Lust Theory Season 2 Review

Warning! Before you read any further, this game is intended only for ADULTS since it contains various sexually graphic and suggestive elements that may upset some users. No matter what you do after reading this post, we won't be held liable.

Who wouldn't want to go back and fix the riddles like Bill Murray did when he tried to win Andie MacDowell over? Many of us experienced something similar in Lust Theory Season 1, when our protagonist repeatedly had to relive the same day.

It didn't end badly for him there, but one problem with remembering the past fondly is that it makes it harder to see flaws. Inceton Games decides to take this further, and hence comes the Lust Theory Season 2. The time loop is only a theory. It's a rabbit hole that goes way deeper than you could predict.

Lust Theory is a point-and-click interactive fiction visual novel series for those unfamiliar with the series, where you interact by clicking on items, exploring places, and having conversations with other characters. While the story unfolds before your eyes, you get to decide its future or choose the ending.

The game progresses over days, with each day broken into five distinct phases. One aspect of the story's progression is that a specific plotline must be completed, with a choice to be made every hour. If you're unable to finish the given task within that period, you have to wait for the day to repeat to try again.

In Lust Theory Season 2, you play the same protagonist as in the first season. As before, you live in a house with three other ladies: Megan, Jessica, and Elizabeth. You lead a life that isn't all that extraordinary, where you start your day by going to school, studying for college, playing video games, and watching television.

Then suddenly, Friday arrived, just when you began to believe that things couldn't possibly get much stranger. The same day began to repeat itself, then kept repeating, and eventually it just kept repeating. Until, of course, when you wake up in Season 2, your life has taken an unexpected turn, and all of a sudden, things aren't how they used to be. The day isn't repeating anymore.

As Season 2 picks up where the first season left off, you, as the protagonist, are in a heap of trouble because of the many decisions you made to take advantage of the other characters. Now that time isn't repeating anymore, you have to face the consequences, which affect pretty much all the main characters, especially the parts of the narrative involving Megan, Zoe, Ellie, and the one involving Nicole.

There are parts where you also need to sort things out with Jessica and Elizabeth. Since the story isn't linear, you need to make the right choice to reach the end of the quest with each character. Luckily, once you sort out the mess, things go back to how they were before. The day starts to repeat. Once it does, the drill remains the same. You explore different opportunities each day with different characters and then reach the correct outcome on any of the repeating days.

In terms of gameplay, there have been no major changes if you've played the first season. The game's initial objective is to have intimate encounters with all the women he encounters, until the player realizes he must instead build chemistry with these individuals, dig for details, and do things that are either impossible to pull off on the first try or require lengthy reverse engineering.

The majority of visual novels available on Steam today feature gameplay centered on the player socializing with their loved ones, and this game is no exception. You get a variety of new story bits that give you an edge in daily encounters with other characters if you keep repeating the same day over and over again.

When it comes to gameplay, it is played like a free-roaming visual novel, and you will be required to make some challenging choices. To avoid spoilers, the main narrative is divided into two major phases, with 16 Active main quests: 8 in the first and 8 in the second.

Each quest involves the eight main characters of the game: Megan, Jessica, Elizabeth, Zoe, Ellie, Nicole, Sophie, and Amy. Each of these quests requires you to decide how it ends. Even though the consequences are somewhat predetermined, there's a correct path you need to follow; otherwise, the day will continue repeating.

Some quests intersect with others, and finishing them is the only way to progress. Some subquests don't appear in the quest bar, but you need to make the right choice or make repeated choices to progress past them. Interestingly, a few sub-quests are initiated in the first phase of the story, but you can only finish them in the second phase when the game takes a different direction.

Since each quest requires you to complete numerous activities to advance the narrative with each female, you must follow the clues to finish each story, then use the phone's guidance feature in the display's top-left corner. These quests lead to around fifty distinct possibilities, including 20 hidden events.

In this game, unlike the vast majority of others, it is pretty simple to go forward or backward in time to any particular day, travel to any given location, or choose from a range of conversation options. Because the story takes many different turns after the first half hour or so, it is strongly recommended that you use the save points provided unless you choose to return to the location or circumstance from which you wish to restart the game.

If you delete Season 1 and start Season 2 from scratch, you will find the game flows much more smoothly. Speaking of locations, you can now travel to a few new locations, even though the map is the same as in the previous game.

As you've already guessed, new locations bring new characters. Yes, Lust Theory Season 2 introduces new plots involving characters such as Amy, Ellie's mom, Angelina, and also takes Chloe's (Jessica's friend) involvement much further.

Your buddy Taylor, too, has a role to play here and there. Apart from them, a few other characters have short roles to play in moving the narrative forward. Even though they mostly play the role of supporting characters, there are decisions to make for each of them if you wish to see all the alternative endings.

In addition to these new characters, a new perspective has been introduced. If you have bonus content unlocked, you'll be able to press the newly introduced button when it appears. And each time you do, the camera will change angles and add some flair. The infamous red button still remains, and it appeared to show more often in season 2.

There is a considerable amount of material, far more than in the first season. The developers deserve praise for all of the suggestive situations. This game now contains more intimate scenes, which are portrayed well, and players have a wide variety of options to choose from.

The conversation between the characters is also a primary emphasis of the game. Conversations are well-written in the literal sense of syntax and substance, but the attempt to be quippy and insightful is painfully clear throughout.

The sheer amount of conversation devoted to the many situations you're in depends on the choices made for each plot. Suppose reading isn't one of your strongest fortes. In that case, you can keep clicking randomly to select any option until you reach a conclusion, then scroll back to select another option to find a different outcome.

Once the animation triggers, it is divided into 3-4 phases, each with a different setup, and can go up to 6 phases depending on the character. Well, they aren't motion-captured, but improvements have been made. There's still room for improvement, but given the game's price and development budget, you shouldn't expect any drastic changes soon.

Yet, compared to the games under this sub-genre, the animations are quite decent. Character designs have improved, too. They look more polished than in the previous chapter, especially the newly introduced characters.

Sadly, very little voice acting has been added to the game, and the narrative is becoming mired in these unique occurrences, which are sometimes difficult to follow. Inceton Games has confirmed that within the next few months, the complete version with voice-over will be available, along with translations into other languages. Hopefully, with the full voice-over, the game will be much more enjoyable to play.

The first season ended with several cliffhangers and unresolved plotlines, while Lust Theory Season 2 makes good progress on all of them. And there's more. They clearly point the game toward Season 3. While we have already dealt with something new in Season 2, you can only wonder what the next season will bring.

I'd suggest more interactive gameplay mechanics, such as solving complex puzzles, simulations where you need to gather funds to buy items, or even a scavenger hunt to break up the monotony of lengthy conversations in the point-and-click genre. Other than that, it's a fun game to play, and you will enjoy it if such visual novels are your cup of tea.