TACKLING an issue like mental illness through the medium of video games is an intriguing premise, but sadly the final product offered up by the Town of Light fails to match up to its ambitious purpose.

Having previously been released for PC, the Town of Light is now available on console and follows Renee as she returns to the Volterra Psychiatric Asylum, where she was a patient as a teenager in the 1930s.

Based on a real life asylum in Italy where 6,000 people were sent for treatment and never allowed to leave, Renee explores the facility in search of answers to questions surrounding her incarceration.

The game promises a ‘solemn yet striking’ storyline, but sadly it’s a struggle to get past the first hour of gameplay without putting the controller down and never picking it up again.

A feeling of suspense is built up by the unnerving setting of the video game, but the product is far too clunky and low-quality to become invested in.

Its big problem is a lack of direction – you will often spend far too long searching every corner of the asylum for a door to open or switch to flick in order to progress the story.

In one instance, a half hour wander around the hospital is spent in vain until discovering that the way forward is finding a wheelchair to put a toy doll in – obviously.

Voice acting is often poor while parts of the script also appear to be lost in translation, much like the idea behind the game.

The Town of Light promises much, but falls well short.

5/10