It’s taken an eternity to release, but Ubisoft’s finally shifted that pocket of wind and butt burped South Park: The Fractured but Whole into the hands of critics. The lingering question, then: is it a peach or a ponger? We’ve pointed our Stick of Truth at several sites who managed to get early access to the title; we’re not part of that elite crew, apparently.
Game Informer - 8.75/10
The Fractured but Whole is a welcome sequel, maintaining the standard of quality set by the previous game and, in a broader sense, all of Parker and Stone’s work. Every aspect is overloaded with both smart and immature jokes, the combat is an improvement, the game is bigger and longer, and the sneaky moments of sincerity make you recall the charm of childhood in surprising ways – just like the show.
IGN - 8.5/10
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is another epic-length episode of the humor that’s kept fans of the show laughing for 20 years. The Marvel vs DC parody delivers regular laugh-out-loud moments with only a few faltering gags, and the combat soon evolves into something much more complex and interesting than The Stick of Truth’s simple system. Navigation and repetition of some of its simple puzzle mechanics drag a little, but it’s otherwise an excellent South Park game that’s also a strong RPG.
Shack News - 8/10
In a way, I wish I could give this game two separate scores. One for South Park fans and one for those who don't like or aren't familiar with the series. Besides very minor issues, The Fractured But Whole's main problem is its reliance on familiarity with material outside the game. All the excellent cameos, self-references and a lot of plot points are dependent on players having at least a passing familiarity with the TV show. However, if you like South Park and video games (or just South Park), The Fractured But Whole is a must-have title, and improves on The Stick of Truth in every way.
Polygon - 7/10
The Fractured But Whole’s breezy combat and puzzles provided a few days of entertainment, and the best moments of the game had me either laughing or, against all expectations, emotionally touched. I don’t particularly regret my time with the game, but it mostly made me think about how much better the creators of both South Park and The Fractured But Whole could do if they were given the opportunity and space to grow up a little.
Do you think South Park: The Fractured But Whole sounds peachy – or are you expecting a bit of a stinker? Twerk in the faces of ageing businessmen in the comments section below.
Comments 31
Looks great, I’m not a huge fan of the show (though I was during its first few seasons) but I’ll give it a go.
When will the Gran Turismo reviews come out?
I love South Park and the new series is pretty great. Mark Zukerburg "You call this a car? It wasn't even remotely able to block me!"
I'll get it for Christmas Its my shtyle!!
I pre-ordered this because I wanted The Stick of Truth, too. Can't wait to play both.
Picking this up tomorrow, the last one was a classic!
My major gripe with the first one was the combat got boring pretty quickly, but it sounds from those snippets like they've improved that aspect of the game so it is likely something I'll pick up sooner or later.
@Dichotomy Yeah I love turn based battles but the combat system on the first was dulllll. Hope they have spiced it up for this one.
Can't wait! Glad that the EU version isn't censored this time around. Replaying the stick of truth reminded me of how much actual gameplay was cut out of the EU version.
I'm really looking forward to this. I thoroughly enjoyed the stick of truth, and that's despite detesting turn based games. I completed the first game and I intend to do the same with this one. I love South Park anyway and these games are basically an extended episode where you are the star. And you have to tip your cap to all those involved for creating such a solid RPG.
Weird. I expected much better scores. I'm still buying it, but I'll have to see for myself what the critics didn't like this time around. I was sure it'd be a huge improvement over the first one, which was already great.
@JoeBlogs Probably because a lot of games get scores of 8 which probably looking back once its fully digested dont really merit it.
Im not fussed either way. Its South Park so ill enjoy it.
@get2sammyb I believe you can still grab Stick of Truth PS4 even after Fractured But Whole finally releases, but it can't be bought separately, you still have to buy a copy of Fractured But Whole to access the first game.
Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, just basing this on an official Ubisoft US article.
https://support.ubi.com/en-gb/faqs/000025147/Details-of-the-Free-South-Park-The-Stick-of-Truth-offer/
"If you decide to buy South Park: The Fractured But Whole digitally after the release (October 2017) from either PlayStation Store, Xbox Marketplace, Steam or other eligible PC digital stores, you will receive South Park The Stick of Truth immediately as download unlock for your platform."
@ToddlerNaruto Thanks for sharing!
@JoeBlogs Im not disagreeing with you in principal.
I think a lot of people see 8's though and it still doesn't convince them though..and sometimes games given 8's are maybe generous.
@JoeBlogs
1. Yes, they most certainly could be much better. We're not talking about 10's.
2. The last game got similar scores and this is supposed to be better. At least that's what I remember from Sammy(?) saying after playing the demo.
3. It didn't only get 8's, it also got a 7. An 8 average is considered disappointing. Games like Infamous: Second Son got such scores and they're not considered one of the great ones. Most AAA games get at least an 8 average, so yes, in this time and age 8 is considered average, no matter how you personally feel about it.
4. If you watch the trailers or read comments from the creators themselves, you'll notice that they were going for a 10, at least from Gamespot.
@naruball An 8 average is not disappointing, Mr or Mrs Way-Too-High-Standards.
Stick of truth was a 9 for me, this'll be hopefully just as good, waiting to open my pre download.
@Throb pre order now and get stick of truth for free
@naruball The best games are 6-8 out of 10's. Fact.
@Dichotomy @kyleforrester87 the first gams originally had a super that involved Paris hiltons lady parts, they decided to take it out lol
@naruball stick of truth got plenty of accolades, was in top two games of the year for me, i might be wrong but i think it was year of the last of us
@Crimson_Ridley This is not about my standards, but the reality in the gaming word. Also, take your insults somewhere else.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi Stick of Truth got an 8.5 average. So far Stick of Truth has an 8. That's a significant difference, especially if it goes below 8.
@JoeBlogs 2. I don't see how that changes anything.
3. I'm talking about gamers' perception of scores. 8 is considered a good, but not great score. 9 is considered great and 9.3 and over a masterpiece.
4. They seem to have learned from their mistakes and took them into account while making this game. This score must be disappointing to them is all I'm saying.
@JoeBlogs 2. I don't see the point of comparing TFBW with the Witcher 3 and Persona 5, since they're very loosely in the same genre. The three games feel completely different. It'd be more fair to compare the Witcher 3 with Dragon Age Inquisition.
3. Whether they are wrong or not is debatable. What happens in reality is, the sales suffer when a game gets scores that are considered ok, but nothing special.
4. I agree. It's impossible to know. It's mostly speculation, since even their comment about Gamespot may have been in jest. All I know is that I find it disappointing that the game improved, only for its scores to go lower. So I'll play it and see for myself.
@JoeBlogs 4. Thanks
3. Disappointing based on expectations, not overall.
2. Technically yes, but I see it more of a comedy RPG, rather than an RPG. It's like calling anime and cartoons the same. I mean sure, in both cases they are animations, but they are vastly different most of the time.
The Stick of Truth was my biggest surprise last gen. I can't wait for this!
@naruball @joebloggs I love the backwards and forwards nature of that spat but the whole paradox of the score arguement fails based on this polygon review statement;
"how much better the creators of both South Park and The Fractured But Whole could do if they were given the opportunity and space to grow up a little."
That in a nut shell is the nonesense of arguing about how a game score aggregates. As that Polygon statement is basically saying the in game humour is juvenile and not to the reviewers liking.
The reviewer couldnt possibly award southpark fbw an 8,9 or 10 if that was the case, just like I wouldnt give an episode of the only way is essex a favourable score.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi Thanks for the heads up. I already pre ordered this digitally over a year ago, so was given the code way back then. So have gone through and replayed The Stick Of Truth on PS4 already. When it was announced the game was being delayed, I then cancelled my pre order
@themcnoisy Hm. Didn't notice that, but it still begs the question why this one is getting lower scores from most reviewers. I expected reviewers to not get South Park humour the first time around and that wasn't the case.
https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/4/5464996/south-park-the-stick-of-truth-review
"South Park is an engine built to generate laughs" 8.5
@get2sammyb I don't suppose you know if this game has got Pro support? South Park in 4k sounds like a good combination
EDIT: oh, and also, is the EU stick of truth still censored? I've never played the uncut version
Love South Park and I liked the demo at EGX but I am really not into turn based games. I might wait and see. Still saving money for either Mario or Wolfenstein
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