Park, The (Video Game)
Ted Hentschke
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Developed by Funcom
Available on PC through Steam
Suitable for ages 15+
I’ve never really bought into the creepiness of the “haunted carnival.” The subversion of childhood wonder and innocence doesn’t hit home for me, as I always found carnivals to be nauseating places full of smelly loud people and the higher than average chance of being kidnapped. To me, all of the creepiness comes from the “haunted” part of the equation, with the carnival signaling that there’s a much higher chance that the poltergeist will be a demonic stuffed animal at some point. Still, if the ghostly happenings are good enough, it’s not like I’m going to deduct points for having a Ferris Wheel.
Similarly, I’m on the fence about “walking simulators.” I get Dear Esther as an experimental art piece and exploration into the possibilities of narrative, but it’s hardly a “game.” There’s no real objective other than walking around and triggering audio cues, and generally no danger other than getting too spooked and turning it off. Once I realize that I’m in no real danger, the fear has always been significantly diminished for me. All the game has to rely on is narrative and visuals. I’m not saying that there aren’t good walking sims that I like, but just that these two qualities have to be incredibly impressive for me to feel satisfied.
A game hasn’t embraced its genre as hard as The Park embraces being a walking simulator since Rock Band embraced being a simulated rock band. While other titles will smatter in puzzles and maybe an action sequence here or there, The Park asks you to buckle up and enjoy the ride (quite literally at times). Your two methods of interacting with the world are A) to pick up notes/objects and examine them and B) to shout for your sun, which will give you an audio queue of which direction to go.
Since the game is a straight line, the shout largely serves to enhance the narrative rather than provide actual guidance. As the game progresses, your callouts change, becoming more desperate. It reminds me of the changing vocalizations in Spec Ops: The Line, which become more savage as you descend into darkness. It naturally depicts the procedural mental collapse of the protagonist. As a way of showing creeping madness, it works in tandem with the set narrative exposition points to create an overall greater package.
As I said before, the narrative is the most important (and perhaps only discussion worthy) part of a walking sim. The inherent problem with critically reviewing such a title is that discussing the narrative also spoils it, ruining much of the emotional impact. There isn’t gameplay to fall back on, so if I ruin the emotional twists and turns, I really have ruined the game for you. I struggled a bit before writing this, trying to figure out how I would discuss it without trampling any enjoyment you might get out of it. In the end, I decided to limit myself to what was already revealed on the Steam store page, as you will likely at least look over that before buying it.
You play as Lorraine, a mother looking for her child Callum in the abandoned Atlantic Island Park. Plagued with many tragedies over the years, the park has become a legend. Aside from this, don’t look anything up about the game. The layers of the narrative are deep and varied, insulating the title somewhat from the threat of spoilers due to just sheer narrative complexity. Unraveling exactly what is real and what isn’t—and the intersection of these realities—is most of what makes this game memorable.
As you make your way through the park, you will sit through various rides such as the whirling octopus and rollercoaster. At these points, the game goes from a walking simulator to a sitting simulator, as the game explains to you one of its various plot threads. A mysterious figure can be seen during these segments, whose importance becomes more apparent when supplemented with the various notes you find. None are too out of the way, and are easier to track thanks to the shout mechanic also locating inspectable objects. Overall, it shouldn’t be too hard to find everything there is in at least two playthroughs.
This isn’t a daunting task, as a playthrough only takes about an hour and a half the first time. While there is a bunch to see given the size, the game is incredibly small. Speedrun, I could probably beat this game in around 20 minutes.I really do love a compact world with a lot to explore, but this is short even for one of these kinds of games. There’s no alternate ending to bring me back. As a package, it’s pretty small.
The experience is extended a bit if you play The Secret World. The game is tied into the same universe, and the location is explorable in the MMO (though significantly altered). As a treat for players of the MMO, I’m sure this game is a must have. As a non-player myself, it did enough to get me interested in the title to consider picking it up. The intersection between the two will not be apparent to anyone not versed in the game, and it certainly isn’t necessary to enjoy the title. Consider it a nice little bonus if you play the MMO or are considering it.
Where the game really shines is in the story. There is so much to unpack here that if this were a real trip I’d just place the suitcase on the floor and live out of it. The writing and pacing are expertly crafted, and the intersecting realities guarantee you will have to mentally explore beyond the breadcrumb trail. To reiterate, I do not like these kinds of games. I believe a game is made by gameplay. I have a natural bias against a game where the gameplay is to hold forward and listen to monologues. Yet, I still liked The Park. The story was just the right mix of surreal and tragic, dealing with mystical topics with a seriousness and depressingly real ones with parable abstraction. If you tightly woven narratives, this will not let you down.
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Categorized:Horror Gaming Reviews
