South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Genre: Turn-Based RPG / Strategy-RPG

Players: 1

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: UbiSoft

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Review:

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a Turn-Based RPG with Strategy-RPG elements that is the direct sequel to Obsidian Entertainment’s South Park: The Stick of Truth, with Ubisoft San Francisco taking over development for the sequel. It was originally released on multiple platforms in 2017, and brought to the Nintendo Switch in 2018. Like The Stick of Truth, The Fractured But Whole is set in the universe of the TV show, with the same off-color sense of humor that mixes extremely adult content with extremely juvenile humor, and the game makes countless references to the events of the show over the years. Those unfamiliar with the show might not catch a lot of these references, but series fans will find this to be a huge love letter to the franchise.

I’m of mixed opinions when it comes to this game’s presentation, largely because the most impressive thing it does, copying the look and style of the TV show, is something the game’s predecessor already accomplished, and much of that work has just been brought directly over in this game, even keeping the first game’s map mostly the same. To be fair, it still looks fantastic, a great replication of the look of the show, and this game even adds in some nice visual effects to depict the superpowered exploits of the now-costumed characters, but I suppose nothing is going to quite be able to top the wow factor that the first game managed to have.

Also like the first game, this game includes full voice acting and a funny story that’s well in line with the quality of the show, although this time things feel… I dunno, a bit more subdued. There aren’t as many in-jokes to the show (though there are still plenty), but there also aren’t as many clever fourth wall-breaking jokes (save for a clever running gag where the kids have to stop battling every time a car comes along), and the juvenile toilet humor seems a lot more prevalent. It’s fine, and it’s still funny, but it’s lacking some of the spark that made the first game so brilliant (although having “difficulty” selection being the character’s skin tone is a clever touch).

The gameplay this time around plays as an evolution of the first game, with players still having Paper Mario-esque timed button presses during combat, but this time around combat takes place on a small grid and the movement on this grid must be taken into consideration when planning strategy. Movement here is not quite as extensive as you tend to find in a typical Strategy-RPG, but it is definitely a large factor, and does a great job of adding depth to the somewhat simple combat that comprised what was in the first game.

Having said that, while this game’s combat took on added detail, the rest of the game’s world became far more simple, with less interactivity with the environment and the people around you. It was a huge disappointment to find that I could no longer talk to every person in the game, and objects I could interact with in the first game were now static.

There’s also the constant advertisements for downloadable content here. While not quite bad enough to justify my standard microtransaction warning at the opening of the review (it’s all for finite add-on content), it is nevertheless frustrating to have countless menus feature greyed-out items demanding the player plunk down real cash to unlock stuff.

At the very least, this time around the port to the Nintendo Switch did work in touchscreen support for handheld mode… but at a cost. The Nintendo Switch version of the game also has some frustratingly long and frequent load times, both at the start of every fight, and even in-between areas. It’s not bad enough to make the game unplayable, but it is noticeable and frustrating.

In the end, South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a good follow-up to The Stick of Truth that improves on the first game in a few ways, but also falls short in numerous others. Fans of the TV show and especially fans of Stick of Truth should find this to be a satisfying trip back into the world of South Park, but those looking for a great, funny RPG are better off sticking with the first game.

tl;dr – South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a Turn-Based RPG with Strategy-RPG elements that is the sequel to South Park: The Stick of Truth. Like the first game, it is set in the universe of the irreverent TV show, perfectly mimicking its style and its excellent sense of humor. However, the sequel lacks much of the spark of the first game. Fans of Stick of Truth should still give it a try, but don’t expect anything quite as revolutionary as the first game.

Grade: B

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