South Park: The Stick of Truth
$7.19
Pros
- If you are a South Park fan, the game is very much like being in an episode
- It's actually funny. I'm not used to laughing while playing a video game, but I did with this one
- The length is pretty much perfect, it doesn't drag the game on just to pad play time
- Graphics are good for what they're supposed to be; it looks like you're in South Park, Colorado
- Sometimes turn-based combat can start to feel tedious, but this take is pretty good
Cons
- It's to be expected since it's a South Park game, but this is one I had to play after the kids were asleep
- The RPG elements aren't especially deep, so I could see how someone could become bored if they aren't really South Park fans
- Would have been better as an Action RPG in my opinion. Or even, since it was made by Obsidian, a more basic version of Pillars of Eternity's tactical battle system
Despite being a fairly short game, South Park: The Stick of Truth surprised me by how fun it was to play. It’s based to some extent on the fantasy genre personas the kids in the show adopted in the classic episodes The Return of the Fellowship and Make Love Not Warcraft. You create a custom, silent protagonist everyone (for the most part) calls “New Kid” and get to adventure around the town of South Park with Stan, Cartman, Kyle, Kenny, and others.
The game does feel like you’ve been thrown right into the show in a lot of ways; if you like the show, the game will probably be entertaining. I haven’t watched it in years, but I was a fan back in the day. The plot is pretty wild; from what I recall, the kids are battling over a stick, while the town suffers from a zombie invasion. It’s pretty well-aligned with what you might expect from South Park, and this is not a game you can play with kids around.
As I mentioned, it’s a short game. According to my Steam account, I’ve got 19 hours played total, and I’m pretty sure I completed it. Honestly though, this is a game that benefits from not being drawn out too much. It’s entertaining, but I doubt I would have finished it if the game was a 40 or 50 hour affair. If you enjoyed the show, especially that Return of the Fellowship/Lord of the Rings-inspired episode, this game is a good buy. On Fanatical, I found it for about $7, which is really solid for how fun the game is.
From the Developer:
From the perilous battlefields of the fourth-grade playground, a young hero will rise, destined to be South Park’s savior. From the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, comes an epic quest to become… cool. Introducing South Park™: The Stick of Truth™.
For a thousand years, the battle has been waged. The sole reason humans and elves are locked in a neverending war: The Stick of Truth. But the tides of war are soon to change as word of a new kid spreads throughout the land, his coming fortold by the stars. As the moving vans of prophecy drive away, your adventure begins.
Arm yourself with weapons of legend to defeat underpants gnomes, hippies and other forces of evil. Discover the lost Stick of Truth and earn your place at the side of Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny as their new friend. Succeed, and you shall be South Park’s savior, cementing your social status in South Park Elementary. Fail, and you will forever be known… as a loser.
Key Features
- The Definitive South Park Experience
Written and voiced by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, The Stick of Truth brings their unique brand of humor to video gaming. - An Epic Quest To Become… Cool
Earn your place alongside Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny, and join them in a hysterical adventure to save South Park. - Friends With Benefits
Recruit classic South Park characters to your cause. - Intense Combat
Arm yourself to the teeth with an arsenal of magical weapons and mystical armor. - South Park Customization
Insert yourself into South Park with something like a billion character, clothing, and weapon combinations.
MINIMUM:
OS: WindowsXP SP3, Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8 (both 32/64bit versions)
Processor: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 @ 2.0 GHz or AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ @ 2.0 GHz
Memory: 2 GB GB RAM
Graphics: nVidia GeForce 8800GT or AMD Radeon HD2600XT (512MB VRAM with Shader Model 4.0 or higher)
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 6 GB available space
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card with latest drivers
