By Thom Compton 06.06.2017
Some subject matters are simply tough to talk about, and that's okay. It's hard to discuss these things because people feel strongly about them, which is a good sign. It shows that we as human beings still care about one another, and are still emotionally damaged when atrocities are committed against innocent people. Still, sometimes, we have to discuss these things, so they get discussed through slightly more palatable means, like movies and television. Games have been trying to embrace this philosophy, and The Town of Light is the most recent effort to do so.
The Town of Light tells the story of Renee, a young woman suffering from mental illness in the 1940s. She is placed in Voltera, a mental hospital that, like many of its day, is exceptionally cruel to its patients. Renee is no different, and is subjected to horrors that are all too real. Just for tackling this kind of subject matter, The Town of Light is highly commendable.
This is a walking simulator, if you care for that moniker, but does manage to incorporate minor puzzles. Some of these are not hard, but very obtuse. This makes sense to an extent, as the player is exploring a home for the mentally ill, many of whom think in very abstract terms. The player seems to be in control of, or hearing the thoughts of, Renee, or someone very close to her.
Really, the story, the focal point here, has a tough time managing to make sense. It does, but it often feels a bit too convoluted. The player is often asked for a response, to steer the story forward, and these options feel well-grounded and eerily realistic. These moments work much better at guiding the story than the story itself often does, as some things just aren't conveyed very well.
The Town of Light makes major stumbles in its technical presentation. Loading takes entirely too long at times, and on one occasion, after filling the load circle, actually then proceeded to say it was loading. It loaded twice, which was very bizarre, but fortunately only did it once.
What it does very often is freeze, often for 10 seconds or more at a time. This happens a lot when exiting rooms or even turning your avatar around. Couple this with textures that don't load until you're practically on top of them, and the technical presentation falls apart quickly and hard. There are times when, walking down a hallway, the other end hasn't loaded, so it looks like half of the building is gone. As the player gets closer, the other side appears, making for some extreme suspension of belief.
The Town of Life gets credit for being willing to tackle a tough subject matter head on, and in such an honest way. It never concedes to being entertaining, so the player won't feel uncomfortable. It's a shame, then, that it's so difficult to follow the story and the few puzzles are so abstract. The real killing blows are the atrocious technical hiccups, though, and all of this mars a truly one-of-a-kind experience into a twisted shell of what it could have been.
3/10
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