The Park

 PC
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 87 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 37 out of 87
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 87
  3. Negative: 27 out of 87

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  1. Mokrag
    Oct 29, 2015
    6
    I wish I had a lot to say about this game, but it's not really a game.
    There's no fail state, there's no choice, there's no real player interaction.
    This game would be the exact same game without players, with just automated walking. It's a walking simulator, and not a very good one. Let me tell you why. I'm a long time TSW player and loved the previous takes on adventure games from    I wish I had a lot to say about this game, but it's not really a game.
    There's no fail state, there's no choice, there's no real player interaction.
    This game would be the exact same game without players, with just automated walking.
    It's a walking simulator, and not a very good one. Let me tell you why.

    I'm a long time TSW player and loved the previous takes on adventure games from Funcom so I was actually "hyped" about this. I guess that in part my expectations were what killed this product for me.

    So, as you start the game you are given an objective: grab that brat and take him back. No backstory, no character introduction at all. The kid was crying about his toy and then just runs (supposedly) into a closed park.
    As one enters the park, the first "this is going to be awkward" alert rang. An earthquake or similar, a complete change of environment and the main character reacted by... oh wait! The main character didn't react at all. Kinda weird for a "narrative" story in my opinion, but sure, I'll take it, after all there's a small, fast commentary about it at the top of the stairs (and that's all).

    The "shout" mechanic is completely useless. That is supposed to be the mechanic that gives you the correct direction and can highlight intractable items, but it's completely unneeded since there is Zero alternative routes. You follow the path and that's it. Hidden objects (pages with lore) are badly hidden and some of them (the hand written ones) are completely impossible to read on lower spec. configurations.

    By the way, let me say that this is probably one of the worst optimized walking simulators I had the displeasure to submit my rig to.

    Have you player The Secret World extensively and were interested by it's lore/story? Then you might find some of all this interesting. If you haven't, then just forget it. There's nothing for you here.

    The main character is completely impersonal. The shouts reveal a complete different emotion from all the rest of the voice acting (voice acting is great tho.) The scared lady giggles and laughs about some of her thoughts and newspaper pages she finds while looking for her lost kid with shouts that transmit desperation. It's just too bipolar to be believable.

    Want a mystery? Not here. The plot (if you can call it that) is obvious from the start.

    The main mechanic: Walk to a park ride. Enter the ride. Spend a few minutes locked down to your sit (sometimes facing nothing but other sit) with your camera locked on a 90º angle of freedom while "scary" stuff happen. I say "scary" because without freedom to move, look at, interact with anything, the stuff thrown at you can't be really scary.

    The last part of the game consists in going through the same rooms again and again... and again.. and again (with slightly different assets thrown at each scene). You have a complete notion that nothing can hurt you and "lore" objects start repeating. Dull!

    Looks pretty, if your computer can handle it without bursting into fire and if you're a TSW lore fan this will give you a happy nerd moment at some points. The feeling doesn't stay with you for a long time tho, since the dull move-to-another-ride will be at the next corner.

    Oh, there is a couple of jump-scares. Jump-scares that feel like they were done by a first timer indie dev.
    As lame and predictable as they could be.

    Also, a small hint for Funcom's future walking simulators (I hope they drop the idea of walking simulator and go full adventure game, but here's the hint nontheless): Don't break immersion on a story that has nothing to it except the immersion, with huge MMO looking load screens. That last ride entrance was awkward. Not that I was very immersed in the game at the point, since the character doesn't allow that very easily, but that load screen got awarded with a facepalm.

    The best thing about this game has to be the sound. The sound engineering gave this game 98% of it's feeling. It's not innovative at all, but it's well done and sounds great.

    At the end, I congratulated me for being able to spend almost 2h in this game, watching paint dry on a very bland and dull painting.

    Want a good Part horror story? Try the MMO.
    This one doesn't has any value. TBH I think the The Secret World costume set and items are more valuable than this game.    … Expand
  2. Sjalka
    Oct 29, 2015
    6
    6/10 ... it is enjoyable - but not without (quite some) faults.

    Visually it is fine - with a good design of darkness and light. An abandoned fair that - for some reason is still supplied by the electric company is always as creepy as clowns. I loved the first ride (swan ride) - with excellent storytelling and an ending with a twist - and the little scare. ... But from there on - the    6/10 ... it is enjoyable - but not without (quite some) faults.

    Visually it is fine - with a good design of darkness and light. An abandoned fair that - for some reason is still supplied by the electric company is always as creepy as clowns. I loved the first ride (swan ride) - with excellent storytelling and an ending with a twist - and the little scare. ...

    But from there on - the suspense became more and more a matter of progressively cheaper jump scares that - after the 10th or so - one does not care for anymore.

    Due to - in my opinion - a fairly poor optimization - i had to play the game on a rather low resolution (1024x768) - on medium settings. Why is that relevant? - because i pretty much missed all the little notes. They became unreadable.
    In the end - i was a little surprised by the ending - surprised means... i had no idea what it was about. I guess i missed a little too much of the background story.

    All in all - the unreal engine 4 does a good job with its light and shadow effects. Many figurines gain a wax quality though (at least that is what i call it - they look like wax figures with the very striking highlights and sharp shadows)

    I do not mind that it was a short game. I do not mind that my involvement in the game was pretty irrelevant. I am rather amused that the game offered me options to interact (running/shouting) that had absolutely no effect whatsoever.
    But i do mind that the story itself was not of an appropriate quality. The good voice acting was strangely cut together - with the character sometimes casually rambling away after she had just had a near heart attack due to some scare.    … Expand
  3. Dunge
    Oct 30, 2015
    7
    The technical aspect is perfect. Game runs well, and everything is nicely polished. Graphics and animations are great and the game world and objects are nicely placed and interesting.

    The story on the other hand is quite bland, and the game length is much too short.
  4. Datamari
    Nov 1, 2015
    6
    It's alright..
    The Park takes place in an abandon amusement park, with the mascot coming after you as you look for your son. It's a neat concept, but it didn't work as well as you would think. The game focuses on the story, and does a good job at building suspense, but it just doesn't work. The jumpscares are predictable and cheap, so the game unfortunately falls under that trap. But    It's alright..
    The Park takes place in an abandon amusement park, with the mascot coming after you as you look for your son. It's a neat concept, but it didn't work as well as you would think. The game focuses on the story, and does a good job at building suspense, but it just doesn't work. The jumpscares are predictable and cheap, so the game unfortunately falls under that trap. But easily, the weakest part about this game is the Shout mechanic.. it's completely useless. The entire game directs you in a single direction, and the hidden pages and hand-written ones are badly placed. However, there are some redeeming qualities to this game. The graphics are very nice, a great use of the Unreal Engine; poor optimization, but still a good-looking game. It's a short game, but sometimes that's not a bad thing; most horror games suffer from a long game-period, and The Park only lasts one hour, and while the ending does feel unrewarding, this game is still short and sweet.
    Overall, The Park is a solid horror experience, but the execution of what the developers wanted the game to be didn't work like they wanted. 12.99 does seem a bit too much for this, but if you're looking for a good scare, this game will work, for the most part.

    The Park gets a 6/10.    … Expand
  5. GermaNister
    Nov 5, 2015
    6
    This game have a exciting Story with a cool graphic and the game is really creepy. Just as you would want :). The idea is cool, too but I will not spoil it. The game costs 12'99 $ on Steam. I find the end was a little bit predictable.
  6. MXMXVRGMS
    Apr 30, 2016
    6
    Well, I thought It was too short for the price. I've never played a game so fastly. The graphics are beautiful the story a cliche, but you'll be hypnotized by that lonelly scary world.
  7. AchieveAddicts
    May 6, 2016
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Park is a narrative psychological horror game that focuses on storytelling and exploration. It was developed and produced by Funcom.

    The Good

    The Park quickly draws you into the small world of a woman named Lorraine and her son Callum. The story begins at a local amusement park called Atlantic Island Park. They had spent the day at the park, but Callum forgot his teddy so Loraine returns to retrieve it. Upon reentering the park, Callum decides to run off, and so beings the nightmare. As you make your way through the amusement park you frequently find evidence that you are right on Callums trail.

    Throughout your exploration you will encounter lots of well timed background noises. These are especially noticeable if you are wearing headphones. Though kind of long, I did enjoy the Hansel and Gretel boat ride. Dim the lights for extra realism!

    The Park does a great job at making you feel like you really are inside the mind of Loraine, dealing with the stress of losing a child. Throughout most of the story, you are "teased" with quick glimpses of Callum, keeping you on your toes. One thing that I really liked was how there wasn't much build up before a scary moment. Even though most of the really good stuff was jump scares, it got me pretty much every time.

    Right when you think there might actually be light at the end of the tunnel, you find your self even deeper into both your disturbed down-spiral of thoughts and fears. The best part of The Park really happens in the last half-hour of the game. If your are at all familiar with P.T., this part of the game will seem really familiar. I didn't really expect the story to go where it did at the end, but that's not a bad thing. Personally, I think the direction the story takes is left for interpretation.

    The Bad

    Very short.
    The best parts of the game don't happen until the last 20-30 minutes.

    The Achievements

    Most of the achievements in The Park are story-line related and will unlock regardless as long as you finish the story. If you are going purely for achievements, The Park is about a one hour completion. If you are having any trouble with them, be sure to check out our Achievement Guide.

    Final Verdict

    Overall, I enjoyed the story, but the game is very short. Even if you spend the time reading and examining everything, it should take no more that two and a half hours to finish the game. I think The Park did what it set out to do, and is worth picking up. The launch price is $12.99 (launch promotional price for PS+ and MS Gold Members is $11.69).    … Expand
  8. tariq_almandhar
    Aug 16, 2020
    5
    لا يوجد سبب يدفعك للعب هذه اللعبة، بالرغم من قصر فترة تختيمها إلا أنها لا تملك شيئا جيدا إلا المغزى من القصة الذي يركز على جانب الأم وتعاملها من طفلها غير هذا الأمر لن تجد أي شيء حيد فالقصة عادية ونظام اللعب سيء والرسومات عادية إلأى ضعيفة وهكذا هو الأمر لباقي الأمورلا يوجد سبب يدفعك للعب هذه اللعبة، بالرغم من قصر فترة تختيمها إلا أنها لا تملك شيئا جيدا إلا المغزى من القصة الذي يركز على جانب الأم وتعاملها من طفلها غير هذا الأمر لن تجد أي شيء حيد فالقصة عادية ونظام اللعب سيء والرسومات عادية إلأى ضعيفة وهكذا هو الأمر لباقي الأمور

Awards & Rankings

94
#94 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
68
#68 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 25
  3. Negative: 2 out of 25
  1. IGN
    May 4, 2016
    70
    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.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Jan 12, 2016
    65
    Norwegian horror walker drowns in overused clichés but has some really scary moments. [13/2015, p.57]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Dec 29, 2015
    40
    The Park feels like a typical soulless tie-in game, only it promotes a MMORPG instead of a summer movie.
    Read full review
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