We’ve all got both light and dark inside of us. We try to do good for everybody but there’s a darker side wanting to get out, wanting to scream, wanting to change the way you see things, wanting to, eventually, change you. Those who suffer from mental illnesses often only see the dark inside them, they forget to see the light, they’re only focused on the darkness, wondering how they end up in a state of mind like this. The Town of Light isn’t just a new game, it’s a journey through the mind of one suffering from mental illness.
You are not well
The Town of Light is a different kind of game than the ones you’re used to. It’s developer LKA. debut on the market and is inspired by true events. The game takes players on a tour through the Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra, a former mental asylum that you can still visit in Tuscan. Giving a game like this a ‘real’ location only adds to the experience and the story of our protagonist Renée.
At first sight, you might think that The Town of Light is a typical horror game, but that’s not true. Sure, it borrowed some mechanisms and scenes from other popular horror games but aside of that, this is an entirely different type of game. The horror doesn’t come from the outside. There are no monsters or zombies coming at you, the monsters are inside your head. Playing as Renée isn’t easy since she really suffers from a mental illness and holes in her memory. She was once there, inside the asylum but she can’t remember why. It’s your job to find out what really happened to her but be prepared for some intense scenes.
Let’s find out who you are
The entire idea of the game is finding out what happened to Renée. It’s not a fast action game but more a walking simulator like games as Firewatch, Gone Home and others. Your goal is to walk around in the asylum and find out everything that you’re able to find out in one room. The moment you unlock a fragment of your memory, another door will also unlock, enabling the player to venture further into the asylum and memory of Renée. The most interesting part about this all is that you can decide what’s going on with Renée.
After going through dossiers, diaries and medical records, the player can also decide what really happened to her. This mechanism of player’s choice isn’t new but it’s great to see that the developers tried to implement it in their game. The only downside about it is that you can’t really tell if your decisions impacted the story. In order to really see the difference, you can always replay a certain chapter by selecting it in the menu.
I’ve been here before
A walking simulator stands or falls with its story, lucky for The Town of Light, its story is very strong. It’s not too complex to understand and it offers enough twists to make it interesting. The real star of the game is the asylum. It’s recreated using scanning and state-of-the-art technology so it really comes to life on your screen. Wandering around in a building that’s filled with dark corridors and graffiti definitely is something else and it’s simply amazing the creators managed to reach this level of detail.
Too bad things outside of the asylum don’t look that good but that’s nothing you should worry about since you’re not spending that much time on the outside. The great graphics in combination with the things Renée sees, or claims to see, result in a rather impressive and unique setting. It’s a setting you won’t forget that easily.
Conclusion:
Don’t be mistaken, you don’t play The Town of Light to relax or have a good time. The game confronts you with a theme not many games dare to talk about. Mental illness is a serious problem and the game handles it just right. Finding out more and more about the past of Renée is an interesting journey filled with memorable events. Too bad the choices you make won’t impact the story that much but aside from that, this certainly is a game you should give a go. Don’t expect a classic journey but prepare for something you won’t forget.
