REVIEW / Lesson Learned: Cult of the Elizabeth (PC)

There’s nothing demure or mindful about Lesson Learned: Cult of the Elizabeth, it may be a little cutesy, but don’t let that fool you. This tower defense game is full of nonstop action and some surprisingly creepy bird monsters. The number one aspect of a game that piques my interest is the visual design, and the main screen alone immediately caught my attention when I launched Cult of the Elizabeth. I was a little worried that it was going to be a knock-off version of Don’t Starve, one of my favorite games of all time, since the art style and music closely resemble that wilderness survival game. This concern disappeared, however, after just a few minutes of gameplay and I quickly realized there are elements in this bizarre world that make it unique.

Lesson Learned: Cult of the Elizabeth is designed for both solo and co-op modes as Amelia and her classmates must find a way to escape this nightmare. I think solo mode is a little lacking on account of the amount of time required to gather resources to upgrade towers. Normally, I enjoy digging for rocks or chopping down trees as a mental break from fighting enemies but in this case, it took an absurdly long time to collect and build and I struggled to properly defend my base.  To be fair, combat isn’t my strong suit but even in easy mode I still ended up getting demolished by the avian minions and my sidekick was useless. I felt like I had to micromanage him to ensure we had enough supplies but that’s the last thing I want to do in a game. I have enough to manage in real life, whether it’s at work or at home!

Despite the issues I had with collecting resources, the rest of the gameplay was solid. Combat mechanics work well, simple and straightforward, but accuracy matters. You can’t fire random shots at enemies and expect them to drop like flies. You need some finesse and good timing to knock out those monsters and keep them at bay so they don’t destroy towers or weaken you or your helper. Taking the time to strategize where to place towers as resources begin to deplete also makes a difference, especially as more monsters materialize. Their attacks are predictable and not all that challenging but when a giant mob of turkeys dressed like Tudor monarchs march towards your camp, things pick up speed really fast.  

Lesson Learned: Cult of the Elizabeth is one of those instances where we have a PC title that comes with a recommendation for controller play. In this case, though, I didn’t have trouble using my keyboard, so it’s not necessary like in other titles. Perhaps keyboard functionality becomes more difficult as the game progresses and new challenges are introduced, but I’ll have to report back on that. 

Overall, I’m impressed with Lesson Learned: Cult of the Elizabeth and all it currently offers. It still feels a little basic but I hope the developers plan to expand on the story and improve some of the mechanics to make this game feel a little more dynamic. There’s a lot of potential for replay-ability with a few tweaks. The prologue is currently free on Steam and worth checking out if you’re looking for a taste of this quirky adventure.