Lust for Darkness: An Introduction to a Twisted World

Game: Lust for Darkness
Platform: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Switch
Genre: psychological horror, erotic horror
Style: heavy Lovecraftian influences
Verdict: Mixed
Buy: Steam | PSN | eShop

It’s high time we talked about Lust for Darkness, a game that takes the concepts and themes from Lovecraft’s work and then makes sex the central feature.

You play as Jonathan Moon, a man who gets a letter from his missing wife and heads off to a strange mansion in the hopes of finding her, only to discover a cult performing a ceremony in order to open the path to Lusst’ghaa, another world that supposedly will lead the way to eternal ecstasy.

This odd blend of ideas works surprisingly well. While you might wonder how seriously you can take a story about cultists having sex to reach a place called Lusst’ghaa, the lore is fleshed out and really does feel like a solid take on the cosmic horror themes we love.

There are some stealth elements, as you must avoid enemies at certain points, as well as several puzzles to solve. Some of your time will be spent in the real world and some in Lusst’ghaa, where the twisted (and often sexual) imagery truly shines.

The biggest thing that holds Lust for Darkness back is that it’s very short. At only a couple of hours in length, it feels more like an introduction to the world than anything else. Fortunately, a sequel was made and released this year, and it capitalizes on the base set down by Lust for Darkness.

If you only intend to play one of them, the sequel is the one to get. But if the premise interests you or you’ve already played the sequel and want to explore the universe further, Lust for Darkness is still worth checking out.

(Note: the console version are censored, while the PC version is not.)

Buy: Steam | PSN | eShop