Cultist Simulator

这是一款叙事卡牌游戏，如果你不关心叙事，现在就可以退出了

I feel like one of the definitive qualities of a good indie title is how weird it is willing to get. Cultist Simulator is different than anything else on the market, to the point where it's hard to point out a genre. This one is for the loreheads, assuming the loreheads also like stress, random and permanent deaths, and hours upon hours of lost progress for failing memory and attention mechanics (I will point you towards Book of Hours for a *substantially* friendlier sequel that does not require a Cultist Sim victory to play) Without going too deep into its structure, you have some nouns and some adjectives and a slightly increasing selection of verbs, and your goal is to assemble them into coherent sentences before finally determining just what the hell it is you are reading. Time is a factor but not an overly critical one, ticked away in minute intervals that feel unnecessary at first but soon serve to provide you breathing space to respond to crises, form strategems, break out of your routines and into new ones, and just live in your brain for a bit. As the game unfolds into a mass of ideas and a mess of cards, a narrative about investigating and understanding the occult transpires, while juggling waning sanity, looming conspiracy and a grind of a day job. It's really good, in the spirit and ancestry of the Fallen London/Sunless Seas games in its humor, darkness and esoterica - and like them it is a game with almost no graphics, just gentle abstractions and some text dripping with texture and flavor. When its good, the mechanics inform the narrative, when its bad, the narrative still prevails - though sometimes you might feel compelled to go wiki-diving to figure out how to read on without dying. I wouldn't say Cultist Simulator is a finished thought in all its respects (particularly as a prelude to Book of Hours, a different but similar follow-up with substantially less maddening stress and fatality) but it is entertainingly broken. If you come in it with a desire to just investigate the world from a position of innocence (Disco style), and uncover a world in fragments to piece it together as a whole (Dark Souls style), you're likely to have a good time.

What is there to be said? Perhaps some advice is in order, for a prospective player. If any of this strikes your curiosity, try it out. Read everything. Even if you've read it before, You likely missed something. Think abstract. The rules may feel confining at first, but they are far more lenient than you realize. If you are comfortable, take a risk. Recovering from disaster is easier than you think, and the practice will help you when it really matters.

A cocktail of despair and triumph without peer. If you're not losing sleep chasing the Sun-in-Rags, then may I suggest that you're not dreaming deeply enough?

My first impressions are that this game isn't for me unfortunately. That being said, it seems like a really well done game and would thoroughly be enjoyed by whomever it was designed for. I should've done more research beforehand and that's on me.

Рассмотрев дело по обвинению Симулятора Культиста в мошенничестве и злоупотреблении доверием игрока, суд установил: Подсудимый, используя стильное оформление и позиционируя себя, как глубокий и нелинейный нарративный инструмент для составления историй в лавкрафтианском стиле, предложил игроку увлекательное интерактивное времяпрепровождение. В течении нескольких десятков часов, подсудимый, втянув потерпевшего в замкнутый цикл перекладывания карточек с неочевидными правилами, захватил его интерес. Однако, впоследствии детального ознакомления, с принципами работы орденов и путей возвышения, игроку в анальной проход была помещена рельса, зазубренная рандомизатором, предварительно раскрашенная в разные цвета радуги, имитирующие нелинейность. Своими действиями подсудимый нанёс потерпевшему моральный (вызвал скуку, раздражение и стойкое отвращение к тегу «Глубокий сюжет») и физический (100 часов жизни). Отягчающим обстоятельством является намеренное создание ложного ощущения глубины при фактическом отсутствии содержания. Смягчающим – присутствие длц контента, частично содержащего обогащение геймплея. Суд постановил: Признать Симулятора Культиста виновным и вынести никому не интересный отрицательный отзыв.

Played for 5 hours just for the game to end randomly and mysteriously, assumably from "working too hard" and putting the "Passion" card into the "Work" verb, after being explicitly prompted to. based on the ending text. I don't understand the decision not to include an tutorial either, it's simply not fun having to guess why certain things are happening and how to actually progress. And there is no option to simply continue the game from a save point, when the game ends you simply are forced to start the whole ordeal from the very beginning. I really wanted to like this game but I honestly just don't see the point of the whole thing. It's a game that disrespects your time and energy.