Among everything added to the Cult of the Lamb Unholy Alliance update, the centerpiece is undoubtedly the new co-op mode. It allows two players to take control of the eponymous lamb and a devious goat to go on crusades and manage the cult together. One arguable drawback is that it’s only meant for local play, but those playing on Steam can get around this restriction.
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That workaround requires you and your friend to play together through the platform’s Remote Play feature. It’s easy to set up, although there are some caveats that both longtime users and those new to the feature might not know of. Here’s what you need to know to start running a cult with your friends from afar.
Remote Play is a feature on Steam that allows you to stream your games from your PC to other devices. While the obvious use cases are to stream to your mobile devices or VR headsets, it’s also possible to stream to your friends.
The additional benefit of the latter is that you can allow them to interact with their own inputs. This means you can effectively host a local co-op game with a friend online, and their controller will be recognized as if it’s a second player right next to you. Even better, since it’s more akin to streaming than a proper online session, your friend doesn’t need to own the game! Anyone with a Steam account can be invited to join you.
You’ll first want to start the game and confirm you’re set as Online and not Away. You can’t make this work while offline, and you can’t invite anyone for Remote Play if you’re Invisible either. Once you’re visible online and running the game, go into the Steam Overlay (shift+tab) and click on the Remote Play Together button.
This will bring up an overlay box where you can send invites, adjust what inputs they have access to, and change what kind of quality the stream prioritizes. Click on the Invite a Friend button to open your Friends List and choose which of your pals you’d like to go on a cult adventure with. After they accept, they’ll be able to see and interact with your stream through their Steam Application.
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The rest works the same as it does for a typical local co-op session. Make sure you’re loaded into your save file and then pause the game and select Add Co-Op Player. This won’t be accessible during cutscenes or the new game tutorial section, but will be at nearly any other time. Both players will be able to move their inputs around to decide who controls which character. Click on the Summon the Goat button to bring in the second player and start the cooperative fun. Everything is crazier with two people playing, but both will benefit from following the same gameplay tips.
Although this workaround is supported by the developers as a way for those on PC to play with each other online, it’s not perfect. It is basically streaming a local co-op game, and Remote Play itself can have kinks and problems. Here are a few tips to make the experience more seamless:
You should now be better prepared to sway the non-believers in Cult of the Lamb with a friend, no matter if they’re next to you or joining from further away. Just don’t forget that this is a Steam-exclusive feature. You’ll be out of luck if you’re playing on a console or purchased the game through GOG. Adding proper online co-op would be a pretty big undertaking, and isn’t likely to be added in the future, but for now this is a pretty accessible alternative if you and your friends play on Steam together.
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