A haunted walk through the smelling amusement park can surprise, entertaining and frightening at the same time. The park is ideal leisure for one autumn evening. [Issue#258]
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.
While the first half of The Park tends to lean a bit too hard into the horror tropes of a spooky carnival, the final act does a really great job of developing a character with the pathos that comes from being a mother who’s having a tough time dealing with the impossible stress that comes from being a parent. Sure, it’s some of the same ground that Silent Hill games have covered in the past, but that doesn’t diminish its effectiveness.
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 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.
Although the Park offers a respectable level design, it is failing on all other aspects. It ignores the story and gameplay rules of the horror titles, and the result is an experience that you can easily miss.
SummaryThe Park is a single-player horror experience developed by Funcom, set against the backdrop of an amusement park where a dark and sinister secret is just waiting to be uncovered.