Cultist Simulator cover art

Cultist Simulator

2018Weather FactoryLinux, Android, PC (Microsoft Windows), iOS, Mac

Seize forbidden treasures. Summon alien gods. Feed on your disciples. Cultist Simulator is a game of apocalypse and yearning from Alexis Kennedy, creator of Fallen London and Sunless Sea. Play as a seeker after unholy mysteries, in a 1920s-themed setting of hidden gods and secret histories. Perhaps you're looking for knowledge, or power, or beauty, or revenge. Perhaps you just want the colours beneath the skin of the world. In this roguelike narrative card game, what you find may transform you forever. Every choice you make, from moment to moment, doesn't just advance the narrative - it also shapes it. Become a scholar of the unseen arts. Search your dreams for sanity-twisting rituals. Craft tools and summon spirits. Indoctrinate innocents. Seize your place as the herald of a new age.

What it feels like

The core experience centers on unraveling hidden truths, secret histories, and concealed knowledge through card-driven narrative discovery. A slow-building anticipatory fear permeates the experience of summoning gods and pursuing eldritch power. The unhurried card-driven pace invites reflection on choice, consequence, and eldritch knowledge.

Mysterious80%
Dread75%
Contemplative60%
Melancholic50%

What it's about

Alien gods, sanity-twisting rituals, and unholy mysteries define the 1920s-themed setting drawing directly on Lovecraftian cosmic horror conventions. Sanity-twisting rituals and the player's transformation through forbidden knowledge emphasize psychological dread over gore. The seeker's transformation through forbidden knowledge and eldritch contact reshapes who they become.

Cosmic Horror85%
Psychological Horror65%
Identity & Self60%
Conspiracy55%
Faith & Religion55%
Transhumanism50%

How it plays

A card-game structure where players assemble and manipulate a deck is the mechanical foundation of moment-to-moment play. Choices at every moment shape narrative outcomes, forming the primary interactive decision-making system. Indoctrinating innocents and pursuing power raise weighty ethical decisions with narrative consequence.

Deckbuilding90%
Dialogue Trees70%
Moral Choice65%
Resource Management65%
Crafting60%

How it's structured

Explicitly designed as a single-player narrative experience without multiplayer systems. Player choices explicitly fork the narrative into meaningfully different paths and transformative outcomes. Described as a roguelike where each playthrough differs and players gradually unlock knowledge across distinct runs.

Single-Player90%
Branching Narrative75%
Run-Based75%
Dagon54% match

Shares Cosmic Horror, Dread, Psychological Horror, Mysterious.

Both lean into Cosmic Horror, Single-Player, Dread, Psychological Horror.

Cosmic Horror95%Single-Player85%Dread85%Psychological Horror85%
Tiny Bunny52% match

Shares Branching Narrative, Psychological Horror, Mysterious, Dread.

Both lean into Single-Player, Branching Narrative, Psychological Horror, Mysterious.

Single-Player95%Branching Narrative85%Psychological Horror80%Mysterious65%

Shares Cosmic Horror, Deckbuilding, Dread, Run-Based.

Both lean into Single-Player, Cosmic Horror, Deckbuilding, Run-Based.

Single-Player90%Cosmic Horror95%Deckbuilding75%Run-Based80%

See all games like Cultist Simulator

A lesser-known kindred — Branching Narrative, Dialogue Trees, Mysterious, Moral Choice. 98% positive across 4,238 Steam reviews.

Both lean into Single-Player, Branching Narrative, Dialogue Trees, Moral Choice.

Single-Player95%Branching Narrative90%Dialogue Trees80%Moral Choice75%

A lesser-known kindred — Branching Narrative, Dialogue Trees, Dread, Mysterious. 98% positive across 4,955 Steam reviews.

Both lean into Single-Player, Branching Narrative, Dialogue Trees, Dread.

Single-Player85%Branching Narrative90%Dialogue Trees85%Dread78%
Simulacra41% match

A lesser-known kindred — Mysterious, Psychological Horror, Branching Narrative, Dread. 90% positive across 4,661 Steam reviews.

Both lean into Single-Player, Mysterious, Psychological Horror, Branching Narrative.

Single-Player82%Mysterious78%Psychological Horror88%Branching Narrative75%
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