Fortunately, the new kid is not expected to see his holy crusade through to the end alone. The Stick of Truth incorporates a party system, similar to other RPGs. Iconic characters from the show will gradually be added to your party, but you can only have one by your side in battle at a time. Just like the enemies, the party members come in varying class types. Butters, the first recruited party member, is a Paladin and can stand his ground against the elven forces using his hammer and alter ego Professor Chaos. Being able to fight alongside the big names of South Park is an absolute joy, especially when they whip out one of their hilariously offensive remarks. And then there are the summons characters. Mr. Slave, Mr. Hankey and a handful of others can be summoned in battle once befriended. They perform cinematic, massive damage moves that can only be used once a day. Be warned, watching Mr. Slave “take out” a small kindergartner really sticks with you.
There are plenty of characters to meet in the game outside of the party/summons group. You’ll see Randy Marsh, Mr. Mackey, Al Gore and many others roaming the streets of this small Colorado town. This is where Facebook comes into play. Meeting new people adds them to your friends list on the social network, assuming they deem you popular enough to add. Newly-made friends will post on your wall, sometimes calling you out for fun or dissing each other or providing a cleverly-disguised tip on what to do next. In a way, they are somewhat of a collectible in the game, since finding certain characters requires puzzle solving using unlockable skills. For example, Santa can’t be reached until the new kid obtains the teleportation tech needed to interact with scattered metallic transmitters. But if you’re looking for the traditional “collect them all” items, you’ll find that in the form of 15 Chinpokomon nestled in the crevices of South Park.
The single greatest achievement about this entire package is that South Park: The Stick of Truth perfectly replicates the show’s construction paper cutout style. The minimalistic HUD helps reach maximum levels of immersion in the vibrant and purposely low-end stylized environments. Watching the characters move in their signature fashion past (and inside) notable landmarks, such as South Park Elementary and Stark’s Pond, is an experience that will fill fans of the show with delight. It becomes an even more rewarding experience when you find the abundant fan service packed into each house and, furthermore, each lootable drawer. The first time I peered into Cartman’s closet I was met with a slew of references from South Park episodes, including the A.W.E.S.O.M.-O 4000 and Coon costumes. A glance into the lootable “chests” in his bathroom revealed Sea People, another notable reference. In fact, every item you pick up seems to have been placed there just for fans to say “Oh! I remember that!” These items have no real purpose beyond that and are added to the “junk” category, which can be sold to make cash.
South Park: The Stick of Truth clocked in at around 12 hours from start to finish, with only two side quests waiting to be cleaned up post-game. For an RPG game this playtime might fall short of expectations, but I can safely say that every minute of that time was used to its fullest potential. The only negative experience to be had came from progress blocking bugs that required a checkpoint reload. Glitches such as this only occurred twice over the course of the game and could not be replicated. It is worth noting that I played the PC version and it definitely runs a lot smoother than its last-gen console counterpart.
The Stick of Truth is the definitive South Park experience. Obsidian’s RPG expertise coupled with the twisted minds of Parker and Stone has resulted in the most offensive, foul-mouthed, entertaining South Park game ever crafted. It should go without saying that those who are turned off by the show won’t find much for themselves here. But this isn’t a game for “those” people. This is a game for the fans; that much is clear. South Park: The Stick of Truth has renewed our faith in the license’s presence in the gaming industry and we hope to see more of it in the not-so-distant future.
[Editor’s Note: South Park: The Stick of Truth was reviewed on the PC and PlayStation 3. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]
