South Park: the Stick of Truth

Battle for the Stick of Truth in this South Park RPG.

Over the years, the popularity of South Park as a television show has resulted in the creation of a number of video games based on the series, producing rather mixed results. South Park: The Stick of Truth, released in 2014, is developed by Obsidian Entertainment and takes a rather more committed approach to the task.

Unlike many of the previous attempts to bring South Park to life in video game form, The Stick of Truth was designed in close collaboration with South Park's creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Indeed, Parker and Stone wrote the script, provided their voice acting services and were involved in other design aspect. So does it pay off?

The Concept

The game puts the user in control of The New Kid, a character who has just moved to the town of South Park, and who soon gains the nickname 'Douchebag'. Once there, he becomes involved in an epic role-play fantasy, where characters battle for possession of The Stick of Truth.

A 2.5D, third-person RPG, the game includes many elements familiar to fans of the genre, such as character archetypes. However, these elements are infused with traditional South Park humour, which is why one of the archetypes is 'The Jew'. Many of the characters from the television series appear in the game, including the main quartet of Kyle, Kenny, Stan and Cartman and the game looks exactly like the TV show.

Gameplay

The player is able to move freely around the town of South Park, creating a sense of full immersion. Certain areas remain inaccessible until a specific plot point has been reached, but players are otherwise unrestricted. A fast travel system is also in place, with the character of Timmy providing swift movement between fast travel stations.

As with most role-playing games, characters can gain experience, level up and unlock new abilities by winning battles. The battle system itself is simplistic at face value, which is excellent for newcomers, but does offer a level of tactical depth, which should satisfy RPG enthusiasts. Characters can make use of weapon or magic attacks and the amount of damage inflicted increases as characters develop.

The game is not completely without flaws. For example, as a player progresses through the game, the battles do become a little bit repetitive and some of the jokes may offend, or be lost on anyone who isn't an avid follower of the TV show. Nonetheless, The Stick of Truth is far and away the best South Park video game ever made.

Pros

• Excellent use of South Park-style humor
• Ability to roam around the town offers great immersion
• Combat system is easy to get to grips with
• Looks and sounds like the TV show

Cons

• Battles become a little repetitive
• Controversial humour may offend some