Yes, South Park: The Fractured But Whole cleverly ties into the events of 2013’s fantastic RPG The Stick of Truth. Sadly, Ubisoft has asked media not to talk about just how that happens. The game is also, like its predecessor, packed full of obscure references to past episodes of the TV show. And, yes, it’s got hilarious, envelope-pushing jokes – ones that are best left unspoiled. Well, except for a few of them. See the video below.
What I can and will tell you about is, well, everything else. I played the first four hours of The Fractured But Whole – it still makes me chuckle every time I say it out loud – and it is a sequel in every sense of the word, but that’s a good thing in this case.
The class system, like the combat, has also been given a lot of extra depth, though the first four hours don’t give you much of a chance to delve into it.
That is to say, it seems to take everything The Stick of Truth did well – namely, making you feel like you were playing a 12-hour version the brilliant two-decade-old Matt Stone and Trey Parker-scripted animated series – and fix the areas that needed improving. Those areas are, primarily, the combat system and the class system.
In The Fractured But Whole, whose premise involves the kids of South Park Elementary pretending to be Marvel-vs.-DC-style dueling superhero cinematic universes, the Paper Mario-style turn-based combat has been given added depth, primarily in the form of a grid system that governs both movement and attacks during battle. The tutorials do a good job of walking you through the finer points without feeling overwhelming – no doubt with an eye towards catering to The Stick of Truth players who are otherwise not RPG die-hards – and they don’t drag on overly long. The fact that I’m currently playing Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, another turn-based strategy offering, no doubt helped make my transition even easier.
Fractured may be a good bit larger in size than The Stick of Truth.
It’s not immediately apparent what each friend’s or foe’s health level is, however, as that information is only displayed on profile pictures at the bottom of the screen rather than above each participant’s head. This was an annoyance throughout my four-hour hands-on, and given Fractured’s imminent October 17 release date, I’m not hopeful that it’ll be addressed prior to ship.
But that’s about my only complaint of note so far. The class system, like the combat, has also been given a lot of extra depth, though the first four hours don’t give you much of a chance to delve into it. I only unlocked a dual class option just as my session ended. As I usually do in RPGs, I opted for a fighter-type class, preferring brute force over spellcasting or other more indirect methods of defeating bad guys (who, in the early-going, range from sixth graders to Agents of Professor Chaos to the all-fourth-grade-girl staff of the Hooters-mocking Raisins restaurant). Oh, and your superpower is farting. It’s a combat difference-maker and everything.
Of course, the highlight in Fractured so far is the humor. It’s tracking to be the funniest video game since, well, The Stick of Truth. From the button-mashing, thumbstick-twirling mini-game about pooping to the Okama Gamesphere video game console in your bedroom that just sits at a system update the entire time it’s on (clearly, Matt and Trey have spent plenty of time with their PS4s and Xbox Ones) to Cartman egging you on if you don’t obey his narration during a flashback sequence that dictates your goofy superhero origin story, there’s a laugh around almost every corner. Some are small, some are big, but The Fractured But Whole seems to be absolutely packed with jokes.
That I didn’t even get close to the end of Day 1 after four hours also suggests that Fractured may be a good bit larger in size than The Stick of Truth. As a 20-year South Park fan, I’m certainly not going to complain if that’s the case.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews and Xbox Guru-in-Chief. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
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