The Park Quick Review

Piggy backing off Aywren’s idea of making a post about The Park, I’ve wanted to make one as well.

I’ve run through Funcom’s new game, The Park, and completed it in about two hours and fifteen minutes - little longer than most, I assume, for breathers and taking my time. My initial thoughts were that it felt like running a really good investigation mission in The Secret World, minus puzzles. I haven’t been off Solomon Island yet in TSW, so I’m not sure the extent of the creepiness it can provide, but if it’s anything like The Park, then I have plenty more story and creepy vibes to go through.

The Park is a solo story experience set in the world of The Secret World where you play as Lorraine looking for her son, Callum, who ran back into the Atlantic Island Park to find Mr. Bear. As you re-enter, the park takes a turn from happy to the sinister and run-down. You then have to brave the horrors of both the park and yourself.

The game tells a good story about the hardships Lorraine faces while taking care of Callum and her connection to the park itself. There’s a lot to break down so I’m hoping to see what other people think and can come up with about that.

The low points is that it did have lag, so I had to take it slow when looking around, but that sort of upped the creepy vibe. I also wished the game could tell me more, but I may have missed some stuff. I’m not one to play horror games, but I wish it was longer to tell more of the story like it felt a little rushed out, which I can understand given Funcom’s woes at the moment. Maybe some puzzles would help, like in investigation missions.

If you love TSW then you’ll most likely “appreciate” The Park - as Aywren would put it. If you like atmospheric games, this has atmosphere to give. Story was a bit light, but I think there was more in the subtleties I need to break down. If you want to support Funcom, then I think it’s worth the price, plus you get a Chad the Chipmunk suit in TSW to terrorize other players with! MWAHAHAHAHAH.

If you’re interested, I have a playlist of my play-through of The Park down below. Will try and get an episode a day on there.