Cult of the Lamb: How to Fix Crashing and Black Screen

It seems that this still tends to be a bit of a persistent issue with ‘Cult of the Lamb.’ This appears to be happening due to the automatic video trigger these points in the game set off; once for the ‘Developer Digital’ logo and the other introductory cinematic, where the lamb receive the ‘Red Crown.’

This means there’s an issue with the video playback and this will not allow the game to continue until the video is detected as having ended. This puts you in a little bit of a locked state, as you’re unable to do anything to actually play the game.

After some research online with advice from other users in support threads, a simple fix was made. Here’s how you can address this bug until an official patch from the developers is released.

How to Fix the Crashing and Black Screen Error in Cult of the Lamb

There’s a couple of initial options and steps you can take prior to the detailed work-around below, discovered by other users on Steam, which actually requires a quick file replacement.

These ‘pre-fixes’ include updating your drivers (as the game has been known to crash with older drivers), and adding the game’s .exe file to your antivirus or antimalware software’s exception list.

If you have any confusion on how to do either of these, you can find tutorials easily available online that are in-depth in their explanations and walk-through. Most people will likely have already tried these two options before coming here – especially as more expeirenced gamers.

If those options all fail to work, your last bet is to check which corresponding .dll file you need, download the appropriate .dll file from the links provided here and here. Then, replace the matching .dll in the Cult of the Lamb game folder files under the ‘Managed’ folder. Once done, start up the game and you should be problem free. If you weren’t doing this while the game was closed, simply restart it again.

To expand on this in more detail, you need to determine if your issue with the blackscreen is happening after the Massive Monster logo (first file) or after receiving the Red Crown (second file). If you’re unsure, this probably means you need the first file.

Download the .dll file – simply right click and download the corresponding one you need based on the above. From there, head on over to the ‘Cult of Lamb’ game folder and find the “Managed” folder in the game files. You can do this through Steam or through File Explorer.

Through Steam, access it through right clicking on the game while in Steam, then: -> Properties -> Local Files -> Browse -> Cult of The Lamb_Data -> Managed.  

After finding the folder, simply copy the file you just downloaded to that folder. When prompted, select to replace the file in the destination. That’s it!

Once the ‘official’ patch comes out that hopefully address this issue, they will automatically replace whichever file you adjusted, so you won’t need to worry about doing anything further in terms of reversing it or switching the files back. At the same time, if another patch comes out that does not address the blackscreen issue but is for something else entirely, the .dll file will still be reverted and you’ll need to repeat this process again.