Summary
Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven introduces a new weapon and two new locations to explore, along with new upgrades. Adding ranches, winter, and a new cultist type changes how you manage the flock’s well-being. You can only access Woolhaven after beating the main game, and it’s still difficult to manage. If you're looking for more challenge and fun with Cult of the Lamb, this expansion is definitely worth getting.
Developer – Massive Monster
Publisher – Devolver Digital
Platforms – PC (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Series X|S, PS4, PS5
Review copy given by publisher
You’ve defeated the Bishops and nurtured your flock to strengthen yourself. But when a mysterious shrine appears near your cult, you learn of a location that was once home to lambs. It’s a frozen mountain that introduces winter to your cult but also promises amazing power. Work to restore the mountain to its former glory while contending with a new adversary. Along the way, expand your cult’s lands to deal with new changes to their environment.
Woolhaven introduces a new weapon to work with and two environments to test your mettle. You can access new Curses and strengthen your weapons further to deal with your new enemies. Dealing with winter, opening animal ranches, and working with a new cultist type expands upon typical cult management. It’s not easy to manage these new additions, even if the game doesn’t let you access Woolhaven until the end. If you are seeking more challenges, Woolhaven will entice you to return to the game.
The DLC is technically available around the time your cult starts growing, with a new shrine appearing. However, you must provide items obtained from fighting in each of the four Bishop’s territories. Once you offer the items to the shrine, the DLC begins, and your flock experiences its first winter. A new path opens towards Woolhaven where you meet the fallen lamb deities. They ask for your help in fighting an adversary that has claimed the mountain and restored things to normal.
The most notable change is the addition of the ball-and-chain weapon. The chain doesn’t deal damage, and you must damage enemies with the ball. Learning how to utilize the weapon in combat is fun and whenever you have the weapon, it’s a chance to experiment. You also have more weapon upgrades to work with, giving the other weapons a chance to shine against new threats.
Woolhaven starts with exploring a cold mountain, but you later access its interior, which is a heated battlefield. Both environments have different enemies with new attack patterns to learn. New NPCs assist or hinder your efforts, such as the enemies that have taken over the mountains. There’s equal focus on both environments, and you don’t feel bad for prioritizing one exploration over the other.
Choosing which environment to explore gives you more freedom than sticking with one dungeon like before. If you are getting tired of progressing in one area, you can always switch to the other. This also gives you more opportunities to experiment with strategies, testing out different builds as you like. You also pursue two stories at the same time, preventing you from getting too bored with one storyline.
For cult management, the biggest change is the arrival of winter. Your flock isn’t used to cold weather, and you must create a furnace to keep them warm. As you progress through the story, winter becomes more severe, and you must deal with further challenges. One example is food; crops won’t grow well in winter, and you must find other food sources. If you fail to manage winter properly, your flock is in big trouble.
Fortunately, Woolhaven comes with its own structures and upgrades. You can build hotter furnaces to deal with weather events, for example. Ranching is a new way to obtain food and resources. Completing side quests allows you to access new activities that help you through winter. You can also expand your base, giving you more room to add decorations and implement new structures. Working with additional land is fun, and you have more tools to make your flock thrive.
The main concern is the difficulty, as it is difficult to adapt if you haven’t developed your flock considerably. Winter arrives the moment the DLC is activated, and you must explore Woolhaven to get the resources to survive. If you haven’t explored the tougher versions of the main game or developed your flock, the new content may greatly hinder you. While it can be a fun challenge, completing all the main game has to offer first may be a better strategy.
The difficulty extends to combat as well. You don’t always get the ball-and-chain in your runs unless you set the accessibility options. Some runs may not have the weapon, and you don’t get a chance to practice. New enemies mean new attack patterns to learn since these enemies are nothing like the original ones. Failing a run has more consequences since you may put your flock in greater danger. You need a significant time investment to master everything and explore everything on offer.
If you enjoyed the original Cult of the Lamb but wanted more, Woolhaven scratches that itch perfectly. There are more activities to pursue with more challenges that await. It’s not the easiest DLC to start, even if you must complete the base game beforehand. But if you want an adventure that expands upon the original and gives you more to do, there’s nothing better than Woolhaven.
