There aren’t many games that make you feel quite so comfortable sending an army of innocent followers to their deaths, but then again, there aren’t many games quite like Worship. Developed and published by Chasing Rats Games, this wonderfully twisted action roguelike puts you in the blood-soaked robes of an aspiring cult leader with ambitions that extend far beyond ordinary world domination. Your mission is simple enough: spread the word of your eldritch god, recruit an army of devoted followers, corrupt the mortal realm and prepare the way for an ancient horror to make its grand entrance. Naturally, achieving all this involves a considerable amount of bloodshed, questionable religious practices and a rather relaxed attitude towards the survival prospects of your congregation.
What immediately makes Worship stand out is its unusual blend of real-time strategy, exploration, puzzle-solving and roguelike combat. There are definite shades of Pikmin in the way you gather and command your followers, but Chasing Rats Games has taken that familiar idea and given it a wonderfully sinister makeover. Instead of guiding adorable creatures through colourful environments, you’re commanding an increasingly devoted collection of cultists who are more than happy to fight, sacrifice themselves and generally make a terrible mess in the name of their chosen deity. It is an entertaining premise, and one that gives the game a personality of its own.
Building an Army of the Faithful
At the heart of Worship is the business of building and managing your cult. You begin as a relatively insignificant servant of the Old Ones, but by spreading your religious influence and converting unsuspecting individuals, you gradually assemble an army capable of taking on the threats standing between you and ultimate power. Your followers aren’t simply there to make the numbers look impressive, either. They are integral to practically everything you do, whether that involves attacking enemies, completing objectives, interacting with the environment or gathering resources.
There is something particularly entertaining about watching your little army scurry around the battlefield, following your commands with an enthusiasm that is both admirable and deeply concerning. You can direct them towards enemies, send them off to perform various tasks and use their collective strength to overcome obstacles. The relationship between your own abilities and those of your followers is what makes the gameplay particularly interesting. You’re powerful, but you’re not invincible, and knowing when to put your followers to work rather than charging into danger yourself becomes an important part of surviving.
Of course, being a cult leader isn’t always about making sensible decisions. Sometimes your followers are going to have to make sacrifices, and the game isn’t particularly interested in making you feel guilty about it. In fact, there is a wonderfully dark sense of humour running throughout the experience, particularly when you consider just how disposable your devoted congregation can be. It’s a refreshing change from games that treat every companion as precious, although watching a sizeable portion of your army disappear during a particularly difficult encounter can still be rather painful.
Blood Is the New Black
The most distinctive gameplay mechanic is undoubtedly the blood-based ritual system. Rather than simply selecting spells from a conventional ability menu, Worship asks you to physically draw occult symbols on the ground with blood. These symbols allow you to unleash a variety of supernatural abilities, from devastating attacks and protective effects to summoning otherworldly horrors. It is an imaginative approach to spellcasting that gives combat a much more hands-on feel.
The idea of using blood as both a weapon and a resource fits the game’s disturbing atmosphere perfectly. You can unleash ghastly projectiles, summon deadly creatures and even make toxic frogs rain down on your unfortunate enemies. It is an appropriately ridiculous collection of supernatural abilities, and the variety helps ensure that combat doesn’t become entirely dependent on commanding your followers. There is a satisfying sense of involvement in drawing a ritual and watching its effects unfold, particularly when a well-timed spell can turn an otherwise disastrous encounter around.
Importantly, blood rituals aren’t restricted to combat. You’ll also need to use them when exploring the world, solving environmental puzzles and interacting with shrines and ancient occult ruins. This gives the mechanic a greater purpose beyond simply providing another way to dispatch enemies. It becomes part of the game’s identity, tying together its exploration, combat and puzzle-solving elements in a way that feels natural rather than forced. It is easily one of the strongest ideas in Worship, and something that helps distinguish it from other games in the roguelike space.
A World Ripe for Corruption
Exploration takes you through a dark fantasy world already on the verge of collapse. Four distinct factions occupy this increasingly hostile landscape, each bringing its own enemies, challenges and personality to the proceedings. The Last Church represents the religious opposition, with its inquisitors determined to prevent your unholy ambitions. Meanwhile, the warriors of Untamed Akka, the witches of the Coven and the grotesque inhabitants of the Unseen Depths provide further obstacles as you attempt to spread the influence of your chosen god.
Different factions give the world a stronger sense of identity, rather than making every encounter feel like another variation of the same battle. Each expedition offers opportunities to explore, gather resources, encounter enemies and further your cult’s ambitions. There is also a satisfying sense of progression as you gradually corrupt the surrounding world, bringing you closer to the ultimate objective of preparing the mortal realm for the arrival of something considerably more terrifying than yourself.
The bosses deserve particular attention because they represent some of the more demanding encounters in the game. These aren’t simply larger enemies with inflated health bars. They can threaten your entire operation, and a poorly managed encounter can leave your carefully assembled army in tatters. This adds genuine tension to proceedings, particularly when you’ve spent considerable time building up your followers only to watch them fall during a difficult confrontation. It reinforces the importance of preparation, tactical thinking and making the most of your available rituals.
The Long Road to Godhood
Like any worthwhile roguelike, Worship encourages repeated attempts rather than expecting players to complete everything in a single journey. Its Eldritch Prophecies system provides longer-term progression, offering challenges to complete during your runs in exchange for additional unlocks. These rewards include new gods, abilities, powers and cosmetic options, giving you reasons to return even after an expedition has ended in spectacular failure.
The ability to unlock different gods is particularly appealing because it creates opportunities to experiment with different approaches. Rather than simply repeating the same run with slightly improved equipment, you’re encouraged to explore different abilities and discover combinations that suit your preferred style of play. This adds another layer to the strategic side of the experience and helps keep progression feeling worthwhile.
There is also the option to enjoy the experience with friends through cooperative play, with support for up to four players via local and online multiplayer. This is a particularly good fit for a game built around commanding followers and unleashing chaotic supernatural attacks. Coordinating multiple cult leaders, managing enormous groups of minions and combining abilities can produce wonderfully unpredictable encounters. Cooperative play also makes the experience more accessible to those who prefer sharing their adventures rather than tackling every challenge alone.
An Unholy Work of Art
Visually, Worship has a distinctive identity that immediately catches the eye. Its hand-drawn black-and-white presentation gives the world the look of a dark illustrated storybook, with occasional splashes of colour providing striking contrast. Naturally, red draws the most attention, and the liberal use of blood during rituals and combat creates particularly memorable imagery.
There is something rather charming about the contrast between the game’s disturbing subject matter and its almost cute character designs. Your followers might be devoted to an ancient eldritch horror, but their little animated movements and frantic behaviour give them an unexpected personality. This contrast works wonderfully with the dark humour, creating an atmosphere that is unsettling without taking itself too seriously. It is a style that feels deliberately different from the increasingly realistic presentation found in many modern action games.
The audio complements the visuals nicely, helping establish the appropriate atmosphere as you explore the world and engage in increasingly frantic battles. The supernatural nature of the setting is reflected in the sound design, while the combat effects give your rituals and attacks a satisfying sense of impact. It all comes together to create a cohesive experience, with the presentation supporting the gameplay rather than simply dressing it up.
Even Cult Leaders Have Their Problems
Despite its many strengths, Worship isn’t entirely free from frustration. Managing a growing army of followers can become chaotic, particularly in larger encounters with numerous enemies and environmental hazards competing for your attention. What feels wonderfully straightforward in quieter moments can become considerably more difficult when you’re directing your followers, drawing rituals and avoiding incoming attacks at the same time.
There are also occasions when your followers’ behaviour doesn’t quite match your intentions, making precise control more difficult than it should be. This is particularly noticeable in boss encounters, where losing control of your army can have serious consequences. The difficulty can also become unforgiving as you progress, with certain enemies and bosses capable of dismantling your carefully assembled forces surprisingly quickly. While a degree of punishment is expected in a roguelike, these moments can occasionally feel more frustrating than rewarding.
Nevertheless, these issues don’t undermine what is otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The combination of minion management, blood magic and exploration is strong enough to carry the game through its less polished moments. More importantly, it feels as though Chasing Rats Games has genuinely tried to create something different rather than simply following an established formula.
Verdict
Worship is a wonderfully twisted little roguelike that blends familiar gameplay ideas into something with a distinctive personality. Its Pikmin-inspired follower management provides an entertaining foundation, while the blood-drawing ritual system adds an imaginative combat mechanic that gives the experience its own identity. Throw in a striking hand-drawn art style, a wonderfully dark sense of humour, challenging bosses and plenty of progression to work towards, and there is plenty to appreciate.
It isn’t perfect. Managing larger groups of followers can become frustrating, and some of the more demanding encounters occasionally feel unnecessarily punishing. There is also a learning curve to balancing your own abilities with the needs of your increasingly expendable congregation. However, these shortcomings are relatively minor when set against the creativity and personality on display.
Ultimately, Worship succeeds because it understands that a great roguelike needs more than just difficult enemies and endless repetition. It needs an engaging gameplay loop, a reason to keep coming back, and, ideally, something that makes you smile even when everything goes horribly wrong. Chasing Rats Games delivers all three, creating an adventure that is as entertaining as it is gloriously unpleasant. If you’ve ever fancied running your own doomsday cult, this might just be the most enjoyable way to bring about the end of the world.
