OpenCritic
Steam
A first-person horror adventure game set in The Secret World’s, a popular MMO title, setting. It was developed by Funcom the studio that, apart from the aforementioned production, created Age of Conan and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, among other things. The plot of The Park takes us to a theme park surrounded with a dense forest, which brings to mind The Secret World's Atlantic Island Park.
The Park is a first-person horror adventure game for PC, PS4 and XONE which is set in the world and locations known from The Secret World, a popular MMO production. The title is the first single player project of Funcom in many years. The experienced studio, after releasing Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, focused primarily on online games such as Age of Conan or the aforementioned The Secret World.
Plot
The plot takes us to a theme park which is surrounded by a dense forest. The place brings the haunted Atlantic Island Park known from The Secret World to mind. While playing, we assume the role of a woman named Lorraine whose son, Callum, went missing during an unfortunate visit in this ghastly place. After nightfall, the heroine sneaks into the closed area of the park, and her task is obviously to save the boy and solve the secrets of the park.
Mechanics
Mechanics-wise, it is an adventure game that in terms of atmosphere somewhat resembles the works of Stephen King and such productions as Gone Home or The Vanishing of Ethan Carter in which we observe the action from the eyes of the protagonist. The gameplay is focused primarily on exploration and gathering various items that let us move the plot forward. One of the distinguishing features of The Park is the incredible role of sound effects, namely the shouts of the heroine (which are triggered by the right mouse button). Lorraine incessantly calls her son, and the changes in the timbre of her voice and the tone of her expressions indicate her attitude and emotions.
Technical aspects
The Park for PC, PS4 and XONE is characterized by high-quality graphics to which Funcom’s games got us used to. As the action of the title takes place only at night—both in interior and exterior areas of the ghastly park—the production is characterized by an incredibly suggestive atmosphere that can give thrills even to experienced gamers. The ambience is further enriched by the well-matched soundtrack that emphasizes and plays well with the on-screen events.
Additional information
The team at Funcom decided to reward all the players who buy the game before its official launch. A pre-order allows us to unlock additional content in The Secret World, an online production developed by the very same studio.
Last updated on October 30, 2016
Videos and Screens
[0:59] The Park launch trailer
[3:44] The Park behind the scenes
Destructoid: 6 / 10 by Chris Carter
I don't want to give away too much as The Park is only an hour long, but I admire Funcom's effort with this experimental take on the genre. It really does try something different, even if you can feel the core themes sneaking up on you a mile away.
GameSpot: 7 / 10 by Zorine Te
The Park is filled with very creepy moments but relies too much on a story which suffers from disjointed pacing.
DualShockers: 8 / 10 by Steven Santana
The Park is a great piece of psychological horror, one that doesn't dip into jump scares or excessive grit. Instead it introduces a playable protagonist you can't rely on, in a discomforting situation that smartly paces itself and holds back from excess. For anyone who wants to feel perturbed and have a hard time sleeping immediately afterwards, The Park is definitely for you.
The Park Summary
Platforms:
PC Windows October 27, 2015
PlayStation 4 May 3, 2016
Xbox One May 3, 2016
Similar Games:
The Park System Requirements
PC / Windows
Minimum: Intel Core i5 3.0 GHz, 4 GB RAM, graphic card 1 GB GeForce 640 GTX/Radeon HD 5750 or better, 4 GB HDD, Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
Recommended: Intel Core i5 3.30 GHz, 8 GB RAM, graphic card 2 GB GeForce 760 GTX/Radeon R9 270X or better, 4 GB HDD, Windows 7/8/10 64-bit
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