The Park Reviews
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.
The Park has solid atmosphere and pretty good scares, but it also has an unremarkable heroine and an inconsequential plot. It might be a decent curiosity if you're looking purely for the video game equivalent of a haunted house, but its high price and short length make it difficult to recommend.
While it may be short and lack replayability, Funcom have delivered a well-crafted and finely tuned psychological experience with The Park. The exceptional audio design helps to build a chilling and tense ambiance that will delight fans of The Secret World, while even newcomers can enjoy the chilling tale of one mother's search for her son. A true psychological thriller that you'll want to play with the headphones on and the lights off.
This game was reviewed via a digital code received by the publisher.
There isn't much replayability, given the type of game it is. But promise me that AFTER you've played it once, start a new game, and remember what Lorraine said: "In my heart and mind, I always return to Atlantic Island Park".
The game takes a while to get its claws into you, but if you're patient and willing to overlook some hokeyness, it's an unsettling ride
At only a couple of hours,The Park doesn't linger or overstay its welcome. It makes smart use of established horror tricks and tropes, and gave me a character that I immediately liked and cared about, even though I recognized I'd been on this ride before.
The Park may be very short, but it certainly leaves an impact. Taking a trip to Atlantic Island Park will reward horror fans with an unsettling tale of emotional trauma adorned with a number of well-orchestrated frights. As the game itself so ominously suggests, you should turn off the lights, plug in some headphones, and enjoy the ride.
For all of my complaints, I'd like to see more. More explorations of the weird places that we scrap, shoot and claw our way through as we play games. More short stories. More horror. If Funcom want to flesh out their Secret World with a few more side projects, I'll be a the front of the queue, even if I'm not convinced I'll enjoy the ride.
A thin and curiously paced stroll through horror cliche that manages a few good frights but not much else.
Despite how [The Park's] conclusion stands out as both horrifying and emotionally resonant, the plot suffers in a lead-up that can feel a bit aimless.
The Park is an interesting attempt to offer a spin-off experience for those who love The Secret World and to deliver some Halloween appropriate content for gamers who are interested in psychological horror.
The Park is a single player experience good for a short game with lots of tension. There is a minimal amount of actual horror or action, with the focus instead being on a psychological journey for the protagonist, while surrounding the player in a tense situation and environment.
It's a short experience but if I had to score it out of ten I'd give it a solid 8 purely for the tension I felt throughout. It's strange that something so inspired by and owing so much to The Secret World actually suffers slightly from being linked to it instead of standing alone, in the dark.
The Park is an incredibly creepy narrative experience that unfortunately suffers from a lack of things to do.
A fantastically crafted psychological horror that places huge emphasis on story and narrative to drive the game.
The Park is filled with very creepy moments but relies too much on a story which suffers from disjointed pacing.
The silver lining of The Park's poor showing is that it could lead Funcom to try harder should it attempt subsequent single-player adventures. In the meantime however, The Park is one attraction you should definitely skip out on.
[A]s the player spirals towards the haunted house, and continues spiraling downwards ever afterwards, the sheer weight of The Park's curdled hope and joy denies the optimistic ending of its double from down under: in the end, grief and loss cannot be grappled with. Sometimes it cannot be withstood. The monsters win, the humans lose, and the uneasy fact is that both those creatures are the same person.