Cult of the Lamb Woolhaven review: rot and ruin come for all

The Woolhaven expansion ushers in a new era for Cult of the Lamb, one where frost and rot threatens the balance of good and evil, and you must strive to protect your loyal cultists. Woolhaven goes well beyond expectations, introducing new realms to conquer, new challenges to overcome and expanding nearly every aspect of the base game.

This downloadable content expansion is massive, and could fairly be considered a pseudo-sequel to Cult of the Lamb.

Here, you play as the titular Lamb as they conquer new, dual realms: the icy mountains of Ewefall, and the realm of The Rot, where a fleshy, horrifying force threatens to infect the world and spread darkness. You are summoned to this new quest by the goddess Yngya.

Embarking on this mission, you will recover the Lost Souls of her followers while striving for balance and peace in the face of a gathering winter, and the encroaching spread of corruption.

Woolhaven encourages a return to your flock

For those players who may have left their flock aside, safe after the defeat of the base game’s heretics, Woolhaven is an encouraging expansion that allows you to return without too many teething problems.

When you enter your Cult, you’ll find a new statue devoted to Yngya. Sacrifice enough resources to this monolith and you’ll be transported to a new mountainous location where Yngya – in lush, sing-song notes – tells you of the Rot’s encroachment and the need to conquer Ewefall.

Ewefall and the dual Rot realm reflect the dungeons of the base game. Here, you conquer linked nodes, entering each arena to fight back against major bosses, rescue followers, gather resources and strengthen yourself. The twists are in the scenery, the enemies you encounter and the weapons you obtain.

Enemies tend to be more aggressive than those in the base game, with a higher degree of strategy needed. There are plenty of enemies with shields, necessitating ground-pound abilities. There are also many more enemies that splinter off into smaller enemies, oozing around as dangerous, slimy opponents.

The new bosses are also fantastic, with each demanding cleverer strategy. There’s bosses that obliterate entire arenas with bombs, and others which fly up and ground pound, necessitating careful movement.

Thankfully, you get the weapons to match these new challenges, with an array of new spiky, heavy-hitting weapons of all sorts. There are weapons that leech life and there are also plenty of new ranged attacks and special abilities, to ensure you’re staying safe and healthy from a distance.

There’s also a new flail weapon, which absolutely rules. This is a ranged melee weapon that lets you send spiked balls at your enemies while you dodge and roll out of harm’s way. Of all the weapons tested in Woolhaven, this ended up being one of my favourites thanks to its shocking impact and how it pushes enemies away while dealing impressive damage.

It’s not all bosses and dungeon crawling

Beyond Woolhaven‘s compelling (and long) list of new bosses and combat challenges to overcome, what’s most satisfying about this expansion is just how much it adds. It’s not all about forging onwards into the field of battle. It also encourages you to spend time developing your flock and taking part in new activities.

As you roam in dungeons, you’ll recover the Lost Souls of Yngya’s followers. These folks actually join you as NPCs, providing new activities and quests that’ll keep you returning to your flock between battles. One of these folks introduces an entirely new farming mechanic that allows you to raise and rear animals that provide resources. So while you’re roaming around Ewefall, you can feel motivated by the need to return to your flock of sheep creatures, to pet them and take them for walks.

Other Lost Souls add to your list of daily activities, providing tasks like searching for children across various locations. You can even establish a museum, which should prove brain-tickling for collectors.

The further you roam in Woolhaven, the more there is to do – and while it can be overwhelming, those who’ve already completed the base game will find it provides plenty of excuses to dive back in and invest more time.

It’s worth noting the advent of winter also makes this more challenging. As the seasons rotate, you will need to keep your flock warm and well-fed by collecting various new resources in Ewefall. That added layer of challenge provides balance, and ensures you can break up your mountain skirmishes with slower-paced, careful management of your flock.

It’s always lovely to spend time with your little pals – even when they dissent and you’re forced to brainwash them – and new quests give a bit more flavour to time spent wandering fields and establishing new buildings (including some to better regulate temperatures and monitor cultist health).

A new chapter dawns for the Cult of the Lamb

On the strength of Ewefall and the Rot Caverns, as new explorable biomes, and the sheer array of new tasks and quests to complete, Woolhaven arrives as a solid, well-featured companion to Cult of the Lamb. It’s a sweeping DLC filled with fresh challenges to conquer, new cultists to recruit and so many fun activities that expand base gameplay.

Even advancing at a wicked clip, the DLC’s plot is well-balanced, and it consistently provides new reasons to return as new features unlock and the dark, gothic story unfolds.

Even if you think you’re done with Cult of the Lamb, Woolhaven will draw you right back in.

Cult of the Lamb‘s Woolhaven expansion is available from 23 January.

_{A PC code for Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.}

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