Cultist Simulator review — shuffling your way onto another plane of reality

Cultist Simulator‘s straightforward no-nonsense title belies the enigmatic journey it takes you on as you seek arcane truths and perform blasphemous rituals. It’s a digital card game that shows you glimpses of the world through snippets of rich, literary text, all while tasking you with collecting abstract concepts like passion and reason and using them like currency.

Ostensibly, Cultist Simulator is about gathering disciples to your cause as you strive for your purpose, be that enlightenment or the worship of chaos. But it’s no surprise that it’s much more than that. After all, it comes from the labyrinthian imagination of Failbetter Games founder Alexis Kennedy, who developed games like Fallen London and Sunless Sea. It’s the debut title from indie studio Weather Factory, which Kennedy founded alongside Failbetter producer Lottie Bevan, and it’s out today on PC.