Cultist Simulator

This game is unique and the things that are good are so good that if you have remote interest or think you might then you should absolutely play it. I would rank this among my favorite games even though I’ve never finished a single game. And there is a the catch: I think it is deeply flawed *as a game*. The core mechanics are those of a “plate spinner” w/ exploration (of card interactions). But the games are looooong. This means that even though losing doesn’t feel too bad (as it works well attractively) that you have to slog through the plate spinning elements but without the exploration and while, eventually, already being familiar with the narrative. Combined with the game being quite long and the plate spinning nature making it easy to just *miss* some debt you have to pay or lose that game — … well, ai can almost not imagine playing a game to completion *despite* loving it. —- But what’s good in the game is excellent, so even just a fraction of the completed game still makes it rank among my favorites. (This is, imo, typical of this author btw — great atmosphere, great text, good use of mechanics to enhance narrative … but the mechanics aren’t good enough for me to finish any of their games. They’re like half-complete masterpieces. … which sort of works in its own way. :)

The high rating and reviews don’t lie - this is an intelligent, complex card game with a Lovecraft theme but without a lot of hand-holding and a bit of a learning curve that requires a lot of patience and experimentation (but with great context sensitive clues to help you along). If all of this sounds appealing, you will love this game. The atmosphere, music, graphics and writing are all some of the best you will find in an iOS game. There is horror, there is humor, there is dread, there is epiphany. The devs can’t get enough credit for building a deep and complex world for you to get sucked into. Just bring some patience, as you will need it to learn Cultist Simulator on its terms and avoid the wikis if you can. The key here is to be open to experimentation, to experiencing a lot of in-game deaths in typical rogue-like fashion, and to knowing that if you stick with it and read every clue the game has to offer, things will start to click, and when you do, you will have a wonderful trove of content to play - both in the included in-game characters and in the expansion pack characters, all with different goals and play styles. Kudos to the devs as nobody is out there making games like this.

The clue’s in the name. You’re playing a cultist, but less of the chanting and murder aesthetic and more of the slightly maddened researcher uncovering the hidden truths behind the world... and learning to use them. The mythos is incredible and built from the ground up in a way that delights readers, but feels fresh and new and almost obsessive to learn more about due to how carefully it’s been constructed. Make no mistake that this is a card game and there is plate spinning involved, and a lot of trial and error. But it’s very cool that that kind of mirrors the experience of being a cultist - you don’t know what you’re doing, and you’re dying, and then, all of a sudden, there is the euphoria of a breakthrough. I’m a big fan. I would definitely recommend this game if you have good headphones and an overactive imagination. It’s words on a page and a sense of figuring out things as you place down your cards in different tiles and use reading comprehension and a very... odd sense of logic, to figure out what might just happen. You make the story happen in your mind, but this game provides the encouragement to make it something magical.