With Cult of the Lamb set to receive a large free Relics of the Old Faith update soon, we have taken the time to sit down down with the team behind 2022’s charming yet sinister roguelike. PCGamesN spoke to Massive Monster developer Jay Armstrong and James Pearmain at WASD 2023 concerning the upcoming update, the sport’s delightfully unsettling art style, accessibility tools, and the importance of Twitch broadcasting to the success of Cult of the Lamb.
Relics of the Old Faith is the primary major Cult of the Lamb update that might be free. Armstrong tells us, “We’ve been blown away by how many individuals love the sport – we have never had anything like this before. We’re just completely satisfied and grateful.” The team sees this and a second planned free update, loosely scheduled for later this yr, as a technique to give back to fans.
“I feel it’s extremely essential for us to make it the most effective game possible,” explains Pearmain, citing other big names within the roguelike genre as inspiration. “We really need to take a look at games like The Binding of Isaac and Don’t Starve – how the sport compares now to what it was at launch, we wish Cult of the Lamb to suit those sorts of games.”
As for what fans can expect from the update, Pearmain guarantees “harder versions of all of the bosses in the sport” in addition to “a latest resource that you may use to spend on a latest shopkeeper that may offer you rare unlocks.” He describes the brand new, harder mode as “sort of a beefed up New Game Plus – as an alternative of just forcing you to fight the very same enemies, we made them harder.”
It’s not only concerning the combat though – Pearmain notes that the dungeon’s lack of depth and variety was one in all the most important criticisms made by players concerning the base game, so improving that was a giant priority for the team. “From the very starting of the sport, the concept was to create a game where we could develop it further.”
Streaming on Twitch was also a giant a part of the sport’s success. Pearmain nods to the concept of streamers allowing their viewers to affix their cult and make decisions, which he says has worked thoroughly for the sport. However, it was essential for the team to maintain the tone of the entire fun towards avoiding being too sinister.
“It may be quite a heavy topic,” notes Armstrong, “you’ll be able to feed it [your cult members] other believers… [but] The DNA of the sport is just fun. Even if there are such a lot of terrible things you’ll be able to do. As such, the team needed to strike a balance between the inherent horror style and something just a little more light-hearted.
Pearmain explains, “There were numerous changes – we wanted it to be cute, but we didn’t want it to be bland; after which we wanted it to be horror, but we didn’t want it to be super gross, brutal body horror. So it took numerous iterations to search out where those two bars were.” As the sport’s art director, he notes that “every part was just too cute, and so they kept telling me to make it increasingly more sinister.”
“We knew we didn’t want red blood because we felt some people would not respond well to it,” says Armstrong. Instead, the sport has opted for tentacles that grab your villagers and pull them into the mysterious void below. “I do not think we could have done it every other way, given the kind of stuff we’re making,” he explains.
We are working on Cult of the Lamb way more. With the Relics of the Old Faith update comes a set of tools with increased accessibility, including a high-contrast text mode and font settings for individuals with dyslexia. Pearmain also mentions that the team is working on options to pause the day/night cycle while in dungeons, and is considering ways for players to independently adjust the problem on the combat side and base constructing to raised tailor their experience.
Are there any plans to expand the camp area, we ask? “Not with this update,” replies Pearmain, “But it’s definitely something I feel we would wish to do.” However, he emphasizes that the team desires to “make sure that we do not expand the world too quickly and in a shallow way. Because even [with] what we’ve now, we could add more depth to it.”
“We’re still open to exploring anything that makes the sport more fun,” concludes Armstrong. “It was a giant problem.”
If you are just starting out, don’t miss our Cult of the Lamb beginner’s guide and suggestions for fighting all of the Cult of the Lamb bosses. We’ve also rounded up the most effective PC indie games in the event you’re searching for more amazing smaller releases to maintain you entertained.
Interview by Nat Smith at WASD 2023.
