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.

I am a fan of the Cult of the Lamb game and really enjoyed this is a fun addition to the universe. The art is amazing and I love the coloring and how the story relates to the game.

I haven’t played the game but the story is interesting and the colors and art quite vibrant. A violent take on religions, cults, violence in the name of devotion, and other human fallacies thinly veiled by cute woodland creatures. The art is a bit hard to discern in some panels and there are some heavy themes that might turn some readers away, but this is a series I’d like to continue.

What a delightful dive into a world where cuteness and darkness blend!
Lamb is adorable & charming, making it easy to root for him as he navigates the treacherous path of cult leadership. I love Lamb’s journey to overthrow the oppressive Old Faith and establish his own cult.
The color palette used is dark and rich perfectly capturing the eerie atmosphere of the story.

Cult Of The Lamb Vol. 1 - Alex Paknadel
Pub date: Dec 3rd 2024

The artwork by Troy Little is both cute and horrifying, a perfect match for the story’s themes.
I feel like this graphic novel stays true to the game’s essence, it also expands the mythology in intriguing ways.

Thank you @onipress & @netgalley

Fans of the game will absolutely love this but its super enjoyable for those who haven't ever played it too.

The story is really engaging and keeps you going.

The art work is incredible too!

Cant wait to read the next volume.

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for providing me with this arc

I was so excited when I saw this book I was so excited! I absolutely adore this game and I know the story but seeing it in graphic novel form is just really exciting. I love that people who don't play the game can read the story and finally understand what I'm rambling about. I can't wait to make all of my friends read this!

Well organized and illustrated. This game has such a 'cult' following (excuse my pun) I do expect this to be wildly popular. That the author has scraped an interpersonal plot together out of a dungeon crawling game is delightful. Some may balk at how the story is gore-y, but anyone who was into FNAF (Five Nights at Freddies) Is bound to be a fan of this.

<i>(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley. Content warning for general gore and violence.)</i>

Young Lamb, an endling, was selected by the four Bishops of the Old Faith as a sacrifice, to keep the Old Gods sealed from their realm forever. But when Lamb dies, he's given the chance for revenge - by a godlike creature known as the One Who Waits. His only stipulation? Lamb must start his own cult. And so Lamb travels the land, rescuing poor souls who are about to be sacrificed, as he once was, and slaying the emissaries of the Old Faith. But in his quest for vengeance - and reverence - will he betray his most faithful?

Soooo, I'd never heard of the video game on which CULT OF THE LAMB is based until I stumbled on this title on Netgalley. Perhaps I might have understood or even enjoyed it a bit more if I had? As it was, I found the plot line and underlying messages rather confusing. Mostly it was the specifics (or maybe just the semantics?) of the religion that tripped me up: why, for example, would members of the Old Faith reject the Old Gods? I assume that Lamb's benefactor intended for him to build a cult with which to slay with Old Faith, but we never really get to the end game.

To be fair, this is the first volume in a series. That said, I'm just not that invested to continue with the journey.

Which is really unfortunate, because the artwork in CULT OF THE LAMB? F-ing amazing. The gods are horrendous, Lamb and his cute and fuzzy wuzzy brethren are suitably adorable, and the colors POP. Visually, CULT OF THE LAMB is a fea(s)t. Which is why I might just check out the video game, even if my time with the comic book has hit a wall.

This graphic novel is based off a video game of the same title. Even if you've never played the video game, this is still an enjoyable read. The illustrations are adorable, but dark and gruesome at times. It was a quick read but the plot was interesting. I would definitely recommend this book for a YA collection, especially if your young adult demographics are into video games.