INNOVATION = 6
It’s very rare that you find an RPG, especially a turn-based one, with truly innovative mechanics anymore. The genre has been around almost as long as our industry itself, so there is truly a limited amount of things left to improve or change. As such, Obsidian has mostly borrowed and tweaked existing mechanics and combined them in such a way that it manages to feel engaging, if a little bit stale at some points.
Harkening back a bit to older RPGs, there are quite a few environmental based puzzles. Since the game avoids horrible random battles and instead opts for on-screen enemies, there is actually quite a lot to do outside of combat. Going beyond simple find and deliver a key object puzzles, you can actually attack enemies, blow up pieces of the environment, and solve small puzzles spread around the game.
In terms of combat mechanics, it really just expands on the previously mentioned Mario & Luigi games in a few novel ways. The party system is unique in that you have to switch out your single party member (although I don’t know why you wouldn’t just always use Stan, because he is awesome) but none of it ever really crosses into innovative territory. At the end of the day, South Park: The Stick of Truth isn’t great because of what’s new, but because of what’s done well.
POLISH = 8
From the moment you start the game up, it really just feels like you’re literally in South Park. The character creation offers enough flexibility to provide originality to your character of choice, but avoids overwhelming you at the start. As you play, you’ll find facial accessories such as different face paints, eyewear, and such, as well as facial hair and wigs to change up your appearance.
)
All of the music is fantastic, menus are slick and easy to navigate, and the writing is superb. Everything about the game is of the absolute highest quality and I never felt like I was playing an unfinished game. However, it could still be improved a bit.
There are so many different menu tabs, it was a little cumbersome to navigate, particularly because there is so much to sift through, there aren’t enough hotkeys to assign on a gamepad. The options are severely lacking for the PC version of the game as well, offering little in ways of performance customization. This isn’t to say it’s a demanding game, because it really isn’t, but you can’t even change you keybindings. I also crashed a few times, but this wasn’t a big deal thanks to the frequent autosaves.
LONGEVITY = 9
From the perspective of an avid RPG player, the length is about what I expected for a single player only experience. Obsidian is no stranger to RPG development – far from it in fact – and they expertly paced the content in this game, gradually introducing new mechanics and features as your progress. Even at the 15-hour mark in the game I was uncovering new abilities that opened up brand new paths in the environment that were previously inaccessible.
)
You can easily get about 20 hours out of the game in your first playthrough, with about another dozen or so hours left for collecting items and completing side quests. I’d also recommend playing more than one character, simply due to the fact that the options of Fighter, Mage, Thief, and Jew are all extremely different. I also cannot stress enough how hilarious the dialogue is with your companions – bringing the likes of Cartman, Jimmy, Butters, and more to locations simply to hear what they say is worth hours of entertainment.
VALUE = 8
It’s rare to find single player RPGs that are truly worth that full $50-$60 price tag on launch day, but after spending over a week in South Park, I can definitely say it’s worth that price. There is so much to do and see that you will seldom get bored and enough replayability to keep you coming back for more.
The dual-member party system is almost asking for a coop system, which would have been really cool to see, but it’s understandable that it wasn’t included. Hopefully affordably priced DLC will come out to keep people coming back for more – I know I’m ready for it already!
)
CONCLUSION
South Park: The Stick of Truth is a landmark achievement for Obsidian, Ubisoft and South Park Studios. Not only have they created what will go down as the greatest South Park ever made, but they did so battling against all odds. After the original publisher going down in a blaze of non-glory, people feared that this game may never see the light of day. South Park: The Stick of Truth is a truly engaging and entertaining adventure from start to finish that made me laugh more than any game before it. I can honestly say it was worth the wait.
