I TOLD you ManBearPig was a threat!
South Park has built a strong reputation for being crass, immature, and generally hilarious as well as a surprisingly intelligent parody of popular culture. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have used their brand of over-the-top and often-offensive comedy to poke fun at just about everything. No religion, race, or belief is safe when it comes to South Park, and at one time, the idea of a videogame pushing the limits to the same degree as the show seemed to be a pipe dream. Thankfully, with the help of developer Obsidian, the wait is over, and it was well worth it.
Despite a worrisome development cycle full of numerous delays and rumored cancellations, The Stick of Truth is every bit as clever and enjoyable as watching an episode of South Park. All of the characters are here in some form, and many of the jokes reference an episode or two. If you are not a fan of the show, this game is definitely not for you. I am super cereal.
The Stick of Truth is not overly aggressive about fan service, but much of the material is referential in some way. Casual South Park fans may miss out on certain jokes but there is enough original content here to keep even the most passing of fans happy.
The game tells the story of the epic battle to wield the all-powerful Stick of Truth waged between the KKK (Kingdom of Kupa Keep) led by Eric Cartman, and the Drow Elves, headed by Kyle Broflovski. The player takes on the role of The New Kid, who has recently moved to South Park with his family following a mysterious event that seems to have left him mute.
The Stick of Truth features much more than a fantasy war, however, with the inclusion of alien abductions, Nazi zombies, and a trip to the 16-bit Kingdom of Canada, the typical insanity of South Park is in full effect.
With that being said, this game is not for the squeamish. Adventures through a man’s rectum, anal probes, and aborted fetuses all play a role in The Stick of Truth, but any fan of South Park should be used to this sort of content, and unlikely to take offense to it.
Even with its strong focus on comedy, The Stick of Truth also manages to excel in gameplay. Battles are waged with a turn-based combat system straight out of an early Final Fantasy game but with the addition of active blocking and attacking. This mechanic helps keep the player engaged throughout every battle regardless of the enemies (that range from hilarious to downright disturbing) and felt like a welcome change from the more traditional “sit and wait” system employed in most classic JRPGs.
Combat is surprisingly deep, featuring status effects ranging from “bleeding” to “grossed out”, each with different debuffs and animations. A wide variety of items can be used in battle as well, including typical healing potions to the much more drastic “nugget of shit”, which can be thrown at enemies to cause the aforementioned “gross out” damage.
When not in battle, the player can explore the entirety of South Park. Everything from the remains of City Sushi to Kenny’s dilapidated house exists in-game and the majority of buildings can be entered, whether by finding a key or simply walking in the front door.
Side missions can be picked up from many of South Park’s residents and the absurd requests, including acquiring Nazi zombie rings for the police chief and finding Mr. Hanky’s lost children, never felt like chores to accomplish.
The Stick of Truth features an incredible variety of loot to find. Most of the weapons and armors are fashioned from household objects, such as cardboard swords or football helmets, and equipping each yields completely different appearance options. Every piece of equipment also bestows different bonuses to your character, allowing the player to really customize the New Kid’s utility in battle.
Visually, the game sports the same style as the show, right down to character movement, allowing players to feel like they are starring in their own customized episode of South Park.
To further pull the player into the show-like atmosphere, Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and the rest of the cast lend their voice acting to the game, resulting in some hilarious audio sounding exactly how any fan would expect.
While the music is more inspired by the stereotypical fantasy hymns of other titles in the RPG genre (with a South Park twist), each in-game day starts with the familiar twang of the beginning of an episode. Obsidian has clearly gone to great lengths to ensure the player feels immersed in Matt and Trey’s world, and have succeeded in every way.
With plenty of collectibles, side quests, and hilarious achievements, The Stick of Truth offers a surprising amount of content for a fifteen-hour experience. While fifteen hours may seem short compared to other RPGs, it is important to note that there is very little of the typical genre fluff in this game. Grinding is never a concern, quests rarely take longer than twenty minutes, and cutscenes are brief and unobtrusive.
Unfortunately, one playthrough is likely enough, particularly if the player completes all of the side quests. Sadly, all four classes are similar in playstyle with only differing special abilities, which ultimately feels like a missed opportunity. Even with a few in-game decisions near the end, the game does not change drastically enough to warrant another immediate playthrough.
The Stick of Truth manages to completely encapsulate what I love about the show and turn it into a hilarious, worthwhile experience. Despite a lack of replayability and its seemingly short run time, it is a game every South Park fan needs to play. It isn’t often a genuinely funny game comes around, so make sure to pick it up, especially before global warming kills us all.
- Sincerely, Al Gore
