South Park is a controversial series, there's nothing else to say about it. I've always loved it. I used to sneak and watch it without my parents knowing. The volume would be off and I'd turn on closed captions. They poke fun at everyone and that's one of the reasons I love it. Anyone is a target, and anyone can get the jokes. One of my favorite moments was when fireworks were outlawed so they got the giant snake that exploded and covered the town in ash. Chef came home from vacation and saw the whole town welcome him back in what he assumed was black face. People still bring that up and get mad about it. I found it hilarious as a kid with no understanding of black face and as an adult with full understanding of it. Needless to say when they announced a line of video game RPGs I hopped right on it.
Stick of Truth was the first game and followed the kids playing a Lord of The Rings style game. Fractured but Whole starts immediately afterwards. Actually it starts with the kids abandoning the game to play superheroes after Eric brings up an award to find a lost cat. The game quickly turns serious as you get tied up with the local mafia, a racist police force and general shenanigans. Along the way there's side missions that aren't exactly the greatest. That's not the best part of the story and lore of this game by far.
One of the best things about the game for me was the kids' super powers and backstories relating to them as characters that aren't really shown on the show. Take for example Stan who takes on the role of Toolshed. On the show they've often made jokes about Stan being depressed or neglected and now we know why. His backstory says his father got drunk and Stan got injured but his dad became mentally impaired forever so now he tries to save people so they don't end up hurt like he did. In reality, Stan's dad is a raging alcoholic. Stan even takes the time to thank you for stopping one of his dad's drinking binges. Then there's Scott, he's captain Diabetes, because his real life weakness is Diabetes. Butters is Professor Chaos, impervious to being grounded. If you know anything about the show Butters gets grounded for everything and his parents even try to kill him on a few occasions. Kenny is Mysterion, an identity he created to comfort his little sister when his meth addicted parents start fighting. It's just cool that there's all this hidden depth to why the kids choose to play these characters.
Continuing with seeing the kids' and even adult weaknesses there are moments that just kind of mess with you. In the TV show Clyde's mom dies because he didn't put the toilet seat down after using it. They never talk about this again in the show. In the game if you visit Clyde's house things are different. Clyde's father has attempted to remove any signs of his wife. In fact if you head to the local bar you can meet Clyde's dad who is trying and failing to meet new women before giving up. There's a moment where Clyde thinks he's going to die so he sends out a tweet saying "dad if you can see this I love you, I'll say hi to mom." There's plenty of jokes and fun in the game but there's also a lot of moments that make you realize just how dark the world of South Park can be sometimes.
Even the superhero groups the kids have split into are telling. Cartman's is Coon and Friends. They're all about the money and getting a film franchise. Then there's the Freedom Pals who's catch phrase is "Freedom, but with inclusion," and it's not just a catchphrase but a motto and way of life. The Freedom Pals are made up of; Timmy who is disabled, Stan who is depressed, Kenny who is the poorest kid in South Park, Token one of two black kids in South Park, Tweek who is gay, Wendy is the only girl despite Cartman repeatedly yelling no girls allowed. It's the small things in the game. None of this detail was there for Stick of Truth.
I don't really care for the battle system in this game, only because it can be extreamly slow paced at times. It's more tactical than the last game but can sometimes be too crowded. If I've got a time clone, Butters has a minion, Token has a Turret, there's another team mate on our squad, plus up to six enemies at a time the map can get crowded. The stat boost and artifact system is also a lot less enjoyable than the original system of boosts coming from different weapons and armor. It is nice to be able to wear whatever you want. The problem is while there's still a lot of stuff, there's no where near as much as the last game.
So, here's the really bad thing about the game. Sometimes, the audio will overlap, repeat, start late or just not be there. I thought it was something I had done, or maybe my console was just having some kind of error. No, after a quick internet search I learned everyone had this problem. I mean everyone. The audio is just all messed up through the whole game and it can rip you out of the moment really fast.
Overall it was a really fun game to play. It could have used more sidequest but all the extra lore and tidbits were fun. If you enjoy the show, it's going to be the same kind of content and just as funny. The only difference is there's a lot more dark moments in the show, not necessarily dark humor. Just dark moments. Until they get that audio patched I would hold off until the price drops. I don't feel bad for paying $40 for it because my copy came with Stick of Truth as well. If they don't get that patched it's a $25-30 game at best. A really enjoyable one, but the glitches kind of ruined it and more customization would have been great. On the upside, no lootboxes, Morgan Freeman is there and a gay fish.
You should buy Darrell's Book, watch him on the Blerds Online YouTube Channel or The CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts.
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Video Games
