I absolutely love when a game I adore gets a sizable chunk of new content. Last year was the perfect example of this, with Sea of Stars and Chained Echoes (two of my previous personal Game of the Year winners) both getting new story content. As it had been so long since I played either game, I especially appreciated them providing content that was separate to the main story, and didn’t really require too much memory of the playthroughs of years prior. I was hopeful that Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven would do the same, but despite that not being the case it’s still a damn impressive piece of DLC.
If you missed Cult of the Lamb back in 2022 (or need a bit of a refresher) then let’s get you indoctrinated. You play as a lamb who leads a cult, and it’s your job to build a happy or terrified community. You’ll need to make shelters, provide food, and so much more, alongside going on Roguelike style runs to defeat old gods. There’s a lot to keep balanced, but keeping on top of everything via various nefarious means makes it a must-play.
The amount you have to balance especially as you unlock more buildings and doctrines really amp up throughout the game, so having to jump back into my bustling endgame cult and remember how to manage it all was admittedly a bit of a nightmare. It’s not really a fault of the game, but is certainly something to keep in mind if you’re a returning player as opposed to someone playing Cult of the Lamb for the first time.
After my crash course in cult management I decided it was time to begin my journey proper into Woolhaven. After pumping some resources into the statue of an icy god, a new path to a wintery world opened, full of foes. Immediately you’re shown new weapons that’ve been added, and I must say I was delighted to swing my spiky ball against all the tough monsters that frequent the colder environment. Smashing and dodge rolling your way through combat is as satisfying as it ever was, and if you’re successful in your adventures you’ll make the cult management even easier.
Upon first returning from the icy summits, I was delighted to see my cult base covered in a coat of snow. It’s a lovely visual change, and getting to start snowball fights and make snow angels was wonderful. Just like real winter though, it’s not just a load of festive fun. Cold weather will cause all sorts of problems with your followers, like potentially deadly illnesses if you don’t build enough heating. The cold will also ruin your crops if you’re not careful, which will lead to more dying cultists. Coping with the weather is yet another layer for the management side of Cult of the Lamb, but there are plenty of tools to help you survive.
One struggle I had in the latter parts of Cult of the Lamb was a lack of space in my home base. With so many houses, crops, and resource-gathering buildings to fit in, as the cult grows you have to play Tetris with your shelters. Thankfully though, base expansion is a new addition in Woolhaven, eventually granting you almost double the original amount of room if you spend enough hard-earned gold. Especially with all the new stuff this expansion brings this is a godsend, and ensures that base-building is exciting instead of frustrating.
Above all else, the most impressive aspect of Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven is the sheer amount of new content. There are hours of fun to be had with this DLC, with plenty of reasons to adventure out into the world and fight new foes and bosses. There’s also the addition of ranching, granting you important resources like wool. Your ranch will also be helpful in dire situations when food runs low, as I found out in one particular harsh and eventually very tasty winter.
Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven is a fantastic expansion to the base game that brings extra additions to every aspect of the game. New weapons are a joy to use, cold weather brings more to manage back at base, and ranching is adorable and sometimes heartbreaking. You’ll need to brush up on your culting skill if you’ve not played for a while, but once you do you’ll be in for a chillingly good time.
