Cultist Simulator

The writing in this one is amazing! The game makes you feel like you are really diving into the unknown to find the secrets of the world hidden behind out simple reality. It is confusing on purpose and the more you learn them more it makes sense, like, you know, exploring the forbidden knowledge ;) I have not mastered it but return to it at least once a year to play a bit, learn something new and keep that for my next playthrough. The fact that your character dies and that you start fresh after makes it easy to experiment without wasting your time. Highly recommend for the lovers of mistery and cosmic horror as well as card games, I can say that this game is something kind of unique!

Eu, normalmente, não gosto de jogos de cartas, eles me parecem um modo barato e sem inspiração de jogabilidade. Este jogo é exceção. O mundo e o fundo são apresentados por meio de cartas e suas ações. Nunca imaginei possível uma exploração tão rica contada por pequenos textos em cartas. Um dos melhores jogos que tive o prazer de jogar nos últimos anos.

This game makes ZERO Goddamn sense.

I have never smoken more opium in any other card game

Exceptional lore and strangely addictive gameplay that routinely keeps me up until 2AM.

Great game

as far as games go its a bit of a slog. It relies on keeping the player on the edge of destruction to maintain engagment, but it feels like i could be having more fun playing something else and I only continue to play because I've overcommited myself already.

This game has so much depth to it. When they tell you it requires lots of trial and error they MEAN it. The game generally plays a lot like Stacklands, with a lot of managing timers and heavy use of the pause button. My one issue I would say is that progress does not get rewarded with automation but with more timers and shorter timers, which means things can get a little bit overwhelming and progress can feel very slow sometimes.

I love that there are so many different ways to start the game. Every time I die and choose a new life it really feels like a whole new experience. This really adds to the trial and error aspect, not only do you have to try putting every combination of things into every slot in order to progress but you have to try multiple lives too. There is so so so much depth and lore in this game i feel like i will need a lifetime to explore it all.

I think the vibes and mechanics of this game are super cool. It's just a bit too cryptic and full of fail states for my tastes.

Like a solid 6/10. I think the start of this game is great, but once you've figured out the basics it feels like you get caught in an rng loop where you just wait for the right cards to pop up. The opening is great though, sifting through card descriptions and feeling yourself go insane like you're actually learning cursed knowledge. Note: don't get the switch version!!! I played the majority of my time with this game on switch and wish I had it on PC. The layout is so much nicer. I'm sure there's more I'm not getting from this game, but I'm frankly at my limit.

很难说是游戏好玩还是设定（故事）好看

incredibly addictive gameplay. i'm not good at card strategy games, so it did take me 40+ hours to make it to a 'win' ending, but god was it rewarding. it's all about learning by doing.

I felt like I had to post a positive review for this game, cus like... It is a crazy great game. And there are a lot of negative reviews for it. And... I would guess that it is because this game refuses to hold your hand... But like... You are just a person.... stumbling around and interacting with forces you cannot comprehend.... So like... The game fully delivers on its premise. This is hands down the best occult simulator on the market.

This game takes patience to play, and discipline to master. But it is an impossibly deep game. The one huge negative of the game is that it is extremely punishing. Unnecessarily so. You have to build up stats or lose. So you spend a lot of time building resources. Then if you lose after building up those resources, you have to start from scratch again. And while you should have learned new info from your last run.... So, your previous runs aren't a waste of time, per say. Rebuilding your entire character AND cult is... taxing. Leading to an on/off relationship with the game. Which kills the pacing and erases game knowledge.

Is it a perfect game. No.
Is it worth 20$. If you have 6+ hours a day to play, are willing to commit a few weeks to the game and don't mind insanely repetitive and unrewarding grinding. Then hell yes. Otherwise. HELL NAH!
Does it have a comprehensive wiki. Yes. And while it goes against the spirit of the game to use it, if you REALLY can't stand to lose this run. Might as well.
It also has mods that... 'reduce' the... 'mystique' within your decision making. (It tells you what happens when you put x in y.)

Cus this game is ultimately an exercise in intellectual exploration. So like... Outer Wilds or Firewatch are like these visual exploration games with walking and sight seeing. This is that. But mentally. Cus you gonna spend the whole game looking at a table, trying to figure out what cards you need to put into which square to cause a spirit to pull itself out of a mirror so it can dissect a pesky detective who may or may not be getting too close for comfort. Then using his body as a ritualistic sacrifice to get one step closer to immortality.

Or maybe you could seduce the detective, convert them into one of your flock, have them burn their evidence, then sell them to an old lady for cold hard cash.

Or you can get a 9 to 5. Summon a sleep paralysis demon to drive your boss insane. Take his job. "Open up" a spot on the board of directors and wouldn't you know it? You are available for the job! How fortuitous.

You can also be a detective, hunting down other cults and taking their stuff for your own use. Or a doctor performing the most horrific and heinous experiments on yourself... and others.

Honestly. Fantastic game. If it wasn't for the massive up front time investment before you are actually allowed to start playing the game It'd probably be more popular. I really want to give it a 10/10. Tsk... But the mechanics just aren't developed enough... Eh... Prolly like an 7.5/10. There is too much clerical work and busy work involved in the start up, each, and every, time. Making it a rouge-like with no sense of reward or progression for failed runs... Which will be most of them. Cus the game is out to get you. This is just the first game where they have 100+ hours of lore justifying it. Respect.

Little things that would make all the difference:
The lore you use to attract members having a corresponding chance to reel in the same kind of follower.

In game tips hidden in game lore.

Better/more helpful NPC's. Specifically, the talk action.

More customization. Why can't my character like pain (acquired traits, the game can feel stale quickly)- injuries generate contentment. My character can't gain any of the stats? Why can't I be an 'Edge'-lord? Nailed it. Why can't I have my followers dig a pit in my base? etc. Needless, senseless rng that only adds grind... TO A SINGLE PLAYER GAME!!! You know what... I'm taking another point off my score... I don't know where this gaming "STAPLE" came from. But it is infuriating. And I'm done with it. Rng isn't challenging. It doesn't make your game harder. It just makes it less fun. You aren't even a freemium game. QUIT APPEALING ONLY TO ADDICTS!!!!!!!! There isn't enough bright colors and loud sounds in this game. Stop. I need to calm down.

...

Everything else is pretty great, Get it on sale, seems to go on sale every summer... Maybe ignore the DLC. Idk. I did. It isn't necessary and I don't feel it adds enough for the pricetag. What can you do? Hope this helps.

This game is a passionate love affair I keep coming back to. It's not something I recommend to everyone (honestly I don't think any game is, but this one is more "has a highly specific target audience" than most) - you have to be some combination of a fiddly detail obsessive, wiki-diver, and opaque lore-enjoyer to really get the most out of it.

Watching the previews will give a decent sense of the actual gameplay, which I would have difficulty describing, but the *feeling* of playing the game can't really be communicated as easily, I think. Cultist Sim is incredibly atmospheric, and a lot better at creating interesting tension than a few gameplay clips can really convey. The timer progression is such an integral part of not just the mechanics, but the mood. Is your current Dream action (20 seconds remaining) going to turn up the card you need to dispel part of the Fascination counter (45 seconds remaining) currently spelling your doom? etc.

Also, it pays to actually read the descriptive text on things - it will all sound like pretentious bullshit at first, but there is a kind of shockingly cohesive, deep, and interesting setting and story going on, here, behind all the timer-watching.

My one main criticism is that it is really, really bad at teaching you how to play it. I'd recommend spending a few minutes on youtube to help get the basics down; there are a lot of aspects of the game that are satisfying to find out in an exploratory manner, but the basics of stuff like, how to recruit and promote Followers are not that. Thankfully, the fan wiki is also excellent, and basically an essential resource if you get in deep.

Simply speaking one of the greatest games ever made.

It's in it's own genre and within the niche it reigns supreme.

Enticing and addictive.

It really makes you feel like a cultist that has to start from scratch. It's fun trying to figure things out and the lore is suitably eldritch.

Pros:
Pretty good writing,
Multi-tasking,
Pretty good mystery
Multiple endings
Calming mysterious music

Cons:
Absolutely NO help, literally got stuck on a screen because I didn't know what to do at first.
The board state will inevitably be filled with 500 random cards that aren't needed for anything at the moment, and no, you cannot sort them meaningfully.
Most actions involve brute-force to figure out.

Conclusion
The achievement for opening the second screen of the game, which is desperately vital for progression, is at around 50%. That should tell you how esoteric this game is. If you enjoy those kinds of games, which I do from time to time, then this is worth it. However, 20 dollars is a bit much, (Especially since content is locked behind DLC), so I'd recommend catching this one on sale.

Trying to 100% this game. Probably going to take me 3-400 hours though. Great game. Hard at first, but as you learn through trail and error it becomes kind of a fun puzzle game that seems unforgiving, but has many hidden ways to overcome things. 10/10

I love this game a lot, even though I feel I've only scratched the surface of it. The slow-drip feed of text matches well with the games timer, letting you slow down to read and enjoy what you're playing with.

A good idea, poor execution. Zero understanding of what to do, minimal hints, and a million repetitive actions that are just boring.

I have greatly enjoyed figuring out this game and have trouble tearing myself away from it once I start a new run.

Pros:
Lots to explore, 12 hours in on first playthrough i probably touched the surface
Interesting worldbuilding and cool systems
Can be very addictive once you've gotten used to the system

Cons:
- Many tasks feel like grinding. A lot of repetitiveness, be it work, reading books or studying skills. E.g. to improve your "reason" skill you have to combine 8 "Erudition" which takes 60 seconds each to combine, and 60 seconds to make, all on timers before they run out...

- The way cards get added to your field sucks ass and is beyond annoying, just dumping them wherever with no possibility to have a dedicated place for a certain type of card. Let me have all books in one place, all vitality in another etc... being unable to stack cards with different timers is also extremly annoying and creates a mess all the time.

Overall, a 6/10 which would be probably a 7 or 8 if the quality of life wasn't so miserable at points.

If you like management in games

Lost the taco stand and had to do some unspeakable things to get it back from the light.

OVERALL: 4.5/10
MECHANICS: 3/10
STORY: 5/10
MUSIC: 5/10
VISUALS: 4/10

I have a like hate relationship with Cultist Simulator.

This game extremely long, tedious and repetitive. You can lose DAYS of progress in minutes if you are unlucky, misread text, or forget about something on your board. And not only is the game very punishing, but also luck dependent and confusing. The amount of times I had to restart a run because I died of bad luck alone is... concerning. And when you are about to die, this will have you STRESSED trying to survive... I was within MILLISECONDS of dying many times.

Other players say that when you are stuck, click around and see all combinations that are possible, and try until something works. This is the unfortunate truth, and it gets exhausting after hours of being stuck or repeatedly dying. Except for a few obvious hints for some parts, there is a painful amount of trial and error players must go through unless you are very good with literature, because recognizing most of the hints feels like understanding Shakespeare. They say patience is a virtue, but it is a NECESSITY for this game.

The redeeming quality of the game is how the story is developed. There are many beautiful quotes, the storyline is unique, and there are a lot of darker themes that are not too dramatic, but still impressive. The problem is there are many characters and given the amount of grinding needed to win, it is too easy to forget about the characters and how they relate to each other. I had to read the wiki and Reddit to really understand the story.

The music has a unsettling melancholy feel that matches the game perfectly. However, for the amount of time it takes to win a playthrough, the OST gets tiring too quickly since it is 40 minutes long in total. For other games I have played where I died HUNDREDS of times (examples are Celeste, Hollow Knight, Dark Souls 3), I still enjoy listening to the OST. If I heard the Cultist Simulator OST, I would not feel enjoyment. I would get flashbacks to all the tedious grinding and painful deaths because the soundtrack is not good enough to save the other aspects of the game.

The same goes for the visuals. The art is distinctive, but as soon as you die or play the game for a few hours, there is nothing impressive about it.

This game is very difficult, mentally draining, and not for the faint of heart. But it does encourage quick and creative thinking, and if you get through the steep learning curve, Cultist Simulator offers a well crafted and hauntingly beautiful storyline.

one of the best card games, very charming

I have wrestled the endless timers to their knees. I have grown old.

Relatable.

Even though i do not posses quite as many hours in this game as others, I can confidently say that Cultist Simulator is a very innovative game. It's fun comes from slowly building up to your goal of ascention (or other endings) and the organisation of diffrent resources. The complete absence of any tutourial is quuite a bold choice, but it is quite fun figuring out the diffrent mechanics and conditions a certain event requires. Furthermore, the worldbuilding is something thats really shines in this game, though it is formulated in quite a lot of text which might be annoying to certain people. 8/10, might not be extremely intuitive, but is very satisfying and rewarding when you get the hang of it

This game is like, the dictionary definition of indescribable.

Properly sneaky. very fine tuned. what meets the eye and more. GREAT flavor

Interesting story line (albeit not experienced in the typical manner,) mechanics, and overall feel of the game makes this an enjoyable distraction.

The main thing about this game is that's it not for everybody.

The atmosphere and world-building are matchless. The lore is an absolute gem of whimsy and weird, so captivating you can read on it endlessly.

The gameplay alllows no mistakes or you have to start all over again. There's no tutorial or explanations on what to do and how to win, you have to try different things and not die in the process or you're back at the beginning. Even if you decide to go on forward consulting wiki (lazy, I know) you have to consult several pages simultaneously in order to see who does what and what you have to do to achieve the next milestone. And yes, a lot of repetitive tedious grind because winning should be not just insanely complicated but also boring.

The UI is something absolutely horrendous that makes sure to make gameplay even more complicated: random events appear all over the table, so you'll definitely skip something important; yeeting your cards all over behind the screen so you'll forget you have them and by gods try not to misclick on a wrong card in a wrong place or you'll have to manually close the the pop-up window that says you can't do such a thing (and now go spend a few minutes looking where the game yeeted this unfortunate card). All of that with no ability to loop tasks so you have to drag cards wherever you need them multiple times and zero ability to auto-pause when task is done, so you have to keep a hawk's eye on everything. At some point I just installed the Wheel mod - at least now things are way more playable and I can at least enjoy a beautiful story without watching multiple timers.

This game can be fantastic and fun, but not without some necessary UI tweaks. Good thing there are mods for that.

I'm sure this game is wonderful and many people will enjoy it, but I just don't. I understand that exploring how the game works is part of the gameplay, and I'm all for Dwarf Fortress style "losing is fun!" but this isn't fun. It's just confusing. Lots of time spent watching videos and reading wiki pages and I still am not having fun.

If you like having to struggle through every little mechanic just to not get anywhere, then you'll probably like this.

It is hard to understand, but it is fun to try and figure out.

A most frustrating game. You can loose a several hours session in a blink of an eye because you did not pay attention to some small detail.
I mean, it might be considered "hardcore" back in NES days, but today is just poor game design.

For some reason, I wanted to buy a card-based strategy game and this is exactly what I was looking for.

The "just play and learn" aspect of the game is one of my favourite things. Learning by err and then being able to progress makes it so much more engaging and the different combinations with cards, scenarios etc make it really replayable and I've only just scratched the surface.

One of my absolute favorite games, though if you don't like to read it might not be your thing. Very fun, the story is compelling, and the language they use give it a wonderful aesthetic.

for the first 5 minutes I was pretty annoyed ngl, but I'm glad I surrendered to the depths of cultist simulation. THE MAIN TIP FOR STARTING: If you click on the empty slot for an action, like "study" or "explore," the relevant cards will light up. Just buckle up, enjoy the spooky vibes, and experiment a lot. Dont expect to "win" because this game is ambiguous all the time basically. The fun is just in learning more and more about how it works and enjoying the mood of it. I highly recommend this and News Room for management simulator type games with really specific cozy vibes.

The game is very immersive and would be pretty good if not for the massive and meaningless grinding you need to do, like, for real ? that was not a good idea.

Great game with lots of lore. Can be a little difficult to get into at the beginning because its a bit complex, but its mentally stimulating and very re-playable.

It took me a while what was that I found so gripping in this game. Alas, it has become a space of thought for my mind and of inspiration for my heart, for it throws me back to my pre-teen years.
Those worlds of imagination made out of mismatched card-packs from different games, where pokemon would become monsters, where medieval soldiers turned to adventurers who fought them, where they'd love and create friendships, where each card had it's meaning, even if an unknown one.
The magic in this game, for me, is how that world is familiar yet different. I do not know the purpose of the card that I do not own until it reveals itself to me, I do not know the story until the pieces fall into place. Naturally, this seems normal to storytelling, but the way this happens here makes it more non-linear, like in my make-believe worlds. The actors are all in place, some even appear and disappear. The play is silent. The movements are mystical.
I am a tourist in a world that isn't fully real, but has it's own reality. Held by a string, like imagination, like madness.

Well, it's definitely a paradox how Alexis Kennedy can do such interesting and such boring games at the same time. Micromanagement and repetitive actions kill all the fun.

IM BARELY INTO THIS GAME AND IT IS VERY HARD BUT VERY FUN I LOVE IT SO FAR. VERY WELL RESEARCHED IN TERMS OF CULT ACTIVITY I LOVE THIS GAME.

"Through merciless illumination I've risen higher beyond the shell, and forged what no man could dream" Cultist Simulator is a phenomenal experience of excellent writing, and clever keywords. All the solutions are there beyond the cryptic aspects and beautiful prose.

i spent like three days just playing this game. i did not play anything else, i was soooo invested and determined to reach my goal (dont wanna say anything spoilery)
it was to the point that my friend was worried about me since on the second day i stayed up all night.
needless to say its a good game, highly recommend; just if youre anything like me be prepared to lose a night/day chasing your cultist dreams

Offering a unique blend of narrative and strategy, it immerses players in a mysterious world of occult rituals and dark lore. The card-based mechanics provide a compelling and complex experience, though the steep learning curve may be challenging. It’s perfect for fans of deep, story-driven games with a focus on strategy and intrigue.

This game is so addicting. 19 hours in and I only have 6 out of 84 achievements. LOL. I've only just scratched the surface. The lore is just insanely deep and there is always something new to discover! Highly recommend if you want something entertaining and intense but not requiring a ton of control/hand skill (like action games)

crusty ahh game

Inject this game straight into my veins

It's a life sim at heart: spend your time trying to survive and make money, do illegal things because they're cool, and try to figure out what the fuck you're supposed to be doing

If you like games that throws you in deep water and you have to find a way to swim back into shore while it looks on and doesn't help you out and don't mind the grind of getting back to where you were during your previous run, then this game is for you!
The lore is also pretty cool and it has awesome art and really satisfying sound effects that I can hear in my sleep.
May have also developed a Pavlovian response to the sfx but hey, I had fun.
Overall a cool RTS card game for those who want to waste away hours trying to find out what really is going on.