Funcom Reveal The Park Gameplay, Confirm Length

Funcom's The Secret World spin-off, The Park, has been shrouded in mystery since they first announced it. One of the biggest questions has undoubtedly been "what kind of adventure game is it?" Today, they reveal that in a new video featuring Art Director Gavin Whelan and Audio Director Simon Poole.

In the video, the developers make comparisons to The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and Gone Home. They emphasize the fact that it "focuses on narrative" multiple times. What this is translating to in my head is that it will be what the Steam community has dubbed a "walking simulator" and that gameplay might be minimal at best.

They also take the time to highlight that you can shout for your son in-game. The reason for this is that, as the environment changes and things get more intense, Lorraine's shouting will change and become more panicked. This is a nice detail for creating a believable world, but putting it front and center as one of the only gameplay elements mentioned at all is a bit worrisome. It also concerns me that they don't mention the shouting having a real in-game effect at all.

Then there's the length. It is confirmed in this video that The Park will be no longer than two hours for the majority of players. And yet, they spend a significant amount of screen time showing off rides as if you ride all of them. It could be a bit bothersome to play for an hour and spend half of that on rides. That would lead me to believe that they focused in more on jump scares than on "the psychological of psychological horror."

The Park is scheduled to release later this month, likely around Halloween. The price of the game has not been revealed yet. In the meantime, for more information, head over to the official website.