Cultist Simulator is a game of apocalypse and yearning from Alexis Kennedy, creator of Fallen London and Sunless Sea. Play as a seeker after unholy mysteries, in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. Perhaps you're looking for knowledge, or power, or beauty, or revenge. Per...
Cultist Simulator is a game of apocalypse and yearning from Alexis Kennedy, creator of Fallen London and Sunless Sea. Play as a seeker after unholy mysteries, in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. Perhaps you're looking for knowledge, or power, or beauty, or revenge. Perhaps you just want the colours beneath the skin of the world.
In this roguelike narrative card game, what you find may transform you forever. Every choice you make, from moment to moment, doesn't just advance the narrative - it also shapes it.
Become a scholar of the unseen arts. Search your dreams for sanity-twisting rituals. Craft tools and summon spirits. Indoctrinate innocents. Seize your place as the herald of a new age.
In this 20-40 hour game, you'll:
Combine cards to tell your own story in a rich, Lovecraftian world of ambition, appetite and abomination. Corrupt your friends. Consume your enemies. There is never only one history.
Found a cult, dedicated to the Red Grail, or the Witch-and-Sister, or the Forge of Days. Recruit Believers and promote them to Disciples to serve as burglars, researchers, cat's-paws. Use your disciples to keep you fed - or feed on your disciples.
Unravel arcane, unacknowledged mysteries. Translate grimoires and glean their lore. Locate and pillage the Star Shattered Fane. Penetrate the realm of the Hours, and win a place in their service. Perhaps - if you are very cunning - you may even glimpse the Mansus.
Outwit rivals, investigators and the increasingly suspicious Authorities. Your own altered Appetites may force you to act abominably, but your Cause must not be stopped.
Transcend death with a story-driven legacy system. Perhaps your inheritors will complete the Rite of the Crucible Soul. Perhaps they'll find peace in a pleasing career. Perhaps they'll bring the Dawn.
I only picked it up because it was on sale like 70% off or something ridiculous like that. BUT! I was pleasantly surprised, and when I first got into the game, second try, after about 2 hours I couldn't stop playing for 6 hours straight and I was totally in that world of dark alleys, cobblestone streets, constant twilight and Lovecraftian town. This is the bare essentials, the mechanics needed for your imagination to create a believable, fantasy world for you to get lsot in. If it bites of course, unless the setting, the feeling of the game speaks to you that won't happen (for example if this was furry themed for furries I would not be into it, would never want to imagine myself get caught up in that degenerate world of weirdo social outcasts and sexual deviants and pe**s)
Cultist Simulator is a single-player RPG of Lovecraftian horror from The Weather Factory, a game of beautiful madness where characters fall down a twisted rabbit hole loving every minute of it. If you’re familiar with Lovecraftian horror, you might like this game. If you love the movie The Ninth Gate with Johnny Debb, you’ll probably love this game.
You play a cult leader where magic is real and scary eldritch gods are strangely beautiful. You lead a group of followers to greater and greater occult understanding and power while fending off the madness and creeping dread that comes with it.
Like The Ninth Gate, characters are drawn into a dark occult world as they research rare books and perform rites calling on otherworldly spirits. Seriously, this game IS that movie. However, we must speak cautiously here as, technically, Cultist Simulator is unaffiliated with it.
This is a detailed oriented game. It comes with no instructions or tutorial. (Initially that is. Weather Factory has since written a Beginner’s Guide. Get it for free here) You have to tinker with it, experiment, and take copious notes. If this doesn’t appeal to you, run away as fast as you can.
Players place “noun” cards in “verb” boxes to perform actions. Many cards have timers attached allowing them to expire or morph into other cards as the game clock advances.
This is an adult game; characters can choose to (and probably will) commit dark deeds, such as sacrifice people to eldritch gods. At the same time, this is a clean game; the cards are cartoon sketches. There are no gory images or graphic depictions.No screams, blood, or moans of pleasure like some other games I could mention. I would have no qualms in recommending this game to 14-year-olds, provided they had a good grasp on reality.
Really, go watch The Ninth Gate. You’ll get the idea.
Like many indie "interesting looking" games when it game out it received lots of attention and hype from youtubers but once you get into the game you realize it was all that: youtuber hype.
At first the game interface looks cool like a Collectible Card Game but soon all the flaws show up. Mainly that it is not turn based so you have to repeatedly press a key to control the game's pacing. The cards have a lot of lore but it's a pain having to pause the game to go check every new card that pops up.
I'd recommend using a guide even if the game tells you not to do so. Otherwise you'll spend hours and hours stuck in the same loop not knowing you really cannot reach certain endings unless you follow some exact steps right from the start of a game.
I ended up getting a free copy on another service, and I'm glad it was free because I'd have gone for a refund otherwise.
The concept seemed interesting and I did have it on my wishlist for a while. Gameplay, however, proved extremely annoying to manage.
The cards don't last too long. Base resources like cash and even health are a pain to keep. Figuring out where best to place the cards was frustrating.
I found no redeeming qualities to this game.
Out of all the Alexis Kennedy games (Fallen London, Sunless Sea), I feel this one has best married gameplay to artistic vision.
Gameplay is focused on a card table (evoking tarot). You start with one card. You'll end with many.
There is no tutorial. Part of the game is to discover the rules, the possibilities, the endings. Approach it as a puzzle, indulge in some roleplay, drink the atmosphere, and you should enjoy it.
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All that said, I lost and started again (permadeath) 15-20 times before I "won". I probably got 15-25 hours of gameplay. I enjoyed the beginning and middle the most. For my last playthrough, I did end up looking at a forum because I was stuck (I had uncovered the last mechanic but had missed it/glanced over the flavor text). The enjoyment really did come from losing and subsequently discovering new mechanics. Some of the discovery was relevatory. Immerse yourself, carefully read the flavor text, look out for cause/effect. You'll stop enjoying the game once you start relying on forums- it really is designed around the discovery experience. The gameplay doesn't hold up on its own once you've uncovered all the mechanics.
It is a finished title from a very small indie team, so the $20 (that's less than what I spent on the booze I drank while playing it- Absinthe anyone?) is reasonable. The game is highly polished. End-game DLC could be mind-blowing (especially if it brought in adversaries from the Mansus).
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