Indie cult simulator Cult of the Lamb appeared at PAX Australia on October 11 – October 13. However, fairly than having a sales space that enables anybody passing by to play for some time and get a style of what it is wish to be a cult chief, the groups at Devolver Digital and Large Monster determined to do issues just a little in a different way. As an alternative, an 8-meter reproduction of the in-game temple the place the lamb delivers every day sermons and performs rituals was constructed, and two {couples} had been formally married there on Sunday.
The official Cult of the Lamb X account tweeted in April asking if any of their followers could be keen to get married on the occasion, and the response to that single tweet was overwhelming. In keeping with the Cult of the Lamb account, the tweet obtained a whole lot of purposes from {couples} keen to tie the knot on the temple, however solely two {couples} had been chosen. The considered making use of undoubtedly crossed my thoughts once I first noticed the tweet, however after seeing the worth of flights to Australia alone, it shortly dawned on me that it might in all probability be cheaper to construct a temple and begin my very own cult.
A real celebrant was employed to officiate the weddings, and wedding ceremony photographers had been employed to seize each second of each ceremonies. The ceremonies had been confined to at some point, fairly than spanning the entire weekend. So any attendee had ample alternative to go to the temple with no wedding ceremony happening as effectively. However the weddings happening had been additionally open to the general public so anybody may swing by to see the {couples} unite in holy baa-trimony.
On Friday and Saturday, the temple was opened to attendees so they might ‘reward the lamb’. Nonetheless, on Sunday, the temple reworked into a marriage chapel with pews, an aisle, and an altar, the place two {couples} proceeded with real, legally binding marriage ceremonies. In entrance of your complete occasion, as effectively. So hundreds of individuals. Simply let that sink in. The primary pair, Jasper and Tanner, even took their ceremony one step additional, by sporting fursuits to make it extra private. The second couple, then again, went for a extra conventional gown judging the pictures shared on X. A particular look from the lamb even occurred through the ceremonies, with a mascot adorned with a flower crown popping out to take pictures with the newly wedded couple.
CRYING ALL DAY YESTERDAY!💒🔔😘💍🍾we married TWO {couples}, and it was such a wonderful expertise!🧵let’s share some wedding ceremony pictures. pic.twitter.com/V1p5crLXYXOctober 13, 2024
In keeping with tweets being shared, although the ceremonies felt fairly humorous (it isn’t day-after-day you see full-blown weddings at a literal temple crammed with cult members) the reception from attendees was additionally fairly emotional. The Cult of the Lamb X account shared a thread of pictures taken by the official wedding ceremony photographers with the caption “Crying all day yesterday” and a number of folks sharing that there ‘wasn’t a dry eye in the home’ within the viewers.
PC Gamer’s Hope Corrigan had the honour of attending one of many ceremonies: ”As a suddenly-recruited cloaked viewers participant, this was simply essentially the most weird but stunning expertise I’ve had at a conference. I did not anticipate to go from testing PCs on the PAX Aus present flooring to being a pew-filler in an honest-to-Lamb real-life, really very candy and real wedding ceremony.
“Except for a number of, really enjoyable Cult of the Lamb moments simply earlier than the marriage, the remainder of the ceremony was all in regards to the couple. The entire speech by the celebrant was utterly customised to the couple with heartfelt anecdotes and jokes. Nothing felt rushed, or undesirable. The couple gave their very own written vows—by tears of genuinely heart-bursting pleasure—which included their love of video video games, however solely the conventional quantity from anybody I might anticipate to need to get married at this occasion.
“In the course of the vows, the outlet the place my coronary heart needs to be itched, or one thing. I turned to Devolver boss Graeme Struthers beside me who was visibly tearing up together with a lot of the viewers.”
Except for the marriage ceremonies, the temple additionally housed a rave in celebration. River Boy, the composer of the Cult of the Lamb soundtrack, DJed the occasion and remixed the soundtrack with hypnotic visuals and flashing phrases like “Reward” and “Lamb” on giant screens to actually hone in on that subliminal cult message. If you happen to weren’t accustomed to the sport and stumbled throughout this at PAX Aus I can undoubtedly see this inflicting some critical confusion—particularly amongst mother and father, who in all probability needed to reply fairly a number of questions on the journey house. But when there’s one factor I really like about Cult of the Lamb, it is that the crew behind it is aware of easy methods to decide to a bit.
From hilarious social media campaigns and collaborations to cult gatherings at different raves and events, Cult of the Lamb has been constructing a cult of its personal ever because the recreation launched in 2022. So although I am a bit jealous that I will not be getting married on the Lamb’s temple having devoted an embarrassing period of time to my cult, I’m elated for the 2 {couples} that did get to reside out my dream and I am unable to wait to see what loopy stunt is pulled subsequent.
