Lust from Beyond: M Edition PC Review

Back in 2021 Lust from Beyond launched to popular reception but was hidden from Steam search results and even banned in some countries due to graphic images of lust. The M Edition tones down much of the sexual images for the same experience but with less explicit adult content. What follows is a dark and unsettling Lovecraftian adventure that focuses on atmosphere and presentation. Fans of Lovecraft will definitely want to check out Lust from Beyond: M Edition as it delivers a surreal and unnerving occult horror adventure.

Lust from Beyond stars antiquarian and amateur historian Victor Holloway. At first, Victor seems ordinary but after fulfilling an order and celebrating his anniversary with his fiancee Lily is it's made known that Victor suffers from nightmares. This one results in him hitting Lily and afterward deciding to seek help for this condition. With the recommendation of Lily Victor heads to Bleakmoor Massachusetts seeking the aid of a special psychiatrist Dr. Charles Austerlitz but not is all that it seems. With Victor trapped between 2 warring cults seeking the same goal and learning his nightmares are more than just visions.

Lust from Beyond excels at presentation and atmosphere. The world itself is wonderfully designed, especially the parallel dimension LUSST'GHAA. The developers took examples from real-world artists H.R. Giger and Zdzislaw Beksinski to craft the dimension. Complementing this extraordinary level of detail is the excellent lighting and ambiance. 

Unfortunately where Lust from Beyond: M Edition fumbles hard is in the voice acting. Victor in particular sounds like he's phoned in most of his lines and many of the other voices feel flat and lifeless. Granted this is a small indie project so it's not the worst thing but it's hard to take things seriously with the dialogue presented, even in dire situations.

This is a first-person experience and for the most part, the controls work well enough. Victor isn't an athletic man but is capable of running indefinitely but cannot jump. This limited movement isn't frustrating due to the developers designing the world around these limitations. It also helps that the game focuses less on the action and more on exploration and puzzle-solving.

Gameplay mostly focuses on locating key items and NPCs with sneaking and combat mixed in. Sneaking is effective but nothing special, just crouch and avoid the cone of vision of the enemies. Combat is basic, with Victor able to use a knife for melee fights and a revolver during specific sections. The gun reloading is off as Victor will reload the entire revolver slowly regardless of how many bullets are in the gun. The enemy AI is okay and is a decent threat. Victor isn't a fighter so running and avoiding fights is usually encouraged with sections that demand fighting providing Victor access to a gun that easily kills enemies.

Much of Lust from Beyond: M Edition is focused on locating specific items, solving puzzles, and finding certain people. This is hit or miss since the player is given little direction and you can find yourself walking around in circles. It does take a bit of trial and error to find that specific item or where to go but it's not painfully impossible. The puzzles are elaborate and often take advantage of all of Victor's tools and abilities but usually provide the solution to the player in the way of a piece of paper. The most significant power is an essence ability that allows Victor to guide an NPC to avoid a hostile creature in LUSST'GHAA and restore bridges. This ability is linked to a timed circle that requires you to click at the right moment and if you fail then your essence is drained. It's an easy QTE event that doesn't require much skill. It's strange the developers did include QTE events outside of this since they serve little purpose other than clicking the left mouse button fast or die.

Victor has 2 meters to manage, the first is his health and the other mental. Health is only affected by immediate damage and mental is drained when Victor sees something horrifying. Health items are rare and do carry over, even if the game takes away your items during specific sections you'll get them all back. If killed checkpoints are decently placed so you won't lose that much progress. Mental on the other hand when drained causes a motion sickness-like effect that makes moving and aiming much harder, requiring pills to regain your mental fortitude. The game doesn't offer a lot of these supplies and most are hidden but I was able to get through most of the game without being strapped for supplies.

Many of your items and story information are provided when on Earth. Victor can speak to various characters and collect items for the travels ahead. Much of the game's excitement comes from exploring LUSST'GHAA but the developers did include some interesting environments such as the headquarters for 2 separate cults.

The story does branch and can lead to one of 2 main endings and 10 different variations of subplots. These are easy to spot since they deal with whether someone lives or dies but the solution for saving someone isn't always presented. There's 1 instance where saving someone significant isn't apparent unless you explore it more. 

Lust from Beyond: M Edition dives deep into the twisted realm between terror and pleasure. It may not be the most challenging journey the shock of exploring this dangerous landscape leaves a significant impression. You'll have to endure some comedic voice acting and stale combat but uncovering the secrets within Lust from Beyond: M Edition is well worth the journey.
 

Adam Siddiqui,
Managing Editor, NoobFeed