The world doesn’t need another silent protector or a watchful guardian or Earth’s mightiest heroes, what the world needs is a bunch of kids with potty mouths and poorly-made costumes for their superheroes. After conquering the world of fantasy RPGs with South Park: The Stick of Truth, Ubisoft and series creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are back with South Park: The Fractured But Whole, a sequel to the game that is ready to kick superheroes where the sun doesn’t shine.
In the context of The Fractured But Whole, the game takes place literally the day after The Stick of Truth ends. You are the new kid who doesn’t know that all of the boys have decided to stop playing Fantasy to start playing superheroes. Once you realize it though, you get to choose not only your superhero costume but also what your powers are.
Players are given the option of choosing one of twelve super powers ranging from Brutalist (like The Hulk), Blaster (like Cyclops), Speedster (like The Flash), and a few others including Cyborg, Assassins and more. I was told that eventually players would even be able to combine the powers so they could be a blasting Cyborg or a Brutalist Assassin, and you can change your superpowers throughout the game entirely at your will. Not only do you get to pick your powers, but each set of moves comes with its own “superhero origin,” which are as crude as South Park can get.
With the new game, Ubisoft is expanding on some areas with more interactive humor for the player and a refined combat system. Stick of Truth was your run-of-the-mill turn based strategy, while The Fractured But Whole enhances the gameplay in interesting ways. Things are still turn based and characters still have their own specific move sets, but you can now maneuver around the battle arena and the other characters to get in the perfect offensive or defensive spot. It’s like chess but with children dressed as superheroes that fart on each other.
If you like South Park, this game is 100% for you. It’s like an extended and interactive episode of the series with all of the trademark humor and no stone left unturned in regard to the detail. There’s also the subject matter and how well it’s handled, because we know nothing is too precious for South Park to sling mud at. As someone that writes about superheroes every day, seeing some of these jokes puts a smile on my face like you wouldn’t believe and I can’t wait for the rest.
