Lust for Darkness

I would recommend this WITH HEAVY CAVEATS. There are many things you should know going in, or before you buy.
This is the first game made by a small group of devs. They seem very passionate about what they do, and are making a sequel to this right now. It is definitely not a big budget effort by the masters of the craft (and I don't mean that to sound as mean as it sounds): the voice acting is very low quality, though not unbearable by any means, and much of the writing, both the dialogue and driving plot, is pretty middle of the road or even confusing. (mild spoiler: there's a crib in your apartment in the beginning, later you discover your wife was pregnant when she disappeared and your character is shocked. The missing wife is your motivation, then the baby, then not later not the baby, it's a little unfocused.) The sexual content is there, but not quite as pronounced as it could be. Most of the dimension of Lusst'ghaa is fleshy giger/beksinski pattern, with the occasional vagina like opening, and scattered sex toys/statues to spin around. The sex scene (singular one more small orgy at the end) is okay, though short and a little tame, but that was to make it easier to get their first game made, so I can't fault the devs. EDIT: I finished the game (didn't think i would, too scared), and the sexual imagery ramps up considerably at the end - I just wish it had been that present throughout and then gone even further for the finale. There is some emphasis on gender in the cult, their symbol being a combination of the male and female symbols, and a couple instances of statues having breasts and penises, and it's not vilified or shown as a bad thing but it is this evil murderous cult shown idolizing these things, so it's honestly a little questionable as to what the devs were going for with this imagery. I personally kind of hated the stealth but the sections are relatively short and there are guides, and I get way too fucking scared when video game monsters chase me so I'm biased on that front. There are I think 3 of these sections and a couple of loud sound scares, but otherwise it's mostly cool creepy ambience.
ANYWAY, other than that I really like it, which may come as a surprise considering the chunk of text above. There is a really solid lovecraftian story here, and the sexual themes are handled pretty maturely, which is nice to see in the sexual content tag. The graphics are solid, and Lusst'ghaa looks and feels quite nasty. It doesn't overstay its welcome, so none of its flaws wear on you too long, and the passion the devs have is obvious. The side stories are arguably better written and more interesting than the main story, so the incentive to find those items is there. The upcoming sequel promises more of the same, and now they have more experience and as an added bonus are going quite explicit with this next one, so it's worth getting for a primer of the universe. thank you for actually reading that

pros : nice graphics, no major bugs at lest for me, erotism (imo more games should include adult content), the story is well presented. Some use of "The Room" like interactive puzzle mechanics.
cons:
very short beat it in two hours.
"The Room" like puzzle mechanics, are very simple and very few, wasted potencial.
Even tho this game is called lust and the team is brave enough to include erotism/sex, IMO it is not very well integrated into the game, it should be a important part of the story and the player actions, but is not, here is just erotic "stuff", that the player looks at in passing but has no real interation with and that I think could be entirely removed from the game and it would still work as is. IMO the team should really embrace the erotism in their next game and not be afraid to shock more sensible people.
So much opening of drawers and cabinets just to find nothing.
Sorry for the broken English not my main language.

I am, in general, pretty biased when it comes to walking sims and I tend to upvote them. There are exceptions to the rule but this game will not belong to that category. This is a kind of foreword; also, I find the game's mixed reviews pretty interesting as I think Lust for Darkness is above the average when it comes to games belonging to this genre.
We play as Jonathan who lost his wife some time ago. Lost means the wife simply vanished - that is why it is so strange that Jonathan receives a letter from her asking him to come and rescue her once and for all. The prologue section actually lets us control Amanda for a short period of time to make things a bit more interesting.
The main setting will be a mansion with a lot of guests - with Jonathan we have to don a mask and a robe to look like the rest of the invited and an invitation letter will also be needed to get entry. Kubrick - one of the keywords here but I could even use Eyes Wide Shut which was Kubrick's last film before his untimely passing away. First off the mask we obtain looks very similar to what Bill (played by Tom Cruise) wears in the film and, of course, there is the orgy scene which was used to advertise the game.
Another keyword here is Lovecraft. The influence is clearly visible as we enter Lusst’ghaa where we are presented with a world that looks completely different. Unlike the majority of such games Lust for Darkness employs some stealth and running sequences and we also have to solve half a dozen puzzles to be able to proceed. It is recommended to look for notes, books - anything that can be read as we can complete 3 so-called sidestories that later can be viewed in the main menu. This is a must in case you wish to know more of the lore.
The two main settings looks absolutely stunning - I really liked the art design but I was disappointed in the orgy scene as in case you quickly move from one room to another you'll see how short-lived it is. A sequel, Lust from Beyond. is already advertised as the episode with even more such mature content - at least this is included in a follow-up episode instead of a re-release under the catchy word unrated (yes, I'm looking at you, Agony).
Apart from this I was pretty satisfied with the game which lasts 4-5 hours which is also above the average such walking sims offer. Fans of the genre (and Kubrick, in particular) will definitely rejoice.

Lust for Darkness makes me want to sharpen my pencil, rummage through my drawer to find my d100 and break out some character sheets. This game is CoC all over and was a wonderful campaign into madness and the Cthulhu universe. Initially I thought this was just a game with some lady and boy parts scattered around for some shock value. No, no, no, no. This is a proper single player campaign in which you infiltrate a cultist mansion to go look for your missing wife. And it only descends into madness and ruin from there. I really want to bust out the Masks of Nyarlathotep campaign now and see who my real friends really are.....
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PROS
+ mythos. Lust for Darkness really captures the madness of the alternate dimension. You will see some very disturbing things roll a SAN check and crawl forward..
+ hook. This game has a very believable and suitable hook for the whole game. I won't go into more details because of spoliers but I really liked how I was brought here, how I got in and how I dealt with the whole situation.
+ graphics. There is some great artwork dotted around and some general WTF moments where you might think the artists are actually Slaaneshi cultists (ok different universe but check my username).
+ masks. I really loved the different masks you could don in the game. I feel like they could have done more with that and maybe that is coming in the new game in 2020. Even with the few we were offered, I felt like that was a cool mechanic.
+ collectables. I do not have the patience to go and find all the stuff but if you do there are more story parts for you. I feel like I already got my value from the game but this will add even more to those who are that way inclined.
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CONS
- running. I didn't not enjoy the running parts where you have to run and do stuff to evade your predator.
- checkpoints. Some checkpoints were a bit too far and few between for me. To give the game its dues, most checkpoints were fine but there were a couple where I was set back a fair bit. More than I wanted to relive again.
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I am very impressed with Lust for Darkness. This is a must for CoC fans. There is a free demo for the next instalment called Lust from Beyond. Give that a shot and see if you want to buy in.

I have to say I very much liked Lust for Darkness. The story was pretty good in my opinion. I didn't take much time to read the negative reviews, but I can't help but suspect there's a lot of people who came here looking for a sex game and this isn't it. The story is so good, it really ought to be a book.
The graphics ran the line between good and merely 'ok.' Some areas, particularly the lighting was fantastically done though.
A neat addition was that, if you unlock side stories, you can watch animated videos with hand drawn artwork while the narrator fills you in on the story. The voice over is very well done.
The audio fell just short of fantastic. The music/soundtrack was superb. The ambiance was usually pretty good, but there were some spots (only a couple) where the ambient sounds cut out abruptly.
The negative things about this game are hardly worth mentioning overall. I very much liked it. Expect a fairly short game of 4-5 hours. Some will be able to finish it much faster no doubt.

An interesting game. However, very, very short and definitely not worth full price. It took me around 3 hours to beat the main game and that was with collecting all the side lore collectables.
Is the game fun? Well, the game itself has very few stealth segments and only a handful of "run away in a somewhat linear corridor" segments, so the rest of the game can be deemed as a walking simulator with some not-so-challenging puzzles and the aforementioned segments strewn in.
How about the plot? The plot starts off really great, in my opinion, setting the stage for something big: your missing wife that you set off to rescue (kinda reminds you of a bigger, more recent title, doesn't it?), a god worshipping cult, another world.. Buuut, it kinda fails to deliver? The basic plot is you trying to rescue your wife, while also casually strolling through the Lust world. It's seems "meh" and you wouldn't be blamed for thinking that, but the lore behind this whole set-up is pretty deep and it's actually quite interesting.
The collectibles in this game are all lore related, in forms of side-stories. You got diaries, documents and even artifacts and ancient writings from the other world, all serving to build-up a pretty fascinating lore, that, in my opinion, is even better than the main story, yet it's never explored in the main story! Collecting everything also gives you access to a fully narrated cutscene that explains the lore in detail, and that is pretty neat!
The horror side of things is your typical few jumpscares and spooky atmosphere. The jumpscares aren't too bad, tho, but the sound cues can be.
Also nudity.. Yeah.
So, all in all, do I recommend this game? I'd say yes, I enjoyed what it offered, especially since I collected everything. But not at full price. I got this in a bundle and I feel satisfied, maybe grabbing it on a sale will make you feel that way too.

Short version: 65%
The writing can be a bit over-dramatic at times, but Lust for Darkness is not sleazy schlock; it is a mature game for mature players. Therefore, if you don't mind all the sexuality, I would recommend experiencing it at least once.
Long version:
If you expect porn from Lust for Darkness, then you will be disappointed. It uses erotic themes like Lovecraft used racism: as a common world-building background element.
The story is hardly award-winning material. It follows a husband looking for his kidnapped wife, and the trail leads to a deranged sex cult that wants to summon an eldritch abomination. It may not hit all the clichés you can think of, but it hits enough of them to remain predictable.
I still recommend the game for its atmosphere and the grand design of the cult's mansion. Yes, it is full of erotic art ranging from suggestive to highly explicit, but that is just one part of its allure. The entire building radiates money and power to the extent that can only exist in the realm of fiction.
The mansion's linear segments stand in contrast with the journey in the alien lust dimension—where each corridor hides pursuing demons, hidden passages, and some mundane puzzles. It felt nice to have some “game” portions in this video game, but I also hardly waited to get back to the mansion after each visit.