9 Video Game Plotlines You Didn't Realise Were Based On True Stories
5. The Town Of Light
The game: Renée, having survived her incarceration at Volterra Psychiatric Hospital in the 1940s, revisits the now-abandoned institution more than half a century later in order to seek out a sense of closure for the wounds, both physical and mental, inflicted upon her during her stay.
Renée recalls the heinous abuse she suffered at the hands of hospital staff - along with positive recollections such as Amara, a fellow patient to who she had become romantically attached - during her journey, making The Town Of Light a compelling narrative victory for developer LKA only let down by unrefined gameplay.
The inspiration: Dubbed the "place of no return", Volterra Psychiatric Hospital is, or more accurately was a real place. Located in Tuscany, Italy, and founded in the 1800's, more than 6,000 people passed through the asylum's doors, with only a fraction of that figure ever given permission to leave. While Renée's story is fictional, the gross abuse of power that occurred within its walls was as real as the words you're reading now.
With the passing of a law dictating the closure of such outdated treatment centres, Volterra was shut down in the 70s, though many of its disused buildings remain standing.