I have been intrigued by the adorable art this game has so I jumped at the chance to see how it translated into a graphic novel. The art, at least, continues to be adorably dark.
Now, I've never actually played the game so I'm basing this on what little I know of it, but it feels like this is the story of what happens between the violent adventures Lamb goes on in the game. It's more about the story and the characters than the fights and adventure. I loved that and feel like we get enough of the general background and moments of violence to tie it into the game's story.
Even knowing nothing about the game, it's a great story.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for the read!

I've only vaguely played this game, although I've watched my friend play a lot of it, but reading this is making me excited to pick the game back up. The cute illustrations mesh perfectly with the sinister/dark themes that the game and this book both contain. I can't wait to read more!

For anyone who is a fan of the same titled game, this graphic novel series would be for you. Also for generally everyone who hasn’t played it and wants an inkling of what awaits one.
I love that you get such a big insight into the characters who you encounter in the game and how deep the lore actually gets. It is beautiful.

When I saw this one on NetGalley I had to request it right then and there. I love The Cult of The Lamb, it is an amazing game, and it is the one I am constantly pushing at everyone. It is brilliant and it is nice, and since it is farming + roguelike it could appeal to a lot of different people. And the graphic is the cutest thing ever, it is the perfect balance between cute as heck and creepy as hell, and I am in love! (And by the way, they have recently added the co-op option and it is *chef’s kiss*. )But it’s not only that! You are a cute little lamb with a killer strike and your mission is to form a cult! It is bonkers! It is cute! It is the best! So… obviously, how could I resist the graphic novel??

And the graphic novel is just so cute! If you are familiar with the game the story of this volume would not surprise you, because it is basically the beginning of the game. Sure, there are some new things in there, and there is more character development (especially for Ratau) and we meet some followers with their own stories, backgrounds, and personalities. It is expanded and you get some in-depth that is not present in the game (for obvious reasons), but basically, as far as plotlines go, you already know what is happening. If you are not familiar with the game, you get to discover how and why a cute little lamb is now the head of a cult who worships him, and why he is going around slaying the creatures of the different realms around them.

The art is the same as in the game, but better! I hope this makes sense. The illustrator did an amazing job here, and you get to see more colors and more details, and every page is a work of art. It is just so beautiful! And, again, it is the perfect blend between creepy and cute. It is pure bliss!

My only complaint is that at the beginning we get some witty vibes, it is funny (there is a conversation between the lamb and an acolyte that is pure gold) but these vibes do not keep up for the whole book. They are just at the beginning, and then they disappear. But I am a sucker for humor and I think that here it would have done wonders. But still, I had fun reading it and it is a feast for the eyes. So yeah, I am happy to have read it, and I am recommending it to you because it is just too cute/creepy to pass! You need it in your life!

As someone who has played the game this version of events is really interesting. Seeing the impact of followers and their choices is also cool. The art is a little busy for my taste but the panel design is very cool.

I picked this up because I have played the game a little and was interested to see how the lore would translate to graphic novels. I want to start by saying that the use of colour in this: outstanding. 10/10. Although this is for fans of the game, it does follow the first hour of the game.

If you are thinking about buying the game and unsure whether to commit, read this first and you will surely decide to start your own cult of the lamb.

The art is cute and the story easy enough to follow even with no prior knowledge from the game.
Although it does feel a bit rushed, I would have loved some pacing for the story to unfold more organically.

Overall, it does it's job of hooking you with the cute and gory aspects that the game is so wall known for.

I really had fun with this. The writing was very good and the artwork super high quality with lots of love for details.
As someone who played the game I appreciate how much more depth it gave to all the characters and worldbuilding, but I'm sure it's just as much of a cool story for anyone who hasn't played it.

I have yet to play this game, but when I saw this on NetGalley, I just had to request. It definitely offers more backstory to the world it's set in and now I have to play it asap. It was quite an easy read since the pages weren't filled with just text ++ I absolutely loved the artwork. It was very colourful and detailed and I liked the way the characters were drawn.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I love the game and knowing the graphic novel is based a lot on it instantly almost made it 5 stars for me. I did read it and I am thoroughly blown away by how original the novel is while still tacking on the facts of what happened in the game. I also really love the art style, I'm looking forward to the second volume already!!!

Very happy with this graphic novel adaptation of the hit indiegame, "Cult of the Lamb." 100+% recommend. Definitely one of my favorite graphic novels this year.

I feel this graphic novel is a very faithful adaptation to the premise, art style, and lore, while telling an original story of how the game's story would work. It's not afraid to tell a dark, sometimes heartbreaking story within its cute, accurately depicted art style. A great job is done here to balance "cute," "dark," "occasionally humorous," and "serious/heart-breaking when it needs to be."

As a fan who hasn't been able to play the game yet, I feel this story seems easy-to-read and understand for both the game's existing players, those who were on the fence (like me), or new to the game. Honestly, if anyone isn't a fan of the game's gameplay, I think reading this graphic novel is easily a good substitute for being a fan and keeping up with the lore.

I'm looking forward to future volumes and how they depict the rest of the story.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author/illustrator for this advanced copy. Definitely a highlight of why I love NetGalley and the graphic novel genre.

Thank you so much Alex Paknadel and Netgalley for allowing me review this masterpiece!!

I have always always been obsessed with comic books but unfortunately I am the pickiest person when it comes to my comics. It needs to be a story I can go into as if I am actually observing in real time and to get lost in all the characters.
This right here? It met every expectation I had and above!
It’s as if Gravity Falls, The Book of Bill and of course The cult of lambs merged into one but more bloody (which I loved) .

I absolutely can not wait until the physical release and will be collecting all physical forms of this!!

Thank you once again for letting me read/review this!

4.3/5
Quality of writing: 5
Plot development: 5
Pace: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of reading: 4

Cult of the Lamb is a phenomenon. The game is amazing (I have yet to finish it as 1. I'm bad and 2. so many games, so little time...) so seeing it turned into a comic book, warms my gaming bookworm heart.
The art is true to the game, so is the story.
I would recommend this to any video game lover.
Now I will just patiently sit here and wait for Vol 2.

Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love this book! The story is a clever adaptation of the game. It gives more of a backstory to the world of CotL and the Lamb's predicament. The Lamb is given a distinct personality and moral compass. Ratau is fleshed out more and has an interesting triangular dynamic with the lamb and a new character. Assorted Old Faith cultists are given little bits of banter that make you realize that they are people, too. The dialogue sounds like it came straight from the game and it ends in a satisfying way that leaves you excited for more. The art is absolutely beautiful, featuring lots of lighting changes and texture. It's the perfect balance of cute and gory. Looking forward to Volume 2!

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

Totally didn't realize this was based on a video game. So, yeah. I'll be checking that out.

Lamb is taken be followers of the old faith and is sacrificed in order to stop a prophecy from coming true. But when he's saved and sent back to wipe out the bishops/old gods, Lamb goes on a spree and starts his own cult to his new god.

I loved the artwork. It's definitely gorey and graphic. But its also cute? Which, really, made the gore so much more intense. The plot was crazy and interesting, and the writing was wonderful and kept me hooked. It's definitely one of my favorite fantasy/horror graphic novels I've read and I look forward to Vol 2.

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘮𝘣 𝘝𝘰𝘭. 1 collects the first 4 issues of the comic, which was successfully funded on Kickstarter just 6 minutes after launching. The game itself released in August 2022 and received much critical acclaim, rightly so, as it is brilliant! It won Best Indie Game at the Golden Joystick Awards and received nominations at the BAFTA Games Awards and The Game Awards, to name a few.

Fans of the game will instantly recognise the characters: Lamb, the bishops of the Old Faith, some of the mini-bosses, Clauneck and Ratau. The events of Vol. 1 revolve around the inception of the cult, Darkwood and Leshy.

Anyone unfamiliar with the universe should still enjoy this equally. It's written by Alex Paknadel, whose recent work includes 𝘙𝘦𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯 and 𝘐𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘏𝘶𝘭𝘬: 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 for Marvel, and 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘭 for Image. It's beautifully brought to life by four-time Eisner, Ringo, and Harvey nominee Troy Little, who has worked on such books as the award-winning adaptation of 𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 & 𝘓𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘴 𝘝𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘴, 𝘙𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘷𝘴. 𝘋𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘴 & 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘴, and 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴.

I really enjoyed spending some time back in this universe and look forward to future volumes!

Thanks to NetGalley, Oni Press, Massive Monster and Devolver Digital for the ARC.

I love Cult of the Lamb. I spent countless hours playing it but still didn't finish because I focused too much on my cult and not enough on the dungeons and killing.

And that's why I really enjoyed this comic book. It tells the Lamb story from the beginning, when they were sacrificed and then ressurected, but instead of accepting their role as the cult leader, the Lamb goes on a killing spree.

Ratau, who in a game just helps set up a camp and explains the basics here, is more of an devil (or an angel) on the Lamb's shoulder. While Ratau urges the Lamb to focus on growing devotion for the Chained One, Nana, which is the first animal that Lamb saved, tries to get the Lamb to appreacite their followers and help them. That conflict is the main plot in this comic book, and it's well written. But overall, there's not much happening here. The other parts focus on the fights in Darkwoods; they can be a little gory but nothing too bad.

The art style fits with the game quite nicely, and the fights are really dynamic but sometimes a little too chaotic. Highly recommended for game fans but also for people who enjoy a little bloody comic books. I will definitely read the next volume.

This was an interesting read. As I have played the game a bunch, it was so interesting to see the characters with bit more personality/background story. The pages were really chaotic, but I feel like that matches the vibe of the game.

Thank you for the ARC!

This started off as a mild 3-star book for me, but definitely ended as a 5-star. I think it can be difficult to turn a video game into a compelling narrative, but this amazing -- I loved the dynamic art, the pacing of the story felt reasonable, and I was able to feel connected to the characters. There were fun moments of comic relief littered amongst more serious, emotional moments.

It was a fun read, very entertaining. I read it all in a single sitting, which has to count for something.

If you are a fan of the game this is a cutesy dive into the lore of it all. You get spades more backstory than you get through general gameplay.