The Park Reviews
The Park doesn't really bring anything new to the horror table, but honestly, that's okay. Its 90 minutes are filled with an impressive atmosphere, interesting themes, and spooky places to poke around. While some of the attractions are a bit long in the tooth, The Park provides enough tension and scares to warrant a playthrough from any horror fan.
The Park was a decent experience though far too quick to really offer a solid experience.
The Park is deep, complex and disturbing. With great themes and passive mechanics, The Parks invites you to create a seriesof images in your mind that will put you in the flesh of the main character, Lorraine, and question her continuosly. Its links to The Secret World make it a bit confusing for those who haven't played it, though.
As a game, The Park's story doesn't feel fully formed - like a building crescendo that suddenly stops. That's not including the unevenness of its plot, average visuals and ho-hum frights. The Park isn't the renaissance of Funcom's adventuring prowess - it's a short, twisted, grimy tale that picks apart the human psyche and its failings. If only it had been so much more.
[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.
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.
The Park is filled with very creepy moments but relies too much on a story which suffers from disjointed pacing.
A fantastically crafted psychological horror that places huge emphasis on story and narrative to drive the game.
The Park is an incredibly creepy narrative experience that unfortunately suffers from a lack of things to do.
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 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.
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.
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.
A thin and curiously paced stroll through horror cliche that manages a few good frights but not much else.
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.
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.
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 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
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".
This game was reviewed via a digital code received by the publisher.