Psychological horrorShort horrorHorror walking simulators
The Park
Rate itSearch a closed amusement park at dusk for your missing son.
- Platforms
- PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
- Stores
- Steam, GOG
- Price
- Paid
- Rated
- Mostly Positive on Steam (70% of 3,204 reviews); Metacritic 67 for PC from 25 critics; 3.45 of 5 on the PlayStation Store (2,865 ratings)
- Length
- one to two hours
- Players
- 1
- Made by
- Funcom
- Released
- 2015
On PlayStation: one of the PlayStation horror games.
No. 27 of the amusement park horror games · No. 26 of the fairy tale horror games
What frightens As the sun sets over Atlantic Island Park, a park known for freak accidents, grotesque killings and hauntings, Lorraine searches its run-down rides for her missing son Callum, and some of the rides seem to have a life of their own.
Content: violence, blood and strong language (esrb mature), jump scares, a missing child, emotionally distressing subject matter, as the store warns,, smoking and alcohol.
The Park is a short first-person psychological horror game by Funcom. You play Lorraine, a mother who follows her son Callum back into Atlantic Island Park as it closes, calling for him among run-down rides as night falls unnaturally fast and her own mind starts to fray.
About The Park
The Park is a first-person psychological horror game made and published by Funcom. It came out on PC on October 27, 2015, on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 3, 2016, and on Nintendo Switch in October 2019. It is a spin-off of Funcom's online game The Secret World. The store puts its length at one to two hours. It is voiced in English, with text in eight more languages.
It opens on a day at the park, a lost teddy bear and a missing child. Callum runs back into Atlantic Island Park just as it closes, and Lorraine goes after him. Night comes on fast, and the park she walks into looks abandoned and vandalised, yet its lights and rides still work. You call out for Callum and follow his voice from ride to ride, among them the Swan Boats, the Ferris Wheel, the Bumper Cars and the Rollercoaster. Notes along the way tell the history of the park, opened in 1977 by an eccentric businessman and since known for freak accidents, grotesque killings and hauntings.
There are no enemies to fight and nothing to manage: you walk, look, read and ride. The fear comes from being a parent who cannot find her child, from rides that move on their own, and from Lorraine's voice as she talks through her memories, her doubts as a mother and a growing panic. Reviewers note a few well-timed jump scares, and the store warns that the story deals with subject matter some players may find emotionally distressing.
Critics were split: it holds 67 on Metacritic for PC, and Female First liked the night-time park and the rides but found the story predictable and the scares few. On Steam most players recommend it. It suits players who want a short, story-led horror game for one evening, in the line of walking simulators such as Layers of Fear, and fans of The Secret World will find its world in it.
How to play The Park
- Buy it on Steam, GOG or a console store and start the game.
- Walk through the park in first person and call out for Callum; follow his voice to find the way on.
- Step onto the rides as you reach them; each one moves the story forward.
- Pick up and read the notes you find to learn the park's history, and listen to Lorraine's thoughts as she goes.
Screenshots







Tips
- Play it in one sitting with headphones; it is short and built on mood and sound.
- When you are not sure where to go, call out for Callum and listen for where his answer comes from.
- Take your time between rides; much of the park's dark history is told in notes off the main path.
Questions
How long is The Park?
The store says one to two hours. Most Steam reviewers had played it for about two hours.
Is The Park on console?
Yes. It is sold on the PlayStation Store for PS4, the Xbox store for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and the Nintendo eShop for Switch, as well as Steam and GOG on PC.
Is there combat in The Park?
No. You walk, read notes, call for your son and ride the attractions; there are no enemies to fight.
Do I need to play The Secret World first?
No. The Park is a spin-off set in the world of Funcom's online game The Secret World, but it tells its own story and needs nothing from it.
Ratings and reviews
If The Park frightened you
Layers of Fear
A first-person story told through a parent's mind coming apart, with nothing to fight
PC / Mac / PlayStation / Xbox / Switch
Among the Sleep
A child and a mother separated in a nightmare, told in first person without combat
PC / Mac / Linux / PlayStation / Xbox / Switch / iPhone / Android
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs
A parent following missing children deeper into a dark place, in a story-led horror game with…
PC / Mac / Linux / PlayStation / Xbox / Switch
The Town of Light
A walking simulator about a woman's mental illness and her past, told as you explore one place
PC / PlayStation / Xbox / Switch
Crow Country
Another abandoned theme park searched for someone missing, with its own dark history
PC / PlayStation / Xbox / Switch
Fears to Fathom - Ironbark Lookout
A new fire lookout, a tower in the woods, and the feeling that something is off.
PC / PlayStation
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