Lust from Beyond Preview
Introduction
In the dimly lit corridors of the manor decorative through the clear wealth and insanity of its inhabitants, come a mixture of sounds. Two sounds that could not be more different. The moans of pleasure, and the screams of pain. Yet as they intermingle in the shadows and echo down the halls, they are indistinguishable from one another. Lust and horror. Exquisite suffering and terrible ecstasy. One man is torn between the rational need to live and the primal desire to please, and be pleased. Christopher will find the limit of man’s capacity for both terror and joy, and go beyond them.
Lust from Beyond is a first-person horror game from Movie Games Lunarium, makers of Lust for Darkness. Though Beyond takes place after the events of Darkness, it’s unclear if the first game must be played to understand the second. In fact, going into Lust from Beyond with as much confusion as possible may make for a better experience. Be sure to also check out the game on Kickstarter and Steam.
Story
For the demo (though not for the full game) you will play as Christopher, the newest initiate to the cult. Christopher is “sexually unfulfilled” and “addicted to his phone.” The cult finds a pliable member in Christopher, who displays a knack for perceiving the other world they hope to find. Thus, Chris is elevated to “Seeing” status quickly. Chris also develops feelings for another cult member, expressing his love in a letter. Though no expert, it shouldn’t take one to guess that the first rule of a sex cult is “don’t fall in love.” Chris, and the other members of the cult, will be doing a lot of things they shouldn’t, however.
Lust from Beyond Preview – A mix of high society and sexuality makes up the home’s decoration.
The developers have stated the game takes inspiration from the works of H.P Lovecraft, and the designs of Zdzisław Beksiński and H.R. Giger. Giger’s most famous work is his design of the xenomorph of the Alien franchise. Beksiński is best known for, well it’s best to Google him and see for yourself. Unsurprisingly, due to Lovecraft’s influence, the sex cult will dabble in otherworldly rituals. They will speak unintelligible words and pray to forgotten and indifferent gods. Why? Well because they want to get off. Some Lovecraftian cults seek power, but this one seems to want pleasure. To each their own.
Gameplay
The game plays out like many other horror first person games like it. Your movement is slowed to a realistic pace. There’s no fast sprinting through demon-filled corridors like in DOOM. You are meant to take in the atmosphere, take your time. There’s also an extra layer of fear added when you feel you can’t escape quickly, and there will be things you need to escape from. Puzzles elements of course exist for the player. Puzzles seem inexorably linked to the horror genre. Within the demo, Christopher walks in worlds both human and otherworldly. This comes as no surprise, as the game states it takes inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft is best known for his works in the cosmic horror subgenre, his most notable creation being Cthulu.
Lust from Beyond Preview – Some of the monsters seem indifferent to your quest, but no less unsettling.
As you could surmise from the title, the game falls into the erotic horror subgenre. It’s a shame, then, that Clive Barker wasn’t noted as an influence for this sexy spooky game. Barker is the creator of one of the most famous movie monsters, Pinhead, from the Hellraiser series. The movies, if you’re not familiar, deal with humans unwittingly summoning forth demons (to some, angels to others) concerned with pushing the limits of pain in the pursuit of pleasure. Suffice to say, the movies deal a lot with both erotic and horror themes. Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of erotic horror games in existence. Perhaps, if Lust from Beyond does well, that may change.
Graphics/Audio
Lovecraftian games are nothing new. Honestly, they’re somewhat old hat, at this point. Lovecraft is the zombie enemy of horror games – in that we see him everywhere. For good cause, of course, but horror needs an element of unknown to be effective. Beksiński and Giger’s works haven’t been quoted much in the genre, though. This is of course a shame as an initial Google image search can show that they are masters of their craft. Since Lovecraft is so overplayed in the genre, it will be up to the visuals to do the heavy lifting. Of what the demo has shown, Lust from Darkness is off to a good start. While the creature design seems to favor Beksiński, the setting is heavily inspired by Giger.
Lust from Beyond Preview – The Giger influence is clear in the world.
There are two worlds to explore within the demo. One sits in reality, in an opulent mansion with plenty of horny guests. The other rests in the realm the cult wishes to explore. This other dimension seems straight out of Giger’s work, with a few Beksiński-inspired monsters here and there. The Giger influence has been translated more easily than Beksiński’s however. While the setting is undoubtedly Giger-esque, the monster designs bare only a passing resemblance to Beksiński’s work. Perhaps it wasn’t the developer’s intention to draw inspiration from Beksiński for the monsters. Could be a misunderstanding. If so, it’s unclear where Beksiński’s influence would be felt in the game, thus far, if not in the monsters.
Audio is rough, unfortunately. Voice acting is stilted, and could quite possibly just be developers acting as proxies until professionals can be brought in. The ambient noise was good, up until a persistent humming started. This was during a portion in which I became stuck on what to do next, so the humming’s welcome ran thin after awhile. Musically the game was actually on point, so kudos on that front.
