The Town of Light (2016) Review

Our The Town of Light (2016) review is a deep look at a psychological horror game that ditches ghosts and gore in favour of something far more unsettling—real-life trauma and the haunting echoes of a forgotten past.

Developed by LKA and set inside a real-world psychiatric hospital in Italy, The Town of Light is a psychological horror experience that strips away fantasy and asks you to face something disturbingly grounded—what it was like to be a woman institutionalized in 20th-century Europe.

It doesn’t rely on jump scares. There are no shadowy creatures to outrun. Instead, the game unpacks trauma, abuse, and memory through the eyes of Renée, a former patient returning to the hospital that shaped—and shattered—her life. It’s horror drawn from history, and it doesn’t flinch.

Walkthrough Video (spoilers!)

A Story That Hurts (Because It’s Supposed To)

You play as Renée exploring the ruins of the Volterra Psychiatric Asylum. As she walks its crumbling halls, memories begin to resurface—some fragile, some violent. The narrative unfolds as a kind of internal monologue, unraveling her past in fragments: electroshock therapy, isolation, institutional misogyny. It’s raw. Heavy. And painfully believable.

The Town of Light doesn’t embellish. Much of what you see is pulled directly from historical records and patient testimonies. That authenticity makes everything hit harder.

It’s not a game that entertains. It confronts.

Atmosphere Without Gimmicks

Visually, the game isn’t flashy—but it doesn’t need to be. The abandoned hospital is recreated with unsettling precision. Daylight pours in through shattered windows. Dust hangs in the air. The emptiness feels haunted, not by spirits, but by what was.

There’s no HUD. No combat. No puzzles to solve. Your only task is to explore, read, listen, and piece together Renée’s story. That simplicity puts the emotional weight front and center—there’s nothing to distract you from what she endured.

And that’s exactly the point.

Mental Illness and Interactive Media

Where The Town of Light stands out is in how it handles its subject matter. Games rarely deal with mental illness respectfully—if at all. When they do, it’s often clumsy or stylized. Here, it’s clinical. Personal. Human.

Renée isn’t a trope or a twist. She’s someone you come to know intimately—and sometimes uncomfortably. Her confusion becomes your confusion. Her fear, your fear. And when she questions reality, you start to question it too.

This The Town of Light (2016) Review isn’t just here to say whether it’s “fun”—because honestly, it’s not supposed to be. It’s supposed to stay with you.