Lustful Years feels like reading someone’s dirty secret diary that accidentally got really long and really self-aware. You’re inside this young woman’s life while she stumbles through relationships, flings, “this is just casual, right?” moments that aren’t casual at all, and way too many scenes where she ends up on her knees before she figures out what she actually wants. It starts pretty soft, flirting and awkward tension, those little choices like “do I stay for another drink?” or “do I text him back?” and then you blink and she’s got her lips wrapped around some guy’s cock in a bathroom, trying not to make noise while her internal monologue is still going on about trust and love and all that shit. I like that, actually, that the erotic stuff doesn’t feel like separate scenes but like the same messy timeline where one stupid choice at a party can lead to her waking up sore between two warm bodies and wondering if she secretly loved it or secretly hates herself. The game doesn’t hold your hand, it just throws you into her head and expects you to be ok with how horny and insecure and selfish she can be.

The visual novel flow is the usual click-next thing, but it has that annoying habit where you misclick and skip a line you actually wanted to read, and of course there’s a “history” button but I never used it because I am stubborn. Sex scenes come out of conversations that feel a bit too real sometimes, like that moment when she finally stops pretending and just pulls his pants down, holding his cock with this weird mix of hunger and doubt, and the text is describing the taste and the warmth of his precum while she’s thinking if she’s doing this to feel loved or just not feel empty for a second. One route I took, she tried to be all romantic and “wait for the right moment,” and I still somehow ended up with her legs pushed open on a couch, panties half-off, moaning while he fucks her quick and rough because they “don’t have much time.” It’s hot, yeah, there’s detailed oral, messy swallow scenes, him thrusting into her pussy with that wet sound you can almost hear, but between the lines you can feel how fragile she is, or maybe I’m just projecting because I play these games instead of touching grass. Anyway.

What I really liked, then didn’t like at all, is how the choices about relationships are mixed with the choices about sex. You say something small like “I trust you” and three scenes later she’s on her knees again, gagging around his cock, tears in her eyes, and the narration is describing how she forces herself to take him deeper because she wants him to see her as “good enough.” It’s extremely erotic, yeah, but also kind of depressing in a way that turned me on more, which is probably not healthy. There are also sweeter paths, where a slow build-up leads to a tender blowjob on a bed with soft breathing and her fingers tracing his thighs, or a first time where he actually asks if she’s ok before sliding inside, and she moans anyway and grabs his back because “yes” is already obvious. The game pretends to be about love and heartbreak and all that romantic stuff, but the parts that kept me clicking were when she’s half-naked, hair a mess, lipstick smeared, mouth full, or riding someone with her nails digging into their skin, and afterwards the story tries to talk about consequences like we didn’t just spend five minutes reading about how warm it feels when he finishes deep inside her. At some point I forgot which route I was even on, I just followed whatever choice felt nastier, or softer, or just wrong for her, and watched the years pile up like empty glasses on a table.