South Park: The Fractured But Whole

About South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Ubisoft San Francisco released South Park: The Fractured But Whole on October 17, 2017 as a direct sequel to Stick of Truth. You play as the New Kid in this adventure role-playing game set in a crime-ridden South Park where kids pretend to be superheroes. The story kicks off after a disagreement over Cartman's film ideas splits the Coon and Friends team apart. Players can choose their gender and join either the Freedom Pals or the United Front. This title launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC shortly after its initial release window to capture that same crude humor fans expect from the show.

Gameplay

You control your character through turn-based combat encounters where you pick actions like attack, special move, or use items. The environment changes constantly as you switch between real-world South Park and the superhero alter-ego dimension. You build a team of up to four heroes by recruiting neighbors and friends who each bring distinct abilities to battles. Exploration involves solving puzzles in the streets while listening to snarky dialogue from Stan, Kyle, Kenny, and Cartman. Combat requires strategy since you must manage action points to execute combos before enemies strike back. The game tracks your progress through a skill tree system that lets you customize your New Kid's powers as you fight evil forces threatening the town.

What Players Think

Critics and players have given this title strong marks with a Metacritic score of 80 and an IGDB rating of 82.1 based on 343 reviews. The average completion rate sits high since most players finish the main story in about 15 hours according to community data. Players love the humor but find the combat repetitive after a while. Achievement hunters struggle with "The Token Experience" which only unlocks for 4.60% of the player base. Most users report positive moods when engaging with the satire though some feel the story drags in the second act. The average playtime suggests many people stick around for the side quests even if the main campaign feels short at times.

PlayPile's Take

This game works best for fans of South Park who want a solid RPG without needing to think too hard about complex mechanics. You get 35 achievements to chase and the price is reasonable for the amount of content you receive. The writing remains sharp throughout even if the gameplay loop gets predictable by hour ten. Skip this if you hate turn-based combat or are not familiar with the show's style. Pick it up on PC or console if you want a funny story about superheroes in a small town. It is worth playing once for the jokes alone before moving on to other titles.

Storyline

After the events of South Park: The Stick of Truth, the children of South Park become role-playing superheroes. However, a falling-out over Cartman's planned film franchise splinters the boys split into two groups, with some calling for a civil war to make their own franchise. The player again controls The New Kid, though they can now change his gender to female if they wish.