The Town of Light

Release Date: February 26, 2016

Adventure, FPP, thriller, horror, indie games, Meta Quest / Oculus, exploration games, VR, singleplayer

6.3

OpenCritic

79%

Steam

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First-person adventure game in the form of a psychological thriller and the debut of an independent Italian studio Lka.it. The game's plot is set in an mental institution located in the Italian town of Volterra. Creators of The Town of Light decided to depict in their game the history of an actually existing place, focusing on dramas of its residents, treated by facility staff like animals.

Videos and Screens

[3:39] The Town of Light Live Action Trailer

[2:03] The Town of Light trailer - Accolades

6.3

OpenCritic Rating

Game is Recomended by 23% of Critics. There are 58 Critic Reviews.

OpenCritic

TheSixthAxis: 7 / 10 by Jim Hargreaves

The Town of Light isn't a game you play for fun. There's nothing enjoyable about the true face of mental illness nor the fear and isolation it engenders. Instead of aiming to reward players with a sense of enjoyment, LKA.it strives to help them empathise with the character of Renée and the unspeakable horrors she's forced to endure. There's a sobering, meaningful story to be witnessed and while its delivery is imperfect, The Town of Light still makes for one of the most thought-provoking games of this year.

Full Review

Windows Central: 3.5 / 5 by Paul Acevedo

If you're intrigued by The Town of Light's exploration of mental health and abuse and can stand a slower-paced, less-than-challenging game, this one might just cure what ails you.

Full Review

COGconnected: 75 / 100 by Patrick Anderson

Great story overcomes lacking gameplay.

Full Review

79%

STEAM Score

All Reviews: Mostly Positive (1,906)

STEAM

The Town of Light for PC, PS4 and etc. is a psychological thriller implemented in the form of a first-person exploration game, in which the developers decided to tell the dark story of an actually existing place. The game is the debut work of a small, independent studio Lka.it from Italy.

Gameplay

The game begins in modern times, and the action takes place in an abandoned asylum in the Italian town of Volterra. This institution has existed since the nineteenth century and was one of the most famous of its kind in the Italian Peninsula (the number of its patients reached several thousand people), but it was closed in 1978 along with numerous other facilities in Italy, when the law changed. Creators of The Town of Light for PC, PS4 and etc. decided to present the history of this place, with particular emphasis on the dramatic experiences of its residents, for years treated by facility staff like animals.

For this purpose, the developer recreated the asylum in Volterra (both its interior and exterior) with great care, and gathered a rich research material about it, including accounts of people connected with the history of the facility. Player learns about the abandoned resort and its past following the steps of 16-year-old Renee – a fictional character who comes to Volterra in search of her lost memories. The girl suffers from schizophrenia, so the adventure is interfered with symptoms resulting from her condition, as well as with her fears and other emotions. While wandering through the asylum, we are guided by the voice of the heroine; which does not mean that the game is linear – the story has an open structure and can develop in different ways.

Technology

The Town of Light for PC, PS4 and etc. is powered by the Unity Engine and has a very nice artwork in which most impressive is the detailed, carefully mapped playground. It is also worth mentioning that the game was adapted to support the Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles.

Last updated on December 21, 2015