SP: The Fractured but Whole - First Impressions

HiddenX

HiddenX

The Elder Spy
Staff Member
Original Sin Donor
Original Sin 2 Donor
Supporter
Joined
October 18, 2006
Messages
20,020
Location
Germany
Trusted Reviews checked out South Park: The Fractured but Whole:

South Park: The Fractured But Whole


As a massive South Park fan, I love The Stick of Truth. It’s one of my favourite games. We can all sit and point at the simplistic combat mechanics and limited RPG customisation, but it’s an amazing representation of why South Park is the best show on TV. The jokes are perfect, the characters spectacular and you question how on Earth some sequences were cleared (a few, of course, weren’t for Europe, but the writers still managed to make hilarity from the censorship).

With The Fractured But Whole, the team is taking on the current superhero craze, and based on my time with it, this entry will not only delight fans of the show, but also people hankering for a good turn-based RPG.

[...]

First Impressions

With the limited gaming time available in this first hands-on, it was difficult to fully scope the changes coming in The Fractured But Whole. The writing is still fantastic, as it was always going to be, while combat has been given a refresh to hopefully avoid the monotony of Stick of Truth.

Outside of combat and the new character customisation, this looks set to be more of the same, with you venturing around South Park collecting all sorts of strange items, meeting your favourite characters and enjoying an absolutely bonkers story.

If you’re a fan of the TV series, this is obviously going to be a must-buy, and now it looks like it has the potential to appeal to RPG fans too.
Click to expand...
More information.
 
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
20,020
Location
Germany
I loved the first game. Stick of Truth was the last game I recall both my wife and I absolutely loving and finishing to completion; we usually have slightly different tastes in CRPGS.

I'd be happy if the sequel was just a re-skinned version of the original with a new story/adventure, honestly. Looking forward to this one. Subversive South Park humor is definitely needed in the world today in any format - game, TV show; whatever.
 
Joined
Jun 5, 2015
Messages
508
Location
High, high up in the mountains of the southwestern
I adore the first game but probably won't buy the sequel.
I just don't trust those new developers.
 
Joined
Apr 12, 2009
Messages
23,459
I enjoyed Stick of Truth, not so much for the gameplay systems but for the writing and worldbuilding. The exploration, combat and character development were serviceable but lightweight. They got the job done, but they weren't the attraction. (The combat, in particular, ran out of steam towards the end of the game, leaving the user spamming the same basic high-level attack over and over.)

I'm optimistic about The Fractured But Whole because it carries over the people (Parker and Stone) who were responsible for the strongest aspects of the original game. That the new developers seem to be aware of how weak Stick of Truth's combat was, and have demonstrated some things they've done to try to beef it up in the sequel, is a positive sign.

That said I will still be waiting on user reviews. Either that or I'll just put it on my Christmas list and let the chips fall where they will.
 
Joined
Nov 30, 2009
Messages
421
Location
California
Definite wait-and-see for me. The first game was leagues better than I thought a South Park game could be. As comedic CRPGs go, it's way up there. However, I'm not sure how much of that success was due to Trey and Matt and how much was due to Obsidian. I expect a combination of the two; hence my trepidation....
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2011
Messages
333
Location
Ynys Afallach
I didn't mind the combat in Stick of Truth so much as the keyboard controls. There were some things that were nearly impossible to do via keyboard/mouse!

So... is it using that thrice damned U-Play now?

ElderGnome: I don't know if 'taste' and South Park should really be put together (other than in an academic sense, of course ;).
 
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
8,253
Location
Kansas City
As a big fan of South Park, I really wanted to like The Stick of Truth. I thought the humor was great, but in the end, I couldn't get past the simplistic gameplay and terrible (imo) combat.

I've always been a gameplay over story guy, and the new game will need to be a lot better in that department in order for me to give it a shot.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2006
Messages
39,337
Location
Florida, US
I watched it on youtube some "lets play"- it was one of the few games i watched from beginning till the end. Enjoyed it a lot and maybe due to possibility to fastforward combat scenes.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Messages
251
The new season of the show started tonight; it was predictably hilarious and relevant to current events. Make me want to play the game more. The combat system I remember being a little wonky in Stick of Truth but honestly my favorite combat systems are simple turn-based affairs.
 
Joined
Jun 5, 2015
Messages
508
Location
High, high up in the mountains of the southwestern
This is why I do my own research and NEVER trust some review site or "gaming journalists". It sounds like they have absolutely no idea it's being made by a completely different developer. Imagine this case in any other medium. I don't get why developers are ignored by these "professionals". I mean, I understand how some of these "well informed" RPG fans don't know, but the people who get paid to know?! Anyway, anyone who thinks that Matt and Trey were what made the first game so good are in self denial or are just pure ignorant. Even on the show, they are not the only writers, let alone a big game like Stick. But, sure. Obsidian did nothing but copy down Matt and Trey's genius. Sure. Let's ignore the fact that South Park jumped the shark years ago... I mean grunge and Marilyn Manson were still a thing when the show first started. That's forever ago. I mean, I thought the pilot was brilliant back in the late 90's, but TV was a wasteland of pure mediocrity back then. There was nothing like it. Fast forward to 2016, and you feel embarrassed when people get all excited about a show older than many of it's own fans.

I played Stick out of love of Obsidian and hope that finally someone can make a decent South Park game. Remember, every previous South Park game had the "genius" of Matt and Trey so WTF people? Know what those games DIDN'T have? Obsidian working their butts off.
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2010
Messages
274
Location
Toronto, Canada
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom