http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=565636474
The top three things that make good psychological horror are; atmosphere, atmosphere, and (you guessed it) atmosphere. This game has it in spades. Other qualities would include the pace and building of tension, the story itself, and the fear factor. The Park does them all very well, especially in the second half of the game where a progression device is used to masterfully build tension, fear and general unease.

Many reviewers, even some of the popular professional reviewers, state that they finished the game (or "beat" the game) in an hour or two. It took me almost 4 hours to read everything, get all the achievements, and experience it the way it was likely intended. Without spoiling anything, the second half of the game has readables that change as you progress. This device is what helps to build the tension, reveal clues in the story, and heighten the sense of horror. So I can imagine that many players didn't give the items a second (or even third or fourth) look after reading them the first time, if at all. I suppose it is possible to finish the game in under two hours IF they ran the entire game and didn't bother to check all interactive items. But doing so would rob you of the actual game experience. This is not a game to "beat", but a game to experience. Those of the tl;dr generation, or of the mindset to beat a game as fast as possible and "win" will likely not enjoy or appreciate The Park. Instead, it is rather like a short story from one of the early collections of Stephen King, or The Bachman Books. Perhaps even a PG-13 version of Clive Barker's Imajica or The Books of Blood ("We're all books of blood... wherever we're opened, we're red.") So if you were the type of fourth grader who preferred Koontz over Blume, The Shining over Superfudge, you will probably enjoy this.

That being said, the price point of 12.99 is too steep for a game that is less than four hours long. This puts the hourly rate between 3 and 6 dollars an hour, far too much. The appropriate price would be 4.99US. A dollar an hour is generally as high as I am willing to go for any game, and for that, it better be good.

I do hope that Funcom decides to make more vignettes like this, set in The Secret World style, or even a full length feature for single player. The fact that it's Multi-Player Only is all that is keeping me from playing The Secret World.

In summary, The Park is a great experience for true psych horror fans, but wait for it to go on sale at least 75-80% off.
http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=565882318

http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=565636474 The top three things that make good psychological horror are; atmosphere, atmosphere, and (you guessed it) atmosphere. This game has it in spades. Other qualities would include the pace and building of tension, the story itself, and the fear factor. The Park does them all very well, especially in the second half of the game where a progression device is used to masterfully build tension, fear and general unease. Many reviewers, even some of the popular professional reviewers, state that they finished the game (or "beat" the game) in an hour or two. It took me almost 4 hours to read everything, get all the achievements, and experience it the way it was likely intended. Without spoiling anything, the second half of the game has readables that change as you progress. This device is what helps to build the tension, reveal clues in the story, and heighten the sense of horror. So I can imagine that many players didn't give the items a second (or even third or fourth) look after reading them the first time, if at all. I suppose it is possible to finish the game in under two hours IF they ran the entire game and didn't bother to check all interactive items. But doing so would rob you of the actual game experience. This is not a game to "beat", but a game to experience. Those of the tl;dr generation, or of the mindset to beat a game as fast as possible and "win" will likely not enjoy or appreciate The Park. Instead, it is rather like a short story from one of the early collections of Stephen King, or The Bachman Books. Perhaps even a PG-13 version of Clive Barker's Imajica or The Books of Blood ("We're all books of blood... wherever we're opened, we're red.") So if you were the type of fourth grader who preferred Koontz over Blume, The Shining over Superfudge, you will probably enjoy this. That being said, the price point of 12.99 is too steep for a game that is less than four hours long. This puts the hourly rate between 3 and 6 dollars an hour, far too much. The appropriate price would be 4.99US. A dollar an hour is generally as high as I am willing to go for any game, and for that, it better be good. I do hope that Funcom decides to make more vignettes like this, set in The Secret World style, or even a full length feature for single player. The fact that it's Multi-Player Only is all that is keeping me from playing The Secret World. In summary, The Park is a great experience for true psych horror fans, but wait for it to go on sale at least 75-80% off. http://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=565882318