South Park: The Stick of Truth

Genre: Turn-Based RPG

Players: 1

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: UbiSoft

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Review:

South Park: The Stick of Truth is a Turn-Based RPG from Obsidian Entertainment, originally released on multiple platforms in 2014, and brought to the Nintendo Switch in 2018. It 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.

When the game was originally released, it was highly praised for a presentation that perfectly mimics the paper cut-out style of the TV show, with the same simplistic animations… honestly, this game looks as if you’re playing one of the TV show’s episodes. Never before has so much skill and talent gone into making something look mediocre in such a specific way… er, I mean that as a compliment.

Having said that, there has been a lot of imagination added here because this game doesn’t just stop at looking like a standard TV show episode, as much of this game’s plot and themes come from the fact that the kids are all wrapped up in an imaginary game they’re playing casting them as epic wizards, princesses and… um, Jews (they know Jew-jitsu, evidently). As a result of this, the style of the typical low-quality South Park visuals is mixed with higher-quality visuals to mock things like Lord of the Rings, typical RPGs, and even a few random things like old-school videogames. As a result, not only does this game play out like an episode of the show, it plays out like one of their more experimental episodes like Fun With Weapons or Make Love, Not Warcraft (and series fans will tell you those are some of the best episodes of the show).

The audio of the game completely follows the visuals in being a perfect representation of this sort of episode of the TV show – the game is fully voice-acted, with the background music being a mix of the show’s usual tunes, its take on dramatic fantasy music, and occasional diegetic music derived from within the show (such as a Chef song playing over the radio in one of the stores).

And just as the visuals and sound are spot-on for the show, the writing here is absolutely hilarious in the same way the show is. Players take the role of New Kid, later dubbed Douchebag (your actual name doesn’t matter), who has just moved into town and instantly gets drafted into the fantasy war game between human and elf factions that the kids are playing, with players being introduced both to the game’s plot and its mechanics by Eric Cartman, who welcomes the New Kid to the Kingdom of Kupa Keep (I’m sure the first letters of that title, and Eric’s position as Grand Wizard, are completely coincidental…).

Throughout the story, the game frequently makes some really clever jokes that break the fourth wall, and the game is absolutely flooded with references to various episodes of the show, though some of the jokes that get brought back out do on occasion feel tired and “been there, done that” at this point, and there are occasional jokes that have aged pretty poorly (Manbearpig in particular stands out as having aged like milk – even the show’s creators admit that much at this point). However, for the most part, the writing and humor here is truly fantastic and doesn’t rely too much on the show’s past – just enough to give a wink to series fans before moving on.

The gameplay here is pretty good, and the games this most resembles is, surprisingly, the Paper Mario series. Players will have a small party with their character and a rotating cast of helper characters, and actions in combat are assisted by timed commands pressed at specific points. Furthermore, equipment and abilities are augmented by “strap-ons” that allow players to customize their experience further. All told, this is pretty good, though I will say that the combat can get a smidge tedious and repetitive at times. And while this isn’t quite an open-world game, it is nice that players are given the freedom to explore the town of South Park to a much greater degree than ever before.

For those wondering how well the game has transitioned to the Nintendo Switch… this is pretty much the exact same game you’ll find on other platforms. Visually, I didn’t notice any difference (though transitions from one location to another do have a brief pause that I assume is for loading), and the Nintendo Switch version doesn’t seem to have any new features (in particular no touchscreen support, which would have been nice for the menus).

In the end, South Park: The Stick of Truth is a fantastic game with an incredible presentation and a fantastic sense of humor, although it is one that doesn’t do anything especially new on the Nintendo Switch, and is still probably mostly a game that will appeal to fans of the show. If you’re a South Park fan who hasn’t gotten this game yet, what have you been waiting for? Get this game now! However, if you’ve never seen the show or already have this game on another platform, I’m not sure this is for you.

tl;dr – South Park: The Stick of Truth is a Turn-Based RPG set in the universe of the irreverent TV show, perfectly mimicking its style and its excellent sense of humor. For fans of the show who somehow missed out on prior releases of this game, consider this a must-own. For those who haven’t seen the show, maybe a watch a few episodes first to see if South Park appeals to you. And for those who already got this game on other platforms, know that this is a good port, but not one that adds anything new.

Grade: A-

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