Review – South Park: The Fractured But Whole

I can still remember the first time I watched an episode of South Park.

I’d just started high school and was at a very vulnerable age.

The decisions I was to make in the following years would define the kind of person I am today.

After watching that first episode I could feel my childhood dying inside. I had now been exposed to the harsh reality that was life.

The Fractured But Whole is another gateway into the harsh realities we live in.

Matt Stone and Trey Parker are incredible at creating in your face content. What I love most about the franchise is that no one is safe, and I mean no one.

They’re saying butthole right?

The Fractured But Whole takes place directly after the Stick of Truth. Cartman travels back home as The Coon to make the children aware of a reward for a missing cat and the perils of a rising crime syndicate. Players once again take the role of the silent new kid.

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Upon creating your character in the beginning you can customise your appearance.

After selecting your customisation you must then select a difficulty by selecting your skin colour. It’s a really bold way of approaching racism in modern America in a video game.

It has no effect on the difficulty of battles a but does affect how much money you make and how people speak to you.

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The new kid was not around during the superhero phase of the children’s imagination.

This means you must decide what your superhero will be. Once you pick your class you set out to test your new powers.

Kawaii!

The battle system in The Fractured But Whole is once again a turn-based RPG. New additions include a tiled turn-based movement to add some strategy. This was a welcomed change from The Stick Of Truth.

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Battles in the predecessor could grow kind of stale after a while. This meant I would avoid battles where I could, which was a shame. This time around the elements of strategy held my attention. Both due to the additions of movement and due to it battles being required to progress.

You can also multiclass as you progress further and level up. This allows you to mix and mash different moves types and really customise your powers.

For fans of the franchise, there are butt loads of callbacks and Easter eggs. Collectibles have made a return in the form yaoi posters and member berries. Member Chewbacca? Yeah, that’s right, you member.

Member Chewbacca…?

It also couldn’t be a South Park game with all the crazy inclusion of sensitive topics. You will see racism and police brutality and even gender and sexuality are tackled in The Fractured But Whole. If you are easily offended then you should probably save your money on this one. It’s not a game for those who have a delicate constitution.

There is no shortage of sensitive topics and content in the Fractured But Whole.

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The main story missions took me around 20 hours to complete. It felt like the right amount of time for the story and gameplay. For the more hardcore players, there is a slew of side quests and collectables to extend that out further. The side quests are fetch-quests but still contain plenty of callbacks and additional story.

Bow to Professor Chaos

I was impressed the first time around with the game’s predecessor but The Fractured But Whole outdoes it at every step. Ubisoft has done a great job of really bringing South Park to life. The way the children’s imagination correlates their abilities into real-life situations is fantastic.

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It’s as if the children actually have superhero powers. It also helps draw the line between the children and the adults. Sometimes that line gets a little grey though.

The weight of some of the happenings and decisions can be pretty heavy at points. It is South Park after all. There’s always some real meaning behind all the joking.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole really is an impressive game. Offensive and in your face, but impressive none the less.

The gameplay and exploration are fun and fulfilling in all ways video game. The story is insane and keeps you entertained for the entirety of the playthrough.

Matt Stone, Trey Parker and Ubisoft really managed to bring out that teenage me I’ve missed for so long.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole was reviewed on Xbox One using a digital code provided to PowerUp! by Ubisoft.