Honey, I Joined a Cult Steam Early Access Report (Launch)
Honey, I Joined a Cult
Developer: Sole Survivor GamesPublisher: Team17
Current Status: Steam Early Access
Release Date ETA: Version 1.0: When ready
Platforms: PC
Want to Wishlist or Buy?
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/841190/Honey_I_Joined_a_Cult/
Disclosure: This Honey, I Joined a Cult Steam Early Access Report is based off of a copy of the game provide for free.
Honey, I Joined a Cult, developed by Sole Survivor Games, recently entered Steam Early Access and I was somewhat unsure whether this would be the kind of game I would be comfortable with. To my delight, the game has a very casual approach to it that play like a combination of Two Point Hospital mixed with some RimWorld unit management mechanics. Given that this just entered Steam Early Access with still a lot to add in the game, please understand that what I say below isn’t the final verdict.
The gameplay at its core is base-building simulation, not sandbox, something I hope changes in the future. Honey, I Joined a Cult is certainly a catchy title, but a peculiar one given that you are the one creating the cult. The game starts with a backstory of someone running away to start a new life and create a new cult, something that isn’t really needed in this game to waste your time and should be scrapped entirely. This leads to the cult creation screen where you can can customize your cult leader’s clothes and name, names and appearance of your cult followers, choose your own cult symbol, designate a worship room, and decide what idol your followers will actually worship.
After completing creating your cult, the game starts to walk you through how to build new rooms, place objects, manage your cult staff members, and recruit new staff members from your followers. One of the key things about Honey, I Joined a Cult that is done cleverly is that you don’t decide what your cult is actually believing or promoting other than a Divine Being. The abstract nature of this game design makes a game like this more palatable to the masses in this day and age. Most of the time managing your cult consists of adding more beds, feeding your members, making sure the bathroom is clean, and just regular maintenance to make everything is operating correctly. The game’s day/night cycle currently has nothing to do at night, although that will come in a future update that I’m looking forward to. Despite this current omission, there are still plenty of missions to do during the day, plus many staff members you can manage and level up who have unique traits. I’m the type of person who automatically gets attracted to games with skill trees and that’s what this game has! You can use influence gained from worshipers praising your divine being to spend on a research tree that advances you through the game.
One of my main criticisms is that it feels like the game has more of a linear moving direction rather than a lot of choices a player can make that leaves others behind. It feels like everything in the research tree has to be researched to move the game forward. On the other hand, the game features Divine Inspirations, upgrades that affect the strength and power of your Divine Being that seem a lot more customizable to how you want your cult to grow. Linearity is the my greatest concern right now. On another note, the background music is good, especially for a game in this genre.
Honey, I Joined a Cult, developed by Sole Survivor Games, just entered Steam Early Access. There is no current timetable for version 1.0, but they released a roadmap listed on their Steam page of what updates are being worked on.
My Version 1.0 Wishlist:
- Remove the Beginning Story
- Less Linearity, include Diversionary Decisions
- New Objects Filter(!) (avoid having to scroll)
