The Park – Review

The Park

The Park follows Lorraine, a mother whose son runs back into Atlantic Island Park after its closing, who is now on a path of confronting her own psyche and the reality of where her son is. Developed by Funcom, The Park follows the series Secret World (which I am currently unfamiliar with) and runs off of the Unreal 4 Engine. It is a first-person, story driven, psychological horror story that brings you in unison with your character coming to terms with their own reality.

The_Park_Screenshot_4_1080

The game starts out with Lorraine standing outside of her car while her son, Callum, sits inside ask where his teddy bear has disappeared to. When Lorraine goes to inquire at the information booth about this, the speakers announce that the park is closing. Then the sudden sound of a turnstile indicates that Callum has run back in and Lorraine must find him. Twisting through the dark amusement park, Lorraine is able to ride certain amusement rides that provides relevance to her story. As you progress, the Hansel and Gretel story begins to make appearances and Lorraine begins talking to herself about how she is a good parent with a hard background…and then it twists down to the reality of who she is in her mental illness.

maxresdefault

The game does not contain any fighting and is very story driven. The controls are simple, the lefts and right sticks are maneuvering (camera and walking/running), A to interact, B to call out to Callum. Every time you call out to Callum you will get a response that provides clues on where to go. The game provides a warning that when events are triggered and the controller cannot perform specific tasks it is part of the experience. The game also comes with a warning that the subject matter of the game is sensitive and may be difficult to handle for some.

The Park has been on Steam since October 2015 and is available there. It was released for the Xbox One and Playstation 4 on May 3rd 2016 and its retail price is about $12.99. The game play is short but the story is worth the play.

A Review by Meghan Rodriguez (Twitter: @collins_m81)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *