GAME REVIEW | "Lustful Victor" Lacks a Deserving Win
WARNING: The following video game discussed in this review is intended for readers 18 & older. In other words:
(Pic from FlorkOfCows)
It may sound silly, but I have standards when it comes to erotic games. The first and foremost important thing is the actual game content. 2023’s FlipWitch is a perfect example of an erotic game done right: the game parts are fantastic, with it being one of the best Metroidvanias I’ve played in the last few years. (It also helps that the erotic parts are pretty dang sexy!) NeonByte Studios’ new game Lustful Victor completely ignores the game content, resulting in something that’s dull to play while being only mildly sexy.
Lustful Victor has you control Noëlle, who awakens aboard a spaceship that’s going out of control. After dealing with the chaos and meeting the game antagonist Victor, she soon finds herself in a cyberpunk city that’s gone to the dogs. Noëlle must traverse through the city, fight off punks and robots, and see what exactly Victor is up to. Along the way, Noëlle can upgrade her health, jump skills, and arousal meter.
The game attempts to put the sex aspect on the forefront. Getting hit by an enemy too many times knocks Noëlle to the ground, forcing the player to push the jump key five times to recuperate. But if an enemy gets close enough to her when she’s down and out, well…you can guess what happens. This happens often, to the point where the erotic parts start getting tedious. Even with its nice pixel animation, Lustful Victor finds a way to make its biggest selling point feel boring.
One huge problem with the game is the level layout. Practically every part of the game has you running through the cyberpunk town, and it all looks the same. The buildings, the jump areas, and even the people in the background doing the nasty are all either too similar or are straight-up the same dang thing. It gets to the point where you can almost predict what’s going to pop up around the corner, be it a level layout or an enemy.
Speaking again about the enemies, they’re either way too easy to deal with (space slugs, cyborgs) to too damn hard to thwart off (horses, thugs). Even worse is when enemies overwhelm you in a tight space. Not only do they keep on attacking you, but it makes it impossible to recover when they knock you down. It will result in many Game Over screens, and cushioning those losses with erotic art will only ward off the frustrations a few times.
Lastly, there’s the worst part about Lustful Victor: the controls. I first attempted to play with my Xbox controller, only for me to have to still use my mouse and keyboard to implement special attacks and other movements. Hoping it’d be better, I put down the controller and focused on playing with mouse and keyboard. Even then, it was still a hassle to play it.
Moving left and right is okay, but having to stretch your thumb to jump with the spacebar is way too much of a pain. Interacting is easy, but unleashing your special attack or embarking on a self-quickie to lower your arousal meter can also be a hassle. Too many times I hit the wrong controls, resulting in a wasted special attack (which — let’s be frank — still doesn’t do much!). Even gunshots — your main weapon — lack a proper aiming system, meaning you have to wait for the enemy to be in a straight line before you can attack them.
PROS:
- The sex scenes are kinda good?
CONS:
- Clunky controls
- Same level layout
- Gameplay either too easy or too challenging
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Terrible controls, repetitive levels, and overwhelming enemy quantities make Lustful Victor a bad erotic game. It lacks imagination, and the NSFW parts even don’t bring about enough excitement. If you’re looking for something both fun and naughty, then you will be immensely disappointed with Lustful Victor.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Shady Corner Games. Reviewed on the PC via Steam.
