The Town of Light

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The Town of Light
The Town of Light cover art.jpg
Developer(s)LKA
Publisher(s)Wired Productions
Platform(s)Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Release
  • PC
  • February 26, 2016
  • PS4, Xbox One
  • June 6, 2017[1]
  • Nintendo Switch
  • February 7, 2020
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

The Town of Light is a psychological horror adventure game developed by LKA. It was released for PC on February 26, 2016[2] and PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on June 6, 2017.[1][3] On February 1, 2018, a Nintendo Switch version was confirmed. This version was released on February 7, 2020. The physical release of the Nintendo Switch version was cancelled in April 2019.[4]

Plot[]

The game is set in a hospital in Tuscany, Italy called the Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra.[5] The player character is a girl named Renée, who was a patient at the hospital in the 1940s. The game begins as Renée enters the now dilapidated asylum to relive her stay there.[6] As the game progresses, it becomes known that Renée was admitted due to promiscuity, depression, and a volatile relationship with her mother. Renée found comfort in her doll, Charlotte.

Renée walks the corridors of the derelict asylum, which triggers flashbacks of both her inpatient stay and circumstances prior. It is implied that Renée was a victim of sexual abuse[7] within the asylum, perpetrated by a male nurse or doctor. Renée discovers Amara, another patient, and a romance ensues. When the nurses discovered this relationship, they were separated.

Renée finds her old medical files, which imply that Amara did not exist and that they are figments of her imagination. After a thorough investigation in the patient property section, Renée finds Amara's possessions, thus proving her existence and that the medical team falsified some aspects of her mental illness.

A note found by Renée reads that Amara died in 1942. Medical notes found whilst searching the facility imply that Renée was verbally and physically aggressive and often spent time tied to her bed. Renée receives electroconvulsive therapy and multiple sedative injections to ease behavioural symptoms.

Renée discovers that correspondence from her mother does not reach her, and this is also discovered in the patient property section.

After several years of communication censoring by hospital staff, Renée discovers that her mother died and tried to take her own life on multiple occasions. Following this, the game's conclusion shows Renée receiving lobotomy surgery. The story ends with a doctor narrating that the long term recovery for Renée post surgery is unclear.[8][9]

Reception[]

On Metacritic, the game has a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[10]

A three-part series for PC Gamer explains how Lorenzo Conticelli designed the asylum setting for the game.[11][12][13]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "The Town of Light – Release Date Issued". Thumb Culture. May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  2. ^ "Psychological Thriller Town of Light Release Date Confirmed". IGN. October 29, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  3. ^ "The Town of Light Preview". IGN. May 6, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  4. ^ @thetownoflight (30 April 2019). "*Important* Along with our publisher @WiredP we've decided to not release the Nintendo Switch physical version of T…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "The Town Of Light: a unique psychological horror videogame". 21 April 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  6. ^ Hester, Blake (7 June 2017). "The Town Of Light Review". Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  7. ^ "'The Town of Light' Leverages Reality to Portray Survival Horror". 4 July 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  8. ^ "The Town of Light review: A grim and unblinking psychological horror". Ars Technica. 7 March 2016. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  9. ^ "The Town of Light is a first-person asylum game without jump scares". Eurogamer. 22 July 2015. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  10. ^ "The Town of Light for PC Reviews - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  11. ^ Joe Donnelly (24 April 2017). "The Town of Light talks atmosphere, environments and handling mental health with sensitivity". PC Gamer. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  12. ^ Joe Donnelly (2 May 2017). "The Town of Light on researching its sensitive themes and Volterra asylum setting". PC Gamer. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  13. ^ Joe Donnelly (8 May 2017). "The Town of Light sidesteps jump scares by retelling real life events". PC Gamer. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
  14. ^ "The Town of Light for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  15. ^ "The Town of Light for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  16. ^ "The Town of Light for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
  17. ^ Hester, Blake (7 June 2017). "The Town of Light Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  18. ^ "Town of Light Review (PS4) | Aces high". Push Square. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  19. ^ "Town of Light review | Aces high". Eurogamer. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  20. ^ Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (25 February 2016). "Town of Light review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  21. ^ Cooke, Caitlin (31 May 2016). "Review: The Town of Light". Destructoid. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  22. ^ Bell, Alice (9 June 2017). "The Town of Light review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 24 September 2021.

External links[]

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