Mental Health Awareness

Mental Health is such a sensitive thing, something that should be treated and spoke about with the utmost respect. There are thousands, if not millions suffering from mental health issues and we, as friends or family, are encouraged to reach out for those in need, while for smaller problems like difficulty to focus or anxiety we recommend products like premium CBD flower that help in this area. The developers at LKA have brought out a new physiological/walking simulator titled  The Town of Light, which as a game isn’t the best I have played by a long shot, but as a message and overall raising awareness, should be applauded for their efforts.

As a game however, which is what we’re mainly here to review it based on, it can’t be recommended as something you could enjoy. The basic story is you are given the role of an psychiatric patient named Renee. Renee is fixated with a doll that her mother give to her in the hospital, in which she called the doll Charlotte. The story is about you healing her mind, piecing back memories back together of her childhood in the hospital. Again, I have to applaud LKA going about it with such a strong story and message, which is clearly laid out to you before you start the game.

As a game though, The Town of Light is really basic, short and lacking any sort of innovation. Yes, I understand that walking simulators are bland but this one lacks any sort of deep interactive. Movements are too clunky and when you are trying to open doors etc, you’ll often find yourself getting in the way of the door opening. This isn’t by choice, but rather the games’ engine letting itself down greatly.

As mentioned, interactivity is also at the very minimal in The Town of Light. The things you interact with, such as pictures and books, can often be missed due the games’ horrible cursor point, which does next to nothing in helping you with the game. There are some interesting puzzles and choices to be had (all which effect the ending that you get in The Town of Light) but these are also too and far between. It honestly feels like you’re not really part of the game, often feeling quite misplaced of what’s in front of you.

The main core of the game is of course helping Renee with her memories. This will be done by finding pages of her diary, which will help you understand the game’s message. The voice acting is probably the best thing about this game, with the overall message and understanding greatly portrayed by the actress that is playing Renee. Visual wise, you would expect better with it being on the PlayStation 4. The hospital halls and outside surroundings are all rather underwhelming.

There’s not much else at all to say about The Town of Light in this review. It lacks any progression or any sort of gameplay in anyway. Without this strong message, I probably would of turned this off after the first 10 minutes. I don’t see any type of replayability in this game. I’ll be honest though; although I am criticizing this in terms of a game, I do recommend you playing it just so you can understand and respect the issues the developers bring up throughout The Town of Light.

A PlayStation 4 Review Code was provided by Wired Productions