I don't really know what to say. I guess let's start with the obvious. If you are looking for a scary game, this is not it, if you are looking for a game at all, this is not it.

I suppose you could call it an experience, but it is not something to enjoy. It's dreadful. It'll make you feel sick to your stomach, you'll cringe, cover your eyes, and wonder why the hell you're even doing this.

It accomplishes exactly what it wanted to. It's essentially, a first person experience of the memories of a patient from before mental illnesses were treated properly, and the consequences that it has on said patient.

At times it almost feels like a documentary, one that you're doing yourself, other times it feels a bit like Shutter Island. But the whole time has this atmosphere - it isn't a scary one necessarily, but a filthy one. Both physically, emotionally, mentally, morally, you feel dirty playing this game. Like you need to take a shower afterwards, or maybe sit in the fetal position at the bottom and cry.

Sure, it's tense, but mostly you'll be wrestling with emotions. Sometimes it's disgust, sometimes it's pity, or confusion, I didn't know how to take any of it. Because nothing that occurred was anyones fault, it's just a culmination of so many problems, that nobody knew how to deal with. It's hard to witness something so horrific without someone to blame.

I could relate it to reading on the Nazi concentration camps, but the difference is there's someone there to blame, to hate for it all, but here, I just don't know. And the game knows that too, offering certain options which exempt everyone of responsibility, or blame certain parties, but as onlookers, we can't know for sure, and to claim otherwise is just ignorant.

To the simpler things:
- the graphics are beatiful
- great optimization (120fps most of the time, occassional drops to 80)
- solid voice acting
- a story that sticks with you
- thick atmosphere, wonderfully realized setting
- multiple paths through certain chapters
- sometimes things get lost in translation but it's rare
- there are occassional bugs
- lots of invisible walls
- difficult to decide where to go, especially if you're prone to exploration
- no sprint button makes things very slow, annoyingly slow on occassion

Look this, "game," is wonderfully terrible. It's meant to be something that's tough to stomach and that often disturbs you. It's an analysis of what Outlast simply wore as a costume to jump out and yell "boo!"

Do not buy this if you're looking for a scary game. But if what I've described sounds like something you might want to try, then absolutely buy it. But be warned, this is a phenomenally horrific thing to have to witness.

Town of Light (ToL) is an atmospheric walking sim, set in a psychiatric hospital in WWII Italy. No jumpscares, no adversaries, no dying, only one timed puzzle, no click-spamming, no feats of agility. Graphics are good for the setting (largely dreary), music is sparse but effective, narration is okay. Some replay value in there are choices that change how elements of the story are presented, but there is only one ending.

What you're playing this for is the story, and the story is gut-wrenching. The protagonist is a teen girl, Renee, who experiences significant mental disorders and is committed to state care. The story is largely presented from her viewpoint and - due to her multiple disorders - her perceptions of what happens cannot be trusted. Presented as counterpoint, there are clinical reports about Renee found throughout the game; these give the user a baseline to compare Renee's perceptions against. Altogether, Renee's story is one of misconception, both by Renee and by the system intended to help her; both ultimately end up making things worse for her, a la "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Suffice it to say, there is no happy ending.

I recommend this title not because I think you will enjoy the game, but because it tells a layered story that will make you think, and it will almost certainly provoke a visceral reaction. To that end, it's more art than game. Just be aware of what it is before purchasing.

The Town of Light is a first-person exploration psychological horror game about a woman named Renée, who after many years returns to an old mental asylum she spent her teenage years at, and reflects both on her past and her present. During the process, the game deals with a number of interesting, but disturbing, themes in explicit detail, ranging from the sense of identity of self from going through such an experience, if you can truly feel like you're 'you' in a situation where the world tells you who you are is wrong, sexual identity and exploration while in a locked-in facility, and being taken advantage of in a number of ways when people try to exploit and empower themselves through your lack of ability to defend yourself.

If any of what I just said peaks your interest, I would recommend checking it out. It's a narrative-based journey, and it explores its themes with a level of tact and maturity, but also know it doesn't censor itself and there is graphical details that many may not be comfortable with or want to experience. As a narrative, it succeeds, not to be shocking, revolting, or even specifically to shake you up, but it simply tells a series of true stories and scenarios people experienced in mental asylums in the early 1900s, specifically that in Italy, and the sad fact the scars these places left on the people inside to make it the only place many of them ever knew as a home. The narrative is mostly straight-forward, and there is but one ending, but there is actually a few branching paths and sections with different levels or variations of levels in the second half of the game based on some gameplay choices you make.

It is also worth noting the game does well with its audio, maybe with the exception of voice acting (which is a little rough, but also not very frequent), but the music fits the moods of the scenes well, with a few stand-out tracks. Ambiance is also ripe in the title, and there are all sorts of small yet interesting environmental sounds.

Now, while what it does narratively I feel it succeeds at, I think it does have a few rough edges. Graphically it is a bit uneven, with some areas looking pretty good, and some coming off as quite rough. The game isn't always entirely clear in what you need to do next, which will lead to moments where you may spend some time wandering, looking for whatever it is you missed. Take so long, and she'll tell you directly where to go (and you can enable choice hints to activate at any time), but it feels there could of been some clearer and more intuitive ways to do this. I also feel some people will not be satisfied by the ending, as it does seem to come a bit abruptly and not really climax well to the point, but I liked it for what it was and the sort of story it was trying to tell.

Also do know the game has some graphic depictions. It doesn't shy away from these really detailed and gruesome pictures of how to perform surgery, everything from dissecting a hand, to peeling back the layers of someone's skull. They're morbid, and not all will swallow these old procedures in visual detail well. Likewise, the game doesn't shy away from the graphical depiction of nudity and sexual harassment/abuse. Worth noting, but also know it does handle these themes with a level of tact and doesn't use them for shock value.

In the end, what the game should be experienced for is its narrative. There are interesting scenes and a few light puzzles, but it goes to put you in the shoes of a woman coming to terms with herself, and on that front, I feel it succeeds. It is very much a walking simulator with light gameplay elements and puzzles, and a few scenes of surrealism edge you go through, but it stays mostly grounded and explores an unfortunate history. If that's what you're looking for, there is a lot to like here, and its execution is mostly well done, and both explores its story and history with respect, yet doesn't shy away from some of the harder to swallow details. Yet, despite the harshness of it, it also gives off a strangely warm vibe in an overall sense. An interesting journey for those who want a narrative-driven exploration game.

Walking simulator without any challenge. Just tag along the depression train.
Jokes aside; a great, rich, dark, confusing story that also shows how asylums worked in the past.

♥♥♥♥ the ending really got to me. Good game.

The minus is that the price is a bit high for a game you can complete in 2-3 hours unless you want to replay for the achievements. Get on sale or in a bundle.

I rarely ever write reveiws for games....maybe once or twice, out of the nearly 200 games I've played on steam. But this game man....this game was one the most beautiful, most well done, amazingly acted and written, yet most disturbing games ive played (in my opinion) on steam ever. Not one of those many, if not most, jumpscare and in your face horror games. No...the horror you feel is 100% psychological and leaves you feeling cold inside, the only true horror ive ever felt from a video game in my life was just now with this amazing work of art. Money well spent and worth every penny if not more if i had to. I just completed the game 20 minutes ago, and tomorrow i'm playing it again, because its THAT incredible to me. 10/10
PLAY THIS GAME!!!!

The Town of Light takes a mature, serious look at the (mis)treatment of the mentally ill and the dehumanization and loss of self and power that results from being institutionalized. The game is purportedly based on true events, though the story told is unfortunately common enough that it doesn't really matter. Taking place in late '30s to early '40s Italy, you rummage through a derelict mental hospital triggering story beats through exploration and light puzzle solving. The narrative is depressing, the outlook is disheartening, but the game is not particularly any good.

There's a confusion of identity in The Town of Light, and it doesn't feel like an intentional design decision to help the player identify with the plight of the main character Renee. The game tries to create an atmosphere by avoiding cheap jump scares in favor of disorientation and unease, which I'm generally in favor of. The execution is spotty at best; it tries to present itself as “realistic”, but falls back on tired horror game tropes like endless hallways, creaky doors, howling wind, and the entire premise of the rusted, abandoned mental institution is entirely unnecessary. A period piece set contemporaneously with Renee's story would have been more than sufficient, and probably more powerful. Instead you're asked to wander hallways either endlessly without much direction, or ask for help and be pointed directly where you need to go to progress to the next chapter. This isn't exactly a well designed game. None of this is helped by the painfully slow walking speed, finicky cursor, or sometimes poor translation and spotty voice work, which all add to kill the pace of the game. There are good concepts here, they're just buried under quite a bit of chaff.

This is an “art” game and a walking simulator, and without diving head first into the debate about what the definition of a “game” is I still have to question why this exists in video game form when it would have worked just as well if not better in other mediums. The Town of Light tries to be a jack of all trades, mixing hand drawn static art, non-interactive cutscenes, letter correspondence, and traditional video game first person navigation and puzzle solving. The video game portions are the weakest, with an inconsistent frame rate, confusing level design, and unintentionally goofy interactions that derail any mood the game was aiming for. A graphic novel, animated short, or even a podcast would have resulted in a more cohesive experience.

The issues of mental health and the barbaric treatment of those who suffer from the affliction are important topics that are usually swept under the rug, even today. While it's refreshing to see games like The Town of Light tackle and expose this head on it's not a free pass for a shoddy game, especially when it's been done better before. Watching the trailers and reading the description for the game I was hoping for something as powerful as The Cat Lady (which had shades of Silent Hill), but upon completion I just felt hollow and a bit annoyed by an unremarkable, forgettable couple of hours. For those who want a real (as in: really real) look at the subject there are documentaries like Titicut Follies. For anyone who wants fiction about institutionalized horrors that are set in the same location and time period, there are films like Salo for the truly hardcore. The Town of Light just seems like an admirable but unnecessary attempt to capture the lessons of those better works, but don't tell the developers that. In perhaps one of the least tasteful and garish displays of self-congratulation, some of the first interactive objects found in the game are a couple of awards for Best Storytelling the game received that you're free to pick up, rotate, zoom in on, and just admire. That's pretty ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ cheesy and a great example of how they just don't quite get it.

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to say for this review (or even reviewing it at all). I will still probably fall short of expressing how I feel about it.

I just finished this game a couple nights ago. I got a few weeks back on sale. It's labeled as "Horror" but it doesn't really contain any traditional horror elements. It is a bit of a mindf**k though, but in the most educational way.

The game takes place at a RL Lunatic Asylum in Volterra, Italy (Pisa). The story is a compilation of real events that happened to many patients throughout the years, gathered through LOTS of research.

This game's themes are difficult. Mental Illness (depicted almost brutally realistically) from the perspective of the patient, and asylum practices pre-1960 mostly. The game can split off into multiple paths at certain point, which gain you 1) some different info regarding your character/their situation, and 2) different achievements, however so far as I can tell they all seem to lead to the same grim ending.

Triggers: Nudity, visual allusions to rape/sexual assault, visual effects depicting disassociation & psychotic breaks, (at least on the ending I got) a graphic visual depiction of an Ice Pick Lobotomy.


Now, I know this all probably makes you think "WhyTF would someone PLAY this!?!?!" but even despite the disturbing themes I did find it interesting. They really tried to show mental illness as faithfully (and non-hollywood) as possible, they showed the naked truth of how horrible institutions were back in the day - which makes me even more passionate about proper treatment of mental illness and never going back to that - and, if you're into Urban Exploration, the devs have almost brick for brick recreated the actual asylum in it's current state. That part is REALLY amazing.

There are NO jump scares, NO supernatural elements, NO blood or gore, NO sex, NO violence (only dialogue that suggests it) The only scary thing about this game is just the truth in the topic. It's music can get a kind of creepy, if you're sensitive to that. I turned it off the first night I played it because the music was suggesting something scary, but I looked up that there aren't jump scares or anything and felt better. I think the music is mostly to add to the feeling of the main character's psychosis.

In short, I recommend this game if you want an immersive experience and probably some disturbing dreams, but also for a good glimpse into WHY asylums got shut down so many years ago and why we should never go backwards.

I really wanted to like this game. There are so many reasons to name for loving the game. It has a great atmosphere, the graphics are so beautiful, the story really touched me. I felt so sad and I had so much sympathy for the character.

But the main reason, that really made me sick, is the extremly slow walking speed. No, walking is not the right word for this kind of movement. Maybe even "movement" is the wrong word either.

The whole game you sneak and sneak and sneak...

It's a huge sanitarium, and you walk from the far left to the far right, upstairs, downstairs, again from left to right, and so on. Sometimes you search for something, and it takes ages.

The last hour of playing I just wanted it to end, because I hated this slow movement.

So please, developers: Please increase the movement speed.

As long as it feels like crawling, I cannot recommend the game.

This is actually not a game. It is a narrative made for one to experience a psychiatric ward and the mind of a patient. This is also not a horror story. It is based on reality.

So if you seek for a horror game - this is not for you. But if you seek to experience what it might have been to be in a psychiatric ward in the 30s - 50s - get it. This is not just some fiction, there lies a lot of truth in here.

The game itself does have technical imperfections but those do not matter as the experience it what counts here. I think this was really well done.

If narratives based on reality put into some form of self experience by means of a game - give it a try.

I was left in a mix of anger, sadness and perplexity after this, even though i knew some of the facts this is based.

This story is based on true events that were common-place years ago in mental facilities, even into the 1940's. Events that were tragic and sad and often could have been avoided if someone had cared. It's a very interesting game and well done.