Back when South Park started its legendary run in 1997, I remember being an eager kid who couldn’t wait to get my hands on anything and everything related to the show, (since I was obviously part of its intended audience). Unfortunately for me, this included games. Games which were horrible. Sadly, save for a handful of exceptions, South Park has been a property that has consistently churned out awful games. Hoping to turn that around, South Park: The Stick Of Truth aims to put gamers into an episode of the show, complete with it outlandish humor, absurd scenarios and tons of vulgarity. TV shows rarely translate into a good game, but with South Park, it turns out to be a very strong exception.
Placed in the shoes of a new kid who just moved into the town, players can customize him with a variety of hair and clothing options before being tossed head first into town. Getting dragged in to a game of Wizards and Warriors that the boys are playing, it doesn’t take long before Grand Wizard Cartman recruits him in his war against the elves, officially joining the Kingdom of Kupa Keep, (or the KKK for short.)
A war between human and elf… And Princess Kenny.
Exploring the city of South Park feels just like you were watching an episode of the show. The town’s citizens, the look of the buildings, the background music and the snarky comments they make have that offensive authentic show feel. Thanks to the script being written by show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, it explains why the game gets everything so right script wise. Plus, if you’re a fan of the show, you’re sure to spot the almost countless references from the show. From the movie theater playing Asses of Fire 2, the Tweek Bros. Coffee Shop, City Wok and Skeeter’s Bar, if it’s been on the show, it’s likely in the game.
Exploring the city will often grant you side quests to complete for the town’s citizens. Since fights net you so little XP, the best way to level up is to complete as many of these missions as possible, allowing you to upgrade your combat abilities, use better equipment and weapons. Upon completion, most missions will allow you to add these citizens to your Facebook friends list, which unlocks new perks to customize your character with. Who says it doesn’t pay off to help people?
Summons like Mr. Kim are hysterical.
As for the game’s original content, it’s every bit as disturbing, uncomfortable and laugh out loud hilarious as you would expect with something bearing the South Park name. I’m not going to give any of those moments away since they’re best experienced without any idea going in, but let’s just say that you’ll be doing things that you might never have expected you would every do in a video game. The story itself is just as funny, lampooning video game tropes while mixing in the celebrity lampooning and social commentary you would expect. In typical show fashion, the boy’s game of pretend gets caught up in a potentially Earth shattering event, pitting then against such menaces as the homeless, vicious sewer mice and even other friends. And somehow, it manages to sustain its comedic qualities all the way through.
Gameplay wise, The Stick Of Truth is a turn based RPG reminiscent of more interactive combat systems such as the Mario RPG series or The Legend Of Dragoon. After choosing one of the four in game classes, (consisting of a Warrior, Thief, Mage or Jew), each character can take on enemies using their class specific abilities and their buddy at their side. The combat system is a little more lenient compared to your typical game in the genre, allowing players or their buddy to use an item, special ability, (which is unique to each party member), or summon as they’re unlocked without taking up the turn. Combat abilities, switching party members, magic and attacks take up one turn, but can be powered up with specific button prompts. Once the opponent’s turn rolls around, perfect timing with the guard button defends against their attacks, reducing damage in the process.
Combat is more fun than you’d ever expect from a licensed game.
In one sense, the game feels almost too easy at points. All HP and PP heals after every battle, nearly limitless items will keep you in good shape and certain weapons are really powerful. On the flip side, certain locales act as dungeons, which are basically long sets of fights that usually end in a big boss battle. Not having to manage hurt characters throughout the gauntlet is definitely a good thing. Not only that, but enemies are unforgiving, so if you mess up, you’re likely going to die. It’s a bit of a give and take. Later in the game, enemies have much higher armor, so weapons do very little damage. At this point, stacking status effects on your opponents becomes key, and really sets the game apart from the typical, “mash attack to win” formula many RPGs adopt. I just wish it would have been more of a mixed bag instead of one or the other, since the early game doesn’t offer enough viable abilities to exploit the status effects, while the late game relies on them far too much. Overall though, the gameplay is ridiculously addictive, if not a little rough.
But humor and authenticity aside, there are a few glaring flaws that Stick of Truth missed by a mile. For one, there is no option to skip a turn or defend for your main character, making it harder to prolong fights when trying to farm for items as the thief for example. In typical Obsidian fashion, the game is full of bugs, ranging from small ones like spawning in a wall, to big ones like story missions flat out not proceeding, (make sure you have a couple of back up saves ready to load). As awesome as the town is, you can see the entire thing in about 45 minutes, so it’s easy to get tired of the scenery real quickly, (especially since some important locations are nowhere to be found. Let’s hope they’re saving those for a potential sequel).
These complaints are mostly minor, but the two biggest oversights are the lack of post game content and locking players out of dungeons permanently, both of which could have been solved by a New Game +. At around 12 hours, the game’s length is perfect for the story that was told, containing little to no filler along the way, but some extra missions, side quests or bonus bosses would have been nice. To make matters worse, almost every dungeon cannot be re-entered after completing them, all of which contain collectables like Facebook friends, equipment, weapons and Chinpokomon dolls, (remember those?) If you miss any of those, guess what? It’s back to a new game for you!
This aspect makes zero sense. If you could go back into dungeons post game, it would have added to the exploration aspect of the game while alleviating the monotony of the city. If you had a new game plus that let you replay your game with all of your collectables, you could go back and find what you’re missing while fully maxing out your character, (since the level cap doesn’t give you enough ability points to do so). For some reason, the developers did neither, and the game suffers for it.
Welcome to the Kingdom of Kupa Keep.
Regardless, South Park: The Stick Of Truth had a ton of care put into its story, writing and gameplay, and the results show. As one of the best licensed games in recent memory, the game is sure to hit the nostalgia nerve of longtime fans repeatedly while leaving them in stitches the whole way through. It’s sad to think that this game could have been an early game of the year contender if it wasn’t for the lack of post game content, the large amount of glitches or the lack of variety in the setting, but here’s to hoping a sequel eventually brings the full potential out of the winning formula the guys and girls at Obsidian and South Park Studios have cooked up. If you’re a fan of the show, this is a no brainer. The Stick Of Truth belongs in your consoles. Seriously you guys!
Positives:
+ An authentic show feel, complete with a slew of characters, references and locations.
+ A laugh out loud script that will have you in tears from beginning to end when your jaw’s not on the floor thanks to its absurd scenarios.
+ The creative interactive combat system tends to reward strategy and status effects over brute force.
Negatives:
– Glitches galore can range from minor annoyances to game breaking.
– A lack of post game content feels like the developers fell asleep at the wheel, especially since collectables and upgrades make the game ripe for a new game + feature.
– Locking players out of dungeons permanently takes away from the exploration aspect of the game, leaving only the repetitive town and two small areas.
Final score: 3.5/5