Blake Bolinger

I think this game shows a ton of promise, but right now that's about it. I feel like everything about it needs to expand. The rougelike elements are limited in scope and very short. The game doesn't really FEEL like a rougelike. There's actually very little variation in playstyle from one run to the next, and none of the rooms/events are unique enough to make a run stand out. Others have mentioned it, but the hitboxes need some overhauling. I beat Kallamar without getting hit, but there are rooms of normal enemies that almost eat my whole health bar. I want to say the game should be made harder, but I don't know if this is a universal experience. I am currently on the 4th zone (the spider one, don't remember the name) and have died a total of about 5 or 6 times MY ENTIRE TIME PLAYING. It doesn't feel like the game WANTS you to struggle, which makes it feel boring sometimes. As for the town simulator portion, I feel like this part of the game was WAY more thought out than the combat. I do, however, still have some complaints. First, there is never any real threat to your cult. Sickness is solved with one click. Dissent is solved with one click. Hunger is a little more involved, but if you have any kind of farm set up at all, you have nothing to worry about. The only way cultists can really die is of old age, and then you can literally just resummon them with necromancy. It feels strange and not very dynamic. Second, there are a lot of religion-based resources that are nearly identical that fill different bars that I can't keep track of. I think there's Faith, Loyalty, and Devotion, but if there's a 4th I'm forgetting, I wouldn't be surprised. I have maxed out all three of the tech trees presented (the combat one, the commandments, and the divine inspirations) and I still couldn't tell you which resource is which. Which brings me to the third point, the cult itself. There are actually a lot of options for customization and growth that I really enjoy. However, once you unlock and build something, that's it. There's no more maintenance. Building a farming station permanently solves your food issues. Building a janitor station means you never have to clean up anything ever again. When playing, a lot of the town-building portion feels like a cross between Don't Starve Together and Oxygen Not Included. I think maybe they could lean a little more towards ONI and make things a little more complicated and dynamic to keep your cult running. All in all, it's a pretty good experience at launch that has a TON of room to grow and is definitely NOT worth the current price of $25.