In the three years since its launch, Cult of the Lamb has been one a hell of a journey, receiving three free major expansions and four DLC packs. Its latest winter-themed expansion, Woolhaven, is the biggest yet, though, rivaling even the base game in terms of scope. This post-game expedition introduces brutal new frosty conditions, fresh dungeons to conquer, and even animal ranching. On paper, it all sounds exciting, but is Woolhaven truly worth your time and money? Let’s have a look…
Winter is coming
In Woolhaven, the forgotten god Yngya summons you to reclaim the lost souls of a frozen land and guide them back to their spiritual home. To do so, you must explore the snow-covered mountain and fight your way through two challenging new dungeons (Ewefall and The Rot). These new dungeons are packed with new enemy types and bosses and exploring them both is essential for gathering new crafting resources.
Once the souls are restored, a new town area emerges, run by spirits, where you can purchase unique items, complete quests, and uncover the secrets of their origins. In this new hub, you can purchase new animals for your ranch (we’ll get to that later), give offerings to fallen spirits to unlock new outfits, and you can even unlock powerful legendary weapons.
How to access Woolhaven
Right off the bat, one thing I appreciated was how accessible the expansion is. To unlock Woolhaven, you need to defeat four of the game’s Bishops and offer several basic materials at a shrine that appears at your base. For context, reaching this point took me around eight hours of play, meaning the DLC can be accessed over a single weekend.
I won’t bore you with every small extra thing that Woolhaven adds, but trust me — there’s plenty to discover. Beyond the new bosses and enemies in its two dungeons, the expansion introduces new follower types, base decorations, and rituals for your cult. Even before considering the new dungeons and gameplay mechanics, it already feels like several DLC packs rolled into one, representing strong value for money.
Surviving Woolhaven
As you embark on your quest in Woolhaven, your cult is gripped by the harsh grip of winter. Freezing temperatures threaten to encase your followers in ice, crops struggle to grow, and relentless blizzards put your structures at risk of destruction. This adds a new layer of tension to the life sim elements, as you need to collect resources to fuel your furnace, fend off attacking hungry wolves, and rely on other methods of generating food beyond simply growing crops.
One new method is ranching. You can raise farm animals such as llamas and cows at your home base, which can serve as a food source in desperate times. It’s great to see Cult of the Lamb add another staple of life sim gameplay, and with wool now serving as the main currency in the new shops, ranching feels like an essential part of the experience.
These additional sim elements help keep things feeling fresh, but they may act as a double-edged sword for players more invested in the game’s roguelike runs. Having to care for animals each day and keep your furnace fully stocked adds another layer of pressure on top of the already lengthy checklist of cult management tasks. Personally, I liked the variety, but it did feel a little stressful at times.
Another favorite addition is the Rotten Followers. This new type of worshipper comes with its own unique pros and cons: they don’t get cold or need to eat, but they can rot away unexpectedly, adding an unpredictable twist to cult management. The more rotten followers you have, the more new tarot cards you’ll also be able to unlock for runs.
The Verdict
Serving as the largest and most meaningful update to Cult of the Lamb to date, Woolhaven is a must-have for the game’s most devoted cultists.
Beyond adding new dungeons and bosses to tackle, the expansion introduces fresh pressures and playful mechanics to the base building, enhancing the experience on every level. Among these new mechanics, I particularly enjoyed ranching, which gave me a satisfying thrill each time a new animal joined my flock.
It may not reinvent the wheel, and it’s not the full sequel we’ve all been eagerly awaiting, but Woolhaven is still an absolute blast; a frosty, content-rich expansion that any cultist will enjoy diving into.
Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven is out on PS4, PS5, PC and Switch. I played via access kindly provided by the publisher and their loyal customers in PR.
