations don’t just repeat the existing material in a new medium, but allow you to enter a familiar world from an entirely new perspective.
Since practically the invention of video games, other media have struggled to fit them into their own parameters. (To be fair, video games have also struggled to fit other media into their format, as seen in many bad, licensed games.) The best adaptations don’t just repeat the existing material in a new medium, but allow you toenter a familiar world from an entirely new perspective.TheCult of the Lambcomic could have been a straightforward retelling of the game - Lamb gets powers, beats up bad guys, runs a cute cult. It probably would have been just fine.
However, we’re only two issues in, and it’s already done an awesome job of not just building background and lore, butintegrating game mechanics in a way that makes narrative sense.That cutesy-horror aesthetic worked on me - I focused more on the cute than what I was really doing to my cultists. But interactive media hits you in different ways than reading or watching something does. In the game, I was Lamb, and I was just trying to do what was right for my people. Including Nana’s character in the comic allows the outside perspective that shows behind all the cute animals, there is true horror at the center ofCult of the Lamb.
Cult of the Lamb#2 (2024)
Cult of the Lamb
Cult of the Lamb is an indie roguelike game developed by Massive Monster and published by Devolver Digital. Players take on the role of a possessed lamb and are tasked with creating their own cult in order to worship a god-like entity that spares them from death. The game was released to widespread acclaim, with many critics praising its fun and fluid gameplay.
