The Stick of Truth makes for an... interesting game to talk about. I really wasn't sure what to make of it when I first heard of it, and it just sort of fell off my radar when it entered into development hell. However when it came out I decided to buy it, and I found myself pleasantly surprised. For a tie-in game to a cartoon series it made for a pretty awesome experience. Well for fans of the series anyway- a lot of the jokes and references will go straight over your head if you're not huge on the series.
Taking the role of the New Kid in town, your character is soon assimilated into a massive LARP going on between Cartman and Kyle, a battle that soon evolves into something more chaotic (As is always the case with South Park.) All of the town, as well as a massive forest and the 16-bit realm of Canada is open to explore, all rendered in the series signature papercraft style. It makes for a really good-looking and authentic experience, and I thank god that they didn't fall into the trap of other cartoon tie-ins and go for an ugly 3D look.
The battles are all in a turn-based style, but in a twist to the usual style you're also expected to do button prompts to block and perform these attacks. A nice system, but the recognition can be really fidly at times, and when the game lags it can really screw you over. And with a fairly limited skill tree for all four classes, an absolutely minuscule level cap, pretty much no party customization, it makes for a sparse RPG. Don't go into this expecting something on the scale of an Elder Scrolls title.
I suppose for what it is, a South Park-themed RPG, it's the best you could hope to get. It's incredibly funny, hilarious even, with massive amounts of Continuity Porn and video game parodies and parodies that are actually pretty spot-on. I wish mostly that it had more substance to it- the game feels pretty damn short.
Likely the best South Park game we're ever gonna get
The Stick of Truth makes for an... interesting game to talk about. I really wasn't sure what to make of it when I first heard of it, and it just sort of fell off my radar when it entered into development hell. However when it came out I decided to buy it, and I found myself pleasantly surprised. For a tie-in game to a cartoon series it made for a pretty awesome experience. Well for fans of the series anyway- a lot of the jokes and references will go straight over your head if you're not huge on the series.
Taking the role of the New Kid in town, your character is soon assimilated into a massive LARP going on between Cartman and Kyle, a battle that soon evolves into something more chaotic (As is always the case with South Park.) All of the town, as well as a massive forest and the 16-bit realm of Canada is open to explore, all rendered in the series signature papercraft style. It makes for a really good-looking and authentic experience, and I thank god that they didn't fall into the trap of other cartoon tie-ins and go for an ugly 3D look.
The battles are all in a turn-based style, but in a twist to the usual style you're also expected to do button prompts to block and perform these attacks. A nice system, but the recognition can be really fidly at times, and when the game lags it can really screw you over. And with a fairly limited skill tree for all four classes, an absolutely minuscule level cap, pretty much no party customization, it makes for a sparse RPG. Don't go into this expecting something on the scale of an Elder Scrolls title.
I suppose for what it is, a South Park-themed RPG, it's the best you could hope to get. It's incredibly funny, hilarious even, with massive amounts of Continuity Porn and video game parodies and parodies that are actually pretty spot-on. I wish mostly that it had more substance to it- the game feels pretty damn short.