South Park: The Stick Of Truth was one of the surprise hits of 2014, and one of the best releases which was impressive for a game that only released on Xbox 360/PS3 at the time while PS4/Xbox One was out for months. I can personally say that it was high on my list for deserving a sequel, and at times it looked like a sequel would not be happening, so as you can imagine, I was more than happy when Ubisoft confirmed The Fractured But Whole at E3 2015. The sequel has a lot to live up to, thanks to the success and response to The Stick Of Truth. Can the developers keep it up? And in my opinion, I think they did that.
Dungeons, dragons, wizards and swords are out! Superheros are in. That’s what you’ll be told by Cartman or I should say “The Coon” which is his superhero persona in the game. You are the New Kid once again, and you will also need a persona which comes in the form of a cleverly implemented tutorial that by completing the first few missions, you will have your full Superhero persona rather than just choosing it from a menu. It’s also a great way to learn the basics of the game as well.
If you was a fan of the first game, then I can guarantee that you will enjoy The Fractured But Whole because it’s very similar to the first game, and that’s not a negative towards the game, I’m actually happy that it didn’t change too much just to be different when I felt the first game perfectly captured what a South Park game should be. You can expect the hilarious jokes, exchanges and moments that will keep you entertained throughout the game.
That’s not to say that there’s no changes at all, combat for example is more advanced compared to the first game as characters can now move into different positions rather than staying in the same static position during combat. There’s now also freedom to choose who is on your side in the battlefield as you unlock more characters who can be chosen as you progress through the game. In the previous game it wasn’t an option, and you was stuck with only one extra character, but in The Fractured But Whole, you can have three other allies along with your character. This is an example of how the game also improves from the original, and isn’t just a complete copy of the first game.
Just like the first game, I was majorly impressed with how the South Park universe was handled in the sequel. The art style as you should already know, carefully follows the same style as the one you see on TV, and makes it feel like you are watching an actual episode of the show. Then there’s the voice acting which as you can imagine is perfectly done as it is on TV. The characters are also wrote well in the game, and also feel as if they a represented how they are on the TV show which even includes some amazing callbacks and references to the actual TV show that fans will love.
The Final Verdict
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a video game sequel done right, it doesn’t change much but changes enough that it impressed me even more than the first game. The sequel is even more hilarious, the combat is better, and even the side quests are better and have more meaning. If you was a fan of the first game then it’s going to be one that you absolutely can not miss. While it’s not going to go down as my personal Game Of The Year, it will go down for having one of the funniest and entertaining experiences in a video game in quite some time. I would also like to see another game in the South Park series because I want to really see what can these people come up with next!
+ Hilarious
+ Fun combat
+ Filled with content that’s worth your time
– Some minor bugs & issues
Final score: 8.5/10
