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Made by Funcom, and taking place in The Secret World universe, The Park serves as a daunting look at the tainted history of Atlantic Island Park through the eyes of a mother who has just lost her child. The game is currently only available on the PC and is an interactive horror experience.
There seems to be some misconceptions about the term “protagonist” these days, most often causing people to associate it with a good person. However that is definitely not true, and The Park manages to strengthen that fact. The game doesn’t place you in the role of a perfect mother whose life is filled with sunshine and cupcakes but instead it implores you to try on the worn out shoes of a troubled mother.
She is definitely not what you would call a perfect mom, and probably not even a good one throughout the events of the game but you can still see her actively trying to protect what is close to her, and that, in my opinion is the best thing about the storytelling in this game, where every thought and show of emotion has not only got vigor to match due to its excellent voice cast, but it also feels realistic due to the everyday problems it showcases.
However, even with all these interesting themes present, they wouldn’t have been able to impart a soporific experience on their own. In my opinion, to truly make it work, you need a clearly mapped out form of storytelling, and that form is taken by the brilliantly modeled environment in this game. The story does have a few mishaps along the way mind you, but for most of it the game follows a clear direction and remembers that it is taking you on a personal journey, making the park an influential backdrop for the character’s struggle.
What really made the mother’s search for her child frantic and believable was the game’s ‘shout’ mechanic, which activates at the press of a button and prompts the protagonist to shout out for her child, who depending on the circumstances shouts back. What she says and how she says it changes throughout the course of the game, with her pitch elating at times with dread or deepening with frustration. You can really feel that whatever is happening around the character is affecting her.
What intrigued me the most relating to the shouts was how the audio reverb changed depending on where you were. For example, in an open area the voice would fade out into the air while in a closed one, like the cave you take a ride through early on in the game, it would echo back to you. So, props to them for working hard on that effect.
On a technical note, the controls and mechanics are very straightforward as the game doesn’t involve any kind of complicated puzzle solving or tactical combat to be carried out. Not to mention, the game looks beautifully twisted with realistic looking character models, and runs perfectly fine so I have no complaints on that front either.
However, what I do take issue with is the abrupt ending, which will feel a bit heavy in contrast to the rest of the game. I feel like they could’ve laid the ending out a bit better than they did rather than drawing things to conclusion hastily. Still, that is merely a minor dent on the overall experience as the story telling for the most part feels equally emotional and terrifying, with chunks of it being told either through the masterfully written voice over, scattered notes or plainly through the well modeled environment.
The game definitely has some jump out scary parts which catch you off guard, but it doesn’t let the entirety fall victim to it and manages to maintain its psychological theme of the game alive.
Lastly, a lot of people will debate on whether or not to pay £10 for a 1.5 hour experience, but I would personally recommend horror enthusiasts to take a plunge as the work behind it is definitely worth it, and the ominous setpieces will keep you on the edge of your seat.
To sum it all off, regardless of a few story mishaps, The Park is a surreal psychological horror experience that features one of the most diverse and well written characters yet, one that is far from perfect and has their own set of every day problems to deal with. For £10, The Park will take you through a ride you will dare not forget.