The sequel to Stick of Truth is finally here…
The Stick of Truth has to be one of the most brutally hilarious games I have played in years, mixing classic South Park characters dressed up in LOTR/GOT costumes and completing quests as the new kid in town. The sequel “The Fractured But Whole” takes place shortly after the events of the first game and even had a prequel episode in the show’s new season a week before release.
Coon and Friends are at war with Freedom Pals over starting their own franchise, much like DC and Marvel compete with each other in this regard. You start from the bottom now and have to work your way up the superhero ladder to become the best superhero in town. You also gain actual superpowers that let you rewind time with your farts among others.
The town itself has been expanded from the original to incorporate new buildings and characters from later seasons, as well as the original areas being redesigned…for example, you can now access basements of some houses like Cartman’s. Exploring the town for collectibles and quests is more or less the same, but finding them are a lot easier thanks to new tools for scanning as well as a large map and a mini-map, plus Jimmy who is dressed up as a mock take on The Flash called Speedpass, will make you fast travel to locations you have activated.
Combat makes a change from the original game. It’s still turn-based, but now you have to place your fighters along a grid path and see if your attacks will reach while making sure you aren’t too vulnerable from the following attack. It takes a while to get used to the new change, but it does work well and I think it’s an improvement over the original’s simplistic combat.
The game lets you choose your gender, race and superpower weakness but these can be changed at any time by visiting the right people. You can also collect relics to make your attacks more powerful, while instead of collecting Facebook friends this time, your main quest is to get as many Coonstagram followers as possible, along with taking selfies with them. There are plenty of side quests to get stuck into and overall, it’s a much longer game than Stick of Truth was.
Visually, the game looks completely taken from the show…which is quite amazing, and the amount of dialogue recorded is nothing short of mind-blowing. I honestly don’t know where Matt Stone and Trey Parker have found the time to record all these lines along with the main show, it’s madness and brilliant. With a Season Pass included too, there’s still going to be quite a bit of content to follow as well…
The Verdict
The Fractured But Whole is the sequel that The Stick of Truth deserves. It takes what worked with the original and goes crazy with it, resulting in a hilarious RPG that every South Park fan needs to play. Plus, there’s even a 1 hour demo available for you to try right now. So stop reading and get downloading!