Info about The Town of Light:

Official game description:
12 March 1938. Renée, 16 years old, is ripped out of her world, locked up and deprived of everything.
Her only fault was that she didn't know what her place in the world was.
"A danger to herself and others and a cause of public scandal" wrote the police headquarters.
The only horror you will find in this game is the truth: a blow to the solar plexus, much more intense than any supernatural presence
**The Town of Light** is a psychological adventure told in the first person. The story is set in Italy in the first half of the 20th Century in a place which really existed and has been meticulously reconstructed. Exploring and interacting with the environment you will relive the history of the main character through her confused viewpoint and on the basis of your choices, the story will develop in different ways.
**Because of its contents, the game is intended only for adult users.**
Characteristics:
----------------
*   Realistic 3d graphics
*   Based on real facts and events.
*   Strong narrative component
*   No zombies or supernatural presences.
*   Original sound track.
List of supported VR headsets
-----------------------------
*   Oculus Dev Kit 2

Release date: Feb 26, 2016

Categories: Walking Simulator, Psychological Horror, Exploration, Multiple Endings, Interactive Fiction, Atmospheric Horror, Narrative Adventure

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: External Data Dependency (Instructional); summary: The Town of Light forces players to seek external walkthroughs and analysis sites to navigate its environments and understand its story, causing frustration especially for those who prefer self-guided discovery. The primary barrier is instructional: players need guidance on quest progression and hidden narrative elements.
- Proton/Linux: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The single available Linux/Proton review reports consistent launch failures under default Proton settings, with a forum solution mentioned but not validated. The evidence points to a game that requires tinkering to start, placing it in the 'Tinkering Required' tier.
- Steam Deck: score 85; verdict: Broken; summary: Based on user feedback, the game exhibits significant technical issues on Steam Deck: it requires workarounds to launch on certain CPUs, suffers from poor optimization leading to crashes (black screen), and has mixed reports of Proton compatibility. While some users report functional controls and graphics, the overall stability is compromised.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews highlight that the game is short (about 3 hours) and are best experienced during a sale, with one specific reviewer noting they paid less than $5 and considered it good value. The community generally recommends waiting for a sale, suggesting the current base price is higher than what most consider fair. Given the game length and sale-driven purchasing behavior, a fair base price range is estimated between $5 and $10.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 5.0h
  - Story completion: 3.5h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviews indicate main story completion ranges from 2.5 to 4 hours, with a typical time around 3-3.5 hours. Game completion (100% achievements/full exploration) is reported from 4 to 6 hours, with several reviews citing 4-4.5 hours for careful play and 6 hours for a thorough completion including all achievements. No clear typical session length is stated, but one review mentions playing 'all in one go' for 3 hours, suggesting session length can equal story length; however, evidence is insufficient for a reliable estimate. No endgame content is described; the only post-story activity is replay for achievements, which is not quantified as an endgame mode. Therefore, story completion is approximately 3.5 hours, game completion approximately 5 hours, session length is left null due to weak evidence, and endgame is null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game starts with tedious slow movement and repetitive interactions, but after an unspecified point the pacing improves significantly, making it more engaging for patient players.
  - Stance: Clicks after
  - Anchor: The point after which pacing becomes flawless
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: no run button causing slow movement; repetitive gameplay; lifeless interactive portions; boring exploration and basic puzzles; clunky mechanics
  - Unlock drivers: patience with deliberate pacing; engagement with the psychiatric story theme
  - Conditions: willingness to tolerate slow movement; interest in heavy psychological horror subject matter; single-player narrative focus
- Player Archetypes:
  - Psychological Story Explorer (sale)
    - Motivation: To experience a poignant, thought-provoking story about mental health and historical injustices.
    - Playstyle: Slow, immersive exploration; reads documents and listens to narration; focuses on atmosphere and emotional resonance rather than action.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: mental health advocate; story-driven gamer; walking simulator enthusiast; horror but not jump-scare fan
    - Reference games: Martha is Dead; walking simulators
  - Gameplay-Critical Wanderer (deep sale)
    - Motivation: To be engaged by active gameplay mechanics and meaningful interactions.
    - Playstyle: Prefers games with puzzles, objectives, and frequent input; becomes frustrated by minimal interaction and slow exploration without clear progression.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: gameplay purist; traditional gamer; value-conscious gamer; walking simulator critic
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Story based on real events (weight 0.48): The story is praised for being based on true events, which adds authenticity and depth. Clusters 1, 3, and 7 highlight its real-world inspiration and historical accuracy.
- Immersive atmosphere and voice acting (weight 0.32): The game's atmosphere is highly immersive, with great voice acting and audio that contribute to the engagement. Clusters 9, 10, and 17 highlight these elements.
- Realistic depiction of mental institutions (weight 0.25): The game provides an authentic and sensitive look at mental illness and asylum history. Clusters 3 and 19 highlight the educational and realistic portrayal.
- Excellent soundtrack and music (weight 0.23): The soundtrack is described as beautiful, sad, and perfect, enhancing the game's atmosphere. Clusters 4 and 16 note the high quality of the music.
- Multiple endings and choices (weight 0.23): Players appreciate the multiple endings and branching storylines that depend on choices, adding depth and replay value. Clusters 8 and 11 mention this nonlinear narrative.
- Beautiful and well-done graphics (weight 0.22): The graphics are praised as beautiful, detailed, and well-executed, contributing to the game's overall quality. Clusters 6 and 18 mention the visual appeal.
- Compelling and engaging narrative (weight 0.21): The story is consistently described as compelling, engaging, and well-told. Clusters 12 and 20 highlight its strong narrative capabilities.

Common complaints:
- Walking speed too slow (weight 0.43): Players consistently complain that the walking speed is excessively slow, with no option to run or sprint, making traversal feel tedious, especially in large open areas. This is the most frequently mentioned issue.
- Walking simulator with minimal gameplay (weight 0.41): Many reviews describe the game as a walking simulator with very little engaging gameplay beyond walking, reading notes, and interacting with objects. The lack of puzzles, mechanics, or challenge makes it feel shallow.
- Unclear objectives and navigation (weight 0.3): Players frequently report confusion about what to do, where to go, or what objects are interactable. The game lacks clear indicators or signposting, leading to frustrating aimless wandering.
- Depressing and dark story (weight 0.19): The story is noted as extremely depressing, sad, and dark, with heavy traumatic content. While some may appreciate the tone, others find it relentlessly heavy and suffocating.
- Short game length for price (weight 0.17): The story is very short (2-4 hours), and players feel the price of 19 USD is too high for such limited content. This price-to-length ratio is a common complaint.
- Clunky controls overall (weight 0.15): The controls are described as clunky, adding to the general dissatisfaction with movement and interaction.
- Technical issues: invisible walls and bugs (weight 0.13): The game has invisible walls that block exploration, along with some minor bugs that disrupt the experience.
- Missing Russian translation (weight 0.11): A promised Russian translation has not been added even after four years, while a Ukrainian translation exists. This has frustrated Russian-speaking players.
- Poor Ukrainian localization (weight 0.08): The Ukrainian translation is incomplete, mixing English and Ukrainian, and has font issues. This affects players relying on that language.
- Game fails to launch without workaround (weight 0.08): Some players report the game failing to launch initially, requiring a command line fix or other workarounds to start.

Gameplay feedback:
- Primarily a walking simulator (weight 0.63): Players consistently describe the game as a walking simulator focused on exploration with minimal gameplay challenge or action. The experience centers on moving through environments rather than combat or chase sequences.
- Branching narrative with choices (weight 0.62): The game features a branching story where player choices affect the narrative and dialogue, leading to different paths and multiple endings. This choice system is a core gameplay mechanic that encourages replayability.
- Simple puzzles and interactive elements (weight 0.58): Gameplay includes simple puzzles and environmental interactions without complex mechanics. The focus remains on story and exploration rather than challenging gameplay.
- Exploration in real asylum setting (weight 0.35): Players explore an abandoned psychiatric hospital, often based on a real-world location, creating an atmospheric horror experience. The environment is central to the narrative and immersion.
- Story told through documents and flashbacks (weight 0.22): The narrative unfolds via memories, diary entries, documents, and flashbacks found during exploration. This method delivers the psychological story without heavy exposition.
- Choices affect details but may lead to same ending (weight 0.18): Some decisions alter story presentation or chapter paths but converge to a similar final outcome. This can be disappointing for players seeking significantly different endings.
- Collecting diary pages and memories (weight 0.13): Players collect diary pieces and relive memories to piece together the story. This mechanic reinforces the narrative-driven exploration.
- First-person perspective (weight 0.12): The game uses a first-person view to enhance immersion and focus on exploration. This perspective is consistently noted as a defining feature of the experience.
- No combat or threats (weight 0.08): There are no combat sequences, chase scenes, or jump scares, making it a safe walking simulator for those who dislike action-heavy horror. The horror comes from atmosphere and narrative rather than active danger.
- VR mode available (weight 0.07): The game supports VR mode for a more immersive experience. This feature is noted as a valuable option for players with VR hardware.

Performance notes:
- Inconsistent frame rate (weight 0.37): Frame rate issues occur during certain scenes, with inconsistency across different hardware configurations, impacting gameplay smoothness.
- Launch and crash issues (weight 0.26): Multiple clusters report launch failures, crashes, and error messages, often requiring command-line fixes or workarounds, especially on Intel 10th gen CPUs.
- Good optimization for some (weight 0.16): A minority of players report smooth performance at high settings (e.g., 60fps at 4K on GTX 1060, 120fps with occasional drops), indicating variable optimization across systems.
- Overheating and performance (weight 0.09): The game can cause PC overheating up to 102 degrees Celsius and trigger GPU overwork leading to display signal loss, indicating poor optimization.
- Low GPU usage (weight 0.08): GPU usage is reported as only 15-30% with variable CPU usage and VRAM, suggesting a bottleneck or optimization issue in the game's engine.

Recommendations:
- Emotional and impactful experience (weight 0.43): Despite criticisms, many reviews highlight the emotional weight, impact, and memorable nature of the experience, calling it worth playing for the story and emotions.
- Not for sensitive or casual players (weight 0.43): Multiple warnings indicate the game contains disturbing, dark, and triggering themes, especially around mental health, abuse, and despair. It is not recommended for the faint-hearted, those with depression, or younger audiences.
- Psychological and historical appeal (weight 0.35): The game appeals to those interested in psychological themes, historical narratives, and the dark history of mental institutions. It is seen as educational and thought-provoking.
- Buy on discount recommended (weight 0.29): Many reviews suggest buying the game only if it is on sale, deep discount, or at a low price, as the full price may not be justified.
- Lacks engaging gameplay (weight 0.24): Several reviews note the game lacks gameplay depth, action, or traditional mechanics, making it unsuitable for those seeking engaging or fun gameplay.
- Mixed opinions as a game (weight 0.23): Some consider it more art than a game, and suggest watching a playthrough instead of playing, indicating it may not be a traditional gaming experience.
- Not a traditional horror game (weight 0.16): Despite its classification, the game is not a horror experience and those seeking horror thrills should avoid it. It is more psychological and narrative-driven.

Other player notes:
- Request for achievement guide (weight 0.04): A player suggests including a full achievement guide to help others complete all in-game achievements.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.16): Players frequently cited extremely slow walking speed and no run button as primary sources of frustration, making traversal tedious and unplayable. Unclear objectives and poor guidance forced reliance on walkthroughs, while bugs, performance issues, and lack of essential features like a map or skippable cutscenes further compounded the negative experience.
- Appreciation (weight 0.08): Players appreciated the game's accurate and detailed recreation of real locations and historical context, which contributed to a strong atmosphere. The story's handling of a serious and difficult topic, combined with high-quality music and voice acting, resonated deeply with many reviewers.
- Sadness (weight 0.07): The overwhelming sentiment of sadness stemmed from the heartbreaking and tragic true story of the protagonist, Renee, and the depiction of patient suffering in historical asylums. Many players were moved to tears by the narrative's authenticity and the cruel reality it portrayed, finding the experience deeply sorrowful and lingering.
- Disappointment (weight 0.07): Disappointment arose from a perceived mismatch between the game's high price and its short length, clunky gameplay, and outdated presentation. Reviewers felt the powerful story was undermined by dull exploration, simple puzzles, and technical shortcomings, with some criticizing the use of real events as a shield for poor design.
- Empathy (weight 0.04): Players developed strong empathy due to the careful, humanized portrayal of the protagonist's trauma and suffering, which accurately depicted mental illness and historical institutional abuses. The realistic and moving narrative allowed players to connect deeply with the protagonist's pain and the plight of real-life victims.
- Boredom (weight 0.04): Boredom was primarily caused by the extremely slow walking speed and repetitive gameplay loop of reading notes and using a help button. The slow pacing, short playtime, and lack of meaningful interactivity or innovative mechanics made the game feel tedious and unengaging.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.03): Satisfaction came from emotionally rewarding elements like the ending and music video featuring real locations, as well as a fulfilling narrative with branching stories and secrets. Smooth VR performance, good graphics, and the addition of Chinese language support also contributed to a positive experience.
- Disturbance (weight 0.03): The game's graphic and realistic portrayal of patient abuse, including lobotomy and other inhumane treatments, provoked deep disturbance. Triggering content such as nudity, sexual assault references, and repulsive animations of medical violence left many reviewers feeling nauseous and depressed.
- Interest (weight 0.03): Interest was sparked by the game's dark perspective on asylums, its historical accuracy, and the compelling true story that compelled players to continue despite boredom. The educational yet disturbing look at historical asylum practices and the psychological depth of the subject matter kept players engaged.
- Admiration (weight 0.02): Admiration was expressed for the developers' achievement in accurately recreating the hospital and historical facts, coupled with a well-crafted, immersive atmosphere and level design. The mature narrative, wonderful narration, music, and transitions, alongside the developer's courage in tackling heavy topics, were highly praised.
- Discomfort (weight 0.02): A persistent feeling of discomfort was generated by the oppressive atmosphere and the game's reliance on psychological unease rather than jump scares. Detailed surgical illustrations, first-person scenes of medical procedures, and the distressing nature of Renee's story created a dreadful and unsettling experience.
- Emotional impact (weight 0.02): The story and ending, based on true events, left a strong and lasting emotional impression on players. The powerful emotional journey, described as soul-crushing and compelling, deeply resonated and was carried with the players long after completion.
- Shock (weight 0.01): Players were shocked by the overwhelming and upsetting lobotomy scene, particularly the finale's depiction of inhumane treatments in psychiatric hospitals. The shocking themes and poignant revelations about historical horrors contributed to the sensation of shock.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.01): Enjoyment was derived from the horror style that found humans scarier than ghosts, coupled with excellent graphics, storytelling, and cutscenes. The atmosphere and exploration of abandoned locations, along with a fun swing mechanic, provided a positive gameplay experience.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion arose from the story's presentation as fragmented memories and flashbacks, leaving players unclear on whose perspective they were experiencing. Unanswered questions about the protagonist and ending, a confusing maze section, and occasional uncertainty about where to go further contributed to this sentiment.
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance stemmed from the extremely slow walking speed, especially from chapter 12 onward, and finicky controls with poor translation and voice acting. The lack of a frame lock option causing loud computer noise, tedious replaying for minor differences, and pointless branching decisions that lead to the same ending also irritated players.
- Fear (weight 0.01): Fear was evoked by brutal and horrifying scenes depicting mental institution horrors, including inhumane treatments and the final surgery scene. The dark, oppressive atmosphere and reflection on historical psychiatric abuse, with connections to real-world incidents, created a scary experience.
- Unease (weight 0.01): A sense of unease was created by the psychological discomfort and uncomfortable atmosphere that gets under the skin. Graphic depictions, sensitive content, and the authentic asylum setting, paired with atmospheric sound, crafted a pervasive psychological horror.
- Reflection (weight 0.01): The game prompted deep reflection on historical horrors, raising important ethical questions and making players contemplate society's cruelty. The realization of real-life crimes and societal attitudes toward those considered different left many players thoughtful and introspective after finishing.
- Horror (weight 0.01): Horror was driven by the realistic and deeply disturbing tale based on human cruelty, including graphic depictions of sexual assault, lobotomy, electroshock, and patient abuse. The psychological terror rooted in real atrocities and the portrayal of past mental health treatments created a profoundly horrifying experience.}