Just Like the Show, but Fan Service at its Worst
So first off, props for making this game look and sound exactly like the show. It's very impressive and should not be overlooked.
The RPG combat and systems in their basic form all work pretty well and are pretty fun as you progress. The abilities weren't all that useful and I found some attacks too powerful and unbalanced (for the player and enemies) but mostly that all works well. Only one party member though, I found to be a failing, as an RPG and as a vehicle to try to spend as much time with the core characters of South Park.
The big stumble for this game is its fan service. I find that hearing that phrase used worrying about a product of any sort, as so often it just means referencing, and here, that's almost all it is. Remember the episode where they had to learn how to perform an abortion? Well you do it twice here, with the same Christmas music that was funny in the show but now makes no sense in this context. And the second time it's on a snuke, remember that? And it's up Mr. Slave's butt, just like Lemmiwinks? And you do the same exact thing Lemmiwinks did, even with the same music that is about Lemmiwinks journey, even though you aren't him. Just picture about 12 hours of this.
The show is known for being offensive and crude, and I am not someone to be offended by anything really. It wasn't that I was offended by this game, but just it was so overblown. I found myself saying "I get it" again and again, the fifth time I found a sex toy in Mr. Slave's ass (after I already delivered him a dildo), saw a man's flaccid penis, saw a boy anally probed (and after he can't be the first time, here comes a big black dildo, smash on that button to stop it from raping you!). It just wasn't funny and it never stops. When you saw some of this stuff on the show, it works because it's the first time and it makes sense. When I'm performing two abortion QTEs that don't really make any sense in this game, it just doesn't work. I really don't find watching a little boy get raped by a dildo funny or shocking in any sort of thought provoking way. It was just dumb. I know the show is crude but this felt pointlessly so.
Yes there are some funny original jokes, and some that do reference the show but play well on their own too. I found the portion in Canada to be the best example of this, referencing NES RPGs and portrayals of Canada on the show, as well as some original humor. But overall, the plot doesn't do much on its own but move from one reference to the next.
I was really looking forward to this one and am left feeling very disappointed. It was very promising early on (and in moments throughout) but by the end I just felt like I could have watched the episodes of the show again and seen most of the jokes in their original context and had a few laughs, rather than just see them in a context where they hardly work as anything but a reference.
The game isn't broken or anything. A 2 may seem harsh, but I see this game failing at being funny and the gameplay is only okay and mostly very by the numbers.
As I write this I am thinking about the Cartoon Wars episode of South Park, and it feels as if those manatees could have written this game.
