South Park: The Stick of Truth

After multiple delays and the shutdown of THQ, South Park: The Stick of Truth is finally here. Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, in conduction with show creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker, The Stick of Truth captures the show's animated look, humor, and clever satire that fans of the show know and love. In this 14 hour adventure you’ll journey with various characters from the South Park universe on a disgustingly funny adventure with average RPG elements. South Park: The Stick of Truth doesn’t deliver memorable fights or deep RPG elements, but it’s an excellent South Park game that stays true to the series.

The Stick of Truth takes place in the iconic small town of South Park, Colorado. The construction-paper cutout style of the show has been wonderfully recreated, making the game's universe indistinguishable from the show as each area is saturated with references from the show. The town has been fully mapped out for the first time in the franchise's history, allowing players to explore every location from Cartman’s room to South Park Elementary. A fast-travel system exists, allowing your character to quickly travel to and from each location using Timmy’s express service.

Written by show creators you take control of the new kid in town. A customizable character whose first task is making new friends by his parents. After walking outside The New Kid saves Butters and is immediately drafted into a fight between the Humans, led by Eric Cartman’s Humans and Kyle Broflovski’s Elves over The Stick of Truth. This mystical item allows anyone who possesses it to control the universe. Dressed in the ironic costumes from the Black Friday episodes, you join this war as one of  four classes: Fighter, Thief, Mage, or Jew.

It’s within the class system that The Stick of Truth truly fumbles. Each of the mentioned classes are granted certain special abilities but aren’t limited to weapon specific equipment. For example, a mage can easily wield a sword and take on the role as a fighter or vice versa. Little difference are presented between each of the classes. Other upgrades include strap-ons for weapons and patches for armor, but like the classes, these are shallow additions. Simply choose the most powerful upgrade and you’ll be ready for anything.

Collecting money from selling junk quickly bolsters your wallet to buy almost anything and recovery items are plentiful. This becomes an issue immediately when attempting to sort relevant items; the game lacks a sorting system making it vexing to organize equipment. Combat is straight forward; you and a partner take turns fighting various enemies from the South Park universe that vary from Hobos to Ginger Kids. Each offensive and defensive attack requires timing and precision to maximize or minimize damage. Variations to attacks include summons that take the form of characters from the South Park universe that you friend on Facebook after completing side quests. Some skills allow you to avoid combat completely, but these are scripted and cannot be used in certain circumstances.  

Combat isn’t why you should play The Stick of Truth, it is the story. Seeing every location within South Park, communicating with each of the characters, and listening to vulgar jokes make the journey well worth experiencing. Each character is wonderfully voiced, and the musical scores are a combination of classical scores from the show and new additions that add flare to both combat and exploration.

If you’re coming into South Park: The Stick of Truth hoping for a deep RPG experience, you’ll sadly be disappointed. The true joy comes from the South Park universe, seeing and interacting with these notorious characters within their notorious town. It’s shocking, funny, and a wonderfully crafted South Park game but a mediocre RPG title.

Adam Siddiqui, NoobFeed
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