I’ve always been a fan of South Park and a gamer, so I’ve got a good history of crossovers between the two. But one game is more pivotal in my gaming career than any of the others, and I don’t think it will ever be beaten.
To preface this, I did briefly play the original 1998 Nintendo 64 release at my cousin’s house, although I was only seven at the time, and my parents were not happy with my choice of video game at the time. After that, I dived in and out of South Park games when they were released, and I have glorious memories of playing South Park Rally, much to the chagrin of my parents.
However, my first true deep dive into the world of South Park games came much later, when The Stick of Truth was released back in 2014 (as if I didn’t feel old enough writing this already).
The Stick of Truth felt like immersing yourself as a character in a full season of the show, filled with truly despicable jokes, absolutely gross weaponry, and no end of terrible language. Thankfully, by this point, I was a fully grown adult (in theory), and my parents’ feelings on the matter were neither here nor there. Although I definitely chose not to discuss the contents with them, for fear of sullying their poor innocent minds.
One of the best things about The Stick of Truth is the sheer amount of tasks that need to be completed. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard Butters tell me, “we’re supposed to be playing the game,” as I’ve gotten sidetracked by collecting items or completing side quests that do nothing to progress the main story. If Kenny told me the same thing, which I’m positive he has many times, I wouldn’t understand him anyway.
I wish I could have been around at the time to write guides with glorious titles such as “How to use the alien probe in South Park: The Stick of Truth” or “How to win over the Goths in South Park: The Stick of Truth,” but alas I was not, and I will sadly probably never have the chance to live out that dream.
Regardless, even today, the jokes of South Park: The Stick of Truth, while admittedly hard to watch or take in at times, are still so fitting to the show. Isn’t that the point of South Park? To be offensive? To be that show that you don’t want to admit that you find funny for fear of societal judgment?
The Fractured But Whole, which was released three years after The Stick of Truth in 2017 but canonically takes place just one day after the events of the previous game, captured this disgusting but lovable world, too, although to a lesser degree. There was still no end of side tasks that needed to be completed, the humor was still definitely there, and all of the characters were present, albeit in very different roles.
Maybe that’s just personal preference, though. I’ve always preferred a fantasy world filled with Elves and Wizards over one filled with superheroes and villains. To me, The Fractured But Whole, while still enjoyable in its own right, felt like a cheap hop onto the Marvel-led superhero bandwagon of the time. In a way, you could say they were pandering, which is ironic considering the fact that South Park has since released a 49-minute special called “Into the Panderverse”, which you should definitely watch if you haven’t already. But I digress.
Then, when Snow Day! was announced back in 2023, I was excited to relive the joys of the previous two games all over again. I knew Stone and Parker were trying something different with the art style and removing the turn-based combat, but everything else was promising. There was even multiplayer! Glorious!
Except Snow Day! was far from what many people had expected it to be. First and foremost was the playtime; The Stick of Truth takes just over 10 hours to complete if you don’t worry about getting all of the achievements, some of which require full replays to get, and The Fractured But Whole takes just over 18 hours if you go the same route. Snow Day! has a playtime of just five hours, and you can reach 100% in just over eight.
I’ll ignore the repetitive combat and skip right to my biggest bugbear about Snow Day!: it feels dead compared to the previous two. Whereas The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole had us exploring the entirety of the town and all of its iconic locations, Snow Day! only allows for linear progress. Worst of all, the humor is gone.
Well, it’s not entirely gone. There are still quintessentially South Park moments, but it’s so watered down it might as well not be there. Even though all the characters are there, they come across as mentally checked out. It’s like putting a drop of orange juice into a lake and expecting it to taste like Sunny D… It just doesn’t hit the same.
So yes, while it may have been ten years since The Stick of Truth graced the world with its presence, it is still the most enjoyable South Park game to have been released. It took risks, huge ones, and they paid off. It’s still worth playing today if you can compartmentalize and ignore the incredibly un-PC moments, but then again, if you’re a fan of South Park, you’ve pretty much nailed that skill already.
Published: Aug 31, 2024 09:35 am