Review - South Park: The Stick of Truth (2014)

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's time for another game review. And, since I've been geez back into South Park recently, it only makes sense to discuss the 2014 video game South Park: The Stick of Truth.

       So, the game sees players take on the role of New Kid, an unnamed new child who, along with his parents, has moved into the town of South Park, and upon meeting and befriending Butters Stotch, is roped into a fantasy role-play game called "Warriors of Zaron," which follows two warring factions: the humans of the Kingdom of Kupa Keep, led by Eric Cartman, and the Drow Elves of the Forest, led by Kyle Broflovski. And, the two factions fight over an all-powerful reloc known as the Stick of Truth. Now, while New Kid starts off with the Kupa Keep faction, the player can decide which faction to side with, and eventually sees BOTH factions join forces against a third faction, led by Clyde Donovan. 

       Outside of the boys' game, New Kid finds himself dealing with invading aliens, the Underpants Gnomes, Nazi Zombies, and the government's attempt to cover up the crash of the alien ship by claiming the crash site is to be the home of a massive new Taco Bell restaurant. Also, New Kid finds himself traversing not only across the town of South Park, but also northward into Canada, where the map is a top-down 8-bit map. Collectibles also are a thing across the town, with one of the main collectibles being the thirty Chinpokomon. And, there are four character summons that can be gathered throughout the game by completing side quests, all for the four summon characters: Mr. Kim, Jesus, Mr. Slave, and Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo. 

       Players are able to interact with the world of South Park, and run into various characters and references from the many years that South Park has been on the air. For example, Cartman's closet has various costumes and props from throughout the series, including his superhero costume of The Coon and the cardboard robot suit of A.W.E.S.O.M.E.-O. Another example is with Stan's closet, where a.man pulls the door shut, proclaiming "I'm NEVER coming out!", which is a nod to how actor Tom Cruise locked himself in Stan's closet in the South Park episode "Trapped in the Closet." The nods and references are absolutely a treat for long-time South Park fans. 

       Now, the combat system is turn based, so each player in a fight gets a turn. A player can use a single item per turn, and then either an attack or spell/special ability. Spells for the New Kid are essentially overpowered farts such as Dragonshout, Cup-a-Spell, and my personal favorite: Nagasaki. And, of course, each ally character has their own skills and abilities. Ally characters are, of course, Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny, along with both Jimmy and Butters. There's also a fast travel system involving Timmy. Collect all the fast travel flags throughout South Park, and Timmy can get you to those destinations instantly. 

        During the final act of the game, a big reveals about New Kid comes up, when it's revealed that he has an amazing power to rapidly make friends on social media, which is a power the government wants to harness, and is the core reason his parents moved to South Park to begin with. And, of course, the government agent claims the Stick of Truth for himself, teams up with Kenny, and makes Kenny the final boss. And, after Kenny is defeated and South Park begins to rebuild, we end with Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and New Kid tossing the Stick of Truth in Stark's Pond, and debating what game to play next. And, when the guys ask New Kid for his idea, we see New Kid's only speaking line in the game: "Screw you guys. I'm going home." Which, I find that to be hysterical, as that is one of Cartman's catchphrases. 

        But, the true brilliance of The Stick of Truth is in the feel of the game experience. It would have been one thing to make a South Park game where players play as their favorite character from the show. But, to make a game where you're playing as the New Kid in town, interacting with these characters, and fully immersing yourself in the world of South Park in what feels like an extended and interactive episode of the show takes teal dedication, and I think that Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and the teams at Ubisoft, Obsidian Entertainment, and South Park Studios all knocked it out of the park, no pun intended, with this game. And, whether you're a fan of South Park or not, this game is one that needs to be played. 

         Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll see you in the next review.