Frosty Cult Leading in the Woolhaven DLC

I am a big fan of the oddball cult leading adventures in Cult of the Lamb so was excited when a new DLC was announced.  Just this last week I finished up the "Woolhaven" DLC, so it's time to talk about it.  Should you shell out the ol' buckaroonies for some more sheepy cult leading fun times?

What is it?

A "full-length" DLC for the base Cult of the Lamb game.  It introduces a brand new area, called Woolhaven, and sets our beloved lamb on an adventure to uncover the story of a new goddess known as Yngya.

How much playtime can I expect?

Depending on your playstyle (someone who just focuses on the main story vs. a completionist who does it all), I'd estimate that it adds somewhere around ~10-20 hours.

Pros:

+ Two new combat zones.  The main story involves completing a path (similar to the combat areas in the base game) through a zone known as the Rot or Ewefall.  Similar to the base game you navigate a series of rooms and get to choose your path through various challenges at the end of each area.  There are new mini-bosses and new weapons.  The Rot is a sort of disgusting, mutated goo-filled region that is tied to events in the main story.  Ewefall is more aligned with the winter theme of the DLC and you face off against new enemies in the form of various wolven baddies.

+ New weapons and curses.  There's a new flail but also a series of "legendary" weapons that can be unlocked as part of quests found in Woolhaven.

+ Winter is coming.  Woolhaven introduces the winter seasonal shift to the base game.  When winter arrives you need to build a special furnace that is fueled by rot (a resource you collect in the Rot) in order to keep your cultists from freezing.  If your cultists freeze, they can be unfrozen using a special new baptismal font (that requires items from the Ewefall zones).  If you don't unfreeze them, they stay frozen throughout the duration of the entire winter season (they don't do jobs or worship...they're just frozen).  Your crops freeze and farming is limited during the winter.  Basically, it throws a bit of a survival wrench into the base game.  The winter season only lasts so long though and eventually things thaw out and its back to business as usual.

As you progress through the game the winter season gets harsher and periodically blizzards roll through.  During a blizzard your cultists will stay in their shelters and do no work until it's over.  You can grow chili peppers which let you cook a hot dish that can keep your cultists from freezing.

+ Introduction of a new cult activity--ranching.  You can now build a ranch where you can raise a number of different critters that provide a new resource, wool.  Wool is used to unlock special buildings and events in Woolhaven.  It is harvest from fuzzy critters that you raise on your ranch.  You can also raise critters that provide basic resources (seeds, crystals, and spider silk).  Ranching involves keeping your animals alive by feeding them and raising their level by petting and walking them.

The New Woolhaven zone adds lots of new quests and content.

+ Tons of stuff to do in Woolhaven.  Besides the base story there are also special quest givers that have several quest chains.  One of those buildings unlocks a new silly game (similar to the dice game) where you face off against different foes to unlock special game pieces.  There are also the graves of various lamb-y heroes from the past which require different amounts of wool to unlock and reward new capes for the lamb (so far they don't have any special abilities though--they're just cosmetic).

+ New follower forms and types.  You can find "rotten" followers as you navigate the Rot.  These followers only live for a short time but they provide special rewards and resources (their poop is highly useful!)  There are also several different new animal forms such as a snow leopard.

+ New winter themed doctrines.  

+ New winter themed decorations for your home base.  This includes an icy theme for your chapel.

+ Exorcise those bad traits!  One of the new buildings you can add to your base is an exorcism platform where you can swap out follower traits.  It's totally random what they get replaced with but it's a way to get rid of the more obnoxious traits.

+ A new main story with two new big bosses to take down.

+ Base expansion is possible.  You can pay a new star-nosed mole character to add a couple of different new areas to your base if you're feeling pressed for space.

+ New photo mode that includes fun stickers.

Cons:

- Bugs are still being worked out.  I experienced a few bugs and noticed that there were almost daily hotfixes/updates.  I only had a couple of issues (and none of them were game breaking--just required a re-load) and it seems like things have improved with the numerous hotfixes.

 Recommendation:

Woolhaven adds in quite a bit of new content and I had fun with it.  The winter season can make things feel a bit more stressful because you're trying to take care of the cult and navigate the main story.  Despite the bugs (which seem to have been largely worked out), it's a new opportunity to return to the cult and make it even better.  If you enjoyed the base game, you'll definitely want to give it a go.