Based on the long-standing truth that games based on already established properties are usually second-rate, and the fact that the development cycle was troublesome at best, It would be forgivable to assume that South Park: The Stick of Truth would release as a write off. A whole host of problems should have held back the release of this RPG; however, The Stick of Truth is surprisingly fantastic in almost every way.
Platforms: PC, PS3, Xbox 360 (Version Played)
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Genre: ORPG – Offensive Role Playing Game
Release Date: March 4, 2014
ESRB Rating: Mature
Dan Hobbs:There is a rather large caveat to anyone’s enjoyment of The Stick of Truth. Despite the game being made by Obsidian, a studio built for making RPGs, Stick of Truth is entirely a vehicle for South Park first and a role-playing adventure second. The game is written by, voiced by, and generally overseen by the creators of the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, meaning the DNA of the series runs deep throughout. Everything from the overall look and animation to the smallest, tiniest detail is pulled straight from the series. You get that wonky “cut-out” look when characters walk up and down stairs. You get that guitar strum every time a new act of the story is started. Everything from the little nuance in the voices, to the animation, to the in-game world of South Park – even the sound effects themselves come from the series. That deep level of fandom is exactly want I wanted going in and, as a result, left a smile on my face upon finishing it up.
The setup for the narrative is exactly what makes South Park great. You take on the role of the new kid in town, quickly nicknamed “Douchebag,” and join up with the South Park regulars as they battle over the mystical Stick of Truth. That’s the stick that controls the universe, by the way. Meanwhile, the parents of South Park are having their own crises, and there is some thing with aliens, Nazi zombies, and government coverups… basically, a typical South Park Affair.
However, despite everything going to hell in this quiet little mountain town, an imaginary quest for a random twig is the most important thing in the lives of the kids. It’s entirely in their imagination, too. In the combat, where we see a flaming tennis ball, the kids see a bad-ass magic spell. It not only serves the show, where the kids’ lives are more important than the adults, but it very much brought me back to playing cops and robbers when I was eight or nine years old.
Mike Ryan: I remember when the very first South Park game was announced back in 1998. I was excited, hoping for either a Streets of Rage-style beat-em-up or a turn-based RPG. Imagine my disappointment when I heard the news that the game was set to be a first-person shooter. Then I played it. Ho boy. That was a rough couple days. Since then, we’ve been treated to several other South Park games – kart racing, trivia, tower defense – but nothing that fulfilled my desires for a faithful video game adaptation of the show. Then South Park: The Stick of Truth came out. And I can confidently say that not only is Stick of Truth one of the best licensed games released, it’s quite possibly one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played.
Let’s just get this out of the way – if you aren’t a fan of South Park, perhaps this isn’t the game for you. It is chock-full of references to past episodes. From Chinpokomon collectibles to life-sized Antonio Banderas blow-up love dolls, the entire hilarious history of this show is put on full display. The amount of fan service in Stick of Truth is simply amazing. When I first started playing, I could have gone straight from my current location to my next mission. I could have, but I didn’t. I was so drawn in by the faithful reproduction of all of South Park that I spent hours just wandering around, taking in the sights, and building up my inventory.
Dan Hobbs: Where the show tends to rip on trends, news stories, and the like, The Stick of Truth rips on all the fantasy tropes you know from years of RPG playing. That could be the loot you get (of which there is a lot), the characters and their roles within the story, pieces of dialogue, actual map screens, and whole quest structures. It manages to sustain that scathing parody that the show does so well and is very successful in balancing it with the equal opportunity offending and absurdity that South Park offers up in every episode.
Mike Ryan: Fans of the show should know that Trey and Matt are huge gamers. The show has always referenced video games, and Stick of Truth is no exception. I immediately started cracking up when one of the game’s vendors – a homeless guy – said, in his best Resident Evil 4 Merchant voice, that he would buy my items “at a high price.” There’s even a point where, on an alien spaceship, you’re collecting audio logs left by someone who, on the logs, questions why anyone would leave audio logs in their situation.
Dan Hobbs: Even if you dislike RPGs, you will still get so much from The Stick of Truth. However, if you are looking for a great, expansive RPG and dislike South Park, you may not get much from it. Honestly, the RPG mechanics that are there are reasonably lacking. Don’t expect to be worrying about genre placeholders like grinding, encumbrance, lasting status effects, classes that matter, and even things like dying. Instead, you can expect maybe eight or nine attacks, some buffs/debuffs, a couple of status effects, and a summon or two.
The lack of a deep RPG system is not to the game’s detriment, though. At its core, each attack is based on a quick time event that never changes. Depending on the degree of success you have with completing said QTE, you will deal a varying amount of damage to your opponent. Things get slightly more complicated when you start throwing in “bleeding” status effects, repost or repel stances, and other similar tweaks to the battle. Fortunately, the game’s difficulty curve and excellent user interface mean that those small extras ramp up slowly and are easily spotted. I won’t spoil the fun of what the attacks actually are, because the joy comes from the surprise and the joke.
Outside of combat scenarios, you and your band of always merry and constantly sweaty eight-year-olds can wander an incredibly faithful recreation of the town of South Park. It is not your Wasteland or your Zanarkand, but has enough detail in the visual design of each location and dungeon area to not get boring. A dozen or so side quests also litter the areas around the town and, while most are not that interesting or involving, they do a fantastic job of squeezing in other famous characters and locations from South Park lore.
The world is crammed full of loot, too – everything from vendor junk to killer weapons and and all that comes between. You can change your appearance anytime with found facepaints, beards, masks, and clothes, each of which have a definite and immediate effect on your stats or your look. However, that overabundance of loot means that money is never a problem for Douchebag, which of course means you’ll buy the most expensive and powerful gear, leading you to become very overpowered for some battles.
Mike Ryan: I do enjoy a good RPG, but there’s always one thing that threw me off: micromanagement. I am not a fan of changing every single aspect of a character in order to get the most use out of them. To me, it quickly throws off the pace of the game itself. Luckily, Stick of Truth’s character management is quick and easy. First, you only need to worry about Douchebag’s stats and items. No need to bother with any of the other characters; they’re all taken care of for you. Your focus is mainly relegated to weapons, armor, stat patches, and abilities. You can switch these out in a manner of seconds, and then you’re back in the game. It’s intricate without being complicated.
The battle system is, at the surface, simple. I wholeheartedly agree with Dan; when you collect patches that add bleeding or gross-out abilities to your weapons, deciding what to enhance your weapon with becomes a real thinking game. Add that to enemies that have certain weaknesses to certain patches and you’ve got all the makings of a great entry-level RPG that is still a lot of fun for those fully experienced in the genre.
But it wouldn’t be an Obsidian game without its share of issues. There are loading screens… a lot of loading screens. So many loading screens that you even may think they’re supposed to be an in-game joke. Every time you enter a new section, there’s approximately ten seconds of loading. That’s not incredibly slow, but Stick of Truth is heavy on exploration. So when you’re moving to several different parts of South Park quickly in order to find your quest items, the constant loading can get kind of monotonous. Also, when you enter a section, the game creates a checkpoint which causes the game to slow down and dips the framerate. I’ve even seen this slowdown carry over to some of the battles.
I’ve been waiting fifteen years for a great South Park game, and Stick of Truth gives me everything I ever wanted. Everything melds together perfectly to make such an amazing experience that’s as fun to watch as it is to play. This game is truly a labor of love, and I appreciate all that was put into it. Whether you’re a diehard fan of the show or enjoyed a handful of episodes, there’s enough wit, charm, and humor here to keep you entertained through the entire journey. All I have to say is, thank God for this quiet little pissant redneck podunk jerkwater greenhorn one-horse mud-hole peckerwood right-wing whistle-stop hobnail truck-drivin’ old-fashioned hayseed inbred unkeep out-of-date out-of-touch white trash mountain town.
Dan Hobbs: The Stick of Truth defies what many want from a big sprawling role-playing game and instead offers a lovingly stripped-down version of it. Some would probably say it is easier than your standard turn-based RPG and is, therefore, boring. However, for me, it dips its toes in the right amount while still allowing me to enjoy the hilarity without the repetition I usually face in almost every other RPG. It’s that fact that makes South Park: The Stick of Truth so fantastic and enthralling. There are just enough mechanics to keep the roughly fourteen hours of disgusting and absurd jokes an absolute joy to play through.
Review Disclosure: A review copy of South Park: The Stick of Truth was provided by Ubisoft for the purposes of this review.
