South Park™: The Fractured But Whole™

Miserable steam deck experience. Requires internet for no reason and crashes. As a game its win some loose some. Still pretty good.

It was fun at times but the game overstays its welcome with how little gameplay variety it has. The last section of the game is just five boss fight right after each other and paired with combat thats not really deep resulted in not a great experience.

The difficulty was much better than the first game and on the highest difficulty I actually felt challenge in some encounters.

The writing was both awful and brilliant. Different parts of the game had different quality but thats personal preference of the humor.
And the ending felt rushed.

I felt neutral about this game, it started good but at the end I was just wishing for it to end but the need for Ubisoft launcher gave me the final push towards the negative review.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole : By Triple F

"South Park: The Fractured But Whole", the 2017 role-playing game developed by Ubisoft in collaboration with South Park Digital Studios, brings the crude humor and absurdity of the popular animated series to life in an interactive experience. This game, a follow-up to 2014’s South Park: The Stick of Truth, swaps out the fantasy RPG genre for a superhero-themed adventure that’s still brimming with the signature irreverence fans of the show expect. Players once again take on the role of the "New Kid," venturing through the small Colorado town of South Park to solve mysteries, fight foes, and navigate the wild imagination of its residents.

One of the game’s biggest strengths lies in its deeply intertwined narrative, which pays homage to superhero tropes while simultaneously mocking them. The game sets up a conflict between two rival superhero factions, Coon and Friends. Led by Eric Cartman's foul-mouthed superhero alter-ego, The Coon, and the Freedom Pals, who split off after a falling out over franchise rights. The plot satirizes everything from the oversaturation of superhero films to the trivial squabbles that arise over cinematic universes. The characters, each taking on distinct superhero personas, playfully embody exaggerated archetypes. For instance, Mysterion (Kenny McCormick) with his edgy vigilante vibe and Toolshed (Stan Marsh), a handyman-themed hero, are given backstories that are ridiculous yet resonate with the game’s absurd tone.

The gameplay mechanics represent a significant upgrade from "The Stick of Truth", particularly in terms of combat. The Fractured But Whole uses a grid-based combat system, reminiscent of turn-based tactics games, which adds a layer of strategy previously absent. Players are encouraged to consider positioning, character abilities, and the environment to exploit tactical advantages. Each character has unique abilities, Cartman’s tank-like Coon charges enemies head-on, while Kyle’s Human Kite uses supportive powers to heal allies or provide cover. This variety in combat abilities gives players a wide array of strategies to experiment with, and the freedom to swap characters into the party allows for flexibility in playstyle.

Customization and RPG elements also received considerable enhancements in this installment. Players can customize their own superhero persona, choosing from multiple classes and a variety of powers that can be combined to suit personal play preferences. The game incorporates a leveling system that influences stats and character progression, achieved by collecting “artifacts” that add to the player’s power level. While the artifact system can feel a bit convoluted, it generally adds depth to the RPG experience, giving players an incentive to explore and experiment with different setups. Costumes, while mostly cosmetic, allow for additional personalization, letting players embrace their inner superhero with a flair.

Humor is a double-edged sword in "The Fractured But Whole". The game leans into South Park’s offensive, no-holds-barred style, with jokes that touch on everything from social justice to racial stereotypes. While fans of the series will appreciate the game’s fearless approach, players unfamiliar with South Park’s humor may find some jokes distasteful or alienating. That said, the writing is sharp, clever, and often absurdly funny, delivering consistent laughs and capturing the show’s unique comedic rhythm. Certain sequences, like the notorious encounter with a “stripper boss” or the fight against a priest wielding unsettlingly suggestive attacks, demonstrate how "The Fractured But Whole" unapologetically pushes boundaries, often to hilarious effect.

A major improvement is the expanded map of South Park itself, which feels more like an actual town than the limited setting in "The Stick of Truth". Players can explore iconic locations like the school, City Wok, and Tweek’s Coffee, encountering various side quests and collectibles along the way. The expanded setting adds immersion and makes exploration rewarding, though backtracking can occasionally feel tedious due to limited fast-travel options. Environmental puzzles, like moving obstacles with special abilities, provide a welcome change of pace from combat, though these puzzles are often straightforward.

Overall, "South Park: The Fractured But Whole" succeeds in blending role-playing mechanics with South Park’s distinct comedic style to create a memorable experience. Its witty writing, improved combat mechanics, and expanded customization options make it an enjoyable sequel that feels fresh while still staying true to its predecessor’s roots. However, the humor and storyline may not appeal to everyone, especially those who are not fans of South Park’s brash style. For those who can appreciate (or tolerate) the irreverence, "The Fractured But Whole" offers an entertaining and genuinely funny adventure that’s more than just a fan-service cash-in.

Very enjoyable game, with fun game mechanic and story. Highly recommend!

One of the best games I have ever played! As of the time of writing, this is my second play-through, and it still retains its original laugh-out-loud quality. Having played The Stick of Truth extensively, I can safely say that this is, overall, a better game. I can concede that in story, SOT is superior, albeit by a small margin, but it is in combat mechanics that The Fractured But Whole really set itself apart from its predecessor. It's a matter of personal preference, but FBW's grid-based combat has always been more appealing, at least in my opinion, contrasted with the 'Paper-Mario-esque' system utilized by the Stick of Truth; it ascertains the necessary depth to make every fight a standalone event - something that isn't seen as a chore used to prolong the story. Furthermore, I'd like to point out the incredible achievement that is this game's well-liked existence; it was thought that a commendable extension to the Stick of Truth was extremely unlikely - so good a game it was - yet this game stands, not only as an equal individually, but as a flowing addition. It was the primary reason Snow Day is seen as the colossal failure that IGN described it as: it accomplished the impossible. It raised the sequential bar to such a standard a half-baked game like that couldn’t compete with. Now, that’s not to say Snow Day is not a good game. On the contrary, I thought it was decent on release, and that the majority of criticism it got was undeserved. Its hate was founded on the simple fact that fans were expecting an extension of FBW, with its lovable 2.5D aesthetic, and they got a 3D, run-based hack-and-slash. But returning to my original point, The Fractured But Whole is absolutely worth the $30 price-tag, and is a shining example of what a turn-based RPG should look like. If at all possible, I would also recommend the Stick of Truth, which you can often receive the South Park combo pack for dirt cheap. Literally, I got both games for 12 dollars on Steam.

Puzzles aren't fun. Fights get repetitive. Last chapters doesn't work, I just closed the game because my main character died before a cut-scene happened and a new fight began, now the game wants me to attack with the dead character but it doesn't attack or passes my turn so the game doesn't let me play. I need to load my save my file progress every time this happens.

game no longer works on the pc i used to buy it on, worked fine for 6 years now it wont. no offline mode work around. a new version of windows is not the issue i bought it on and for this machine, not on or for a future machine to play red dead redemption 5. i would not be interested in an old butt game on new hardware like space invaders that`s overkill and stupid and kills my nostalgia for old hardware.

More South Park, more fun!

The interface is this game is pretty horrible compared to the first one, but the game itself is still great. I prefer the combat in this game, though it's not all that different, and it's still really simple.

Like the original, this game excells by really capturing the humour of South Park, and make you feel that you are really a part of one of their episodes. They could maybe turn down the fart jokes, but what are you gonna do - Matt and Trey smoke so...

Final thoughts - The DLCs are actually a really nice addition, except for Token's arena. Those are just fights where you can get loot.

Basically is a giant south park episode. At first I did not like the battle system. But by the end I was great to be able to play as multiple characters. Instead of a single person in the stick of truth. The dlc are really fun and is must play after finishing the game . If you really liked the stick of truth you would really like this game

It's no Stick of Truth, but it's an okay sequel. As someone who honestly doesn't watch South Park, I somehow fell in love with Stick of Truth. Played this on since it appeared to be a direct sequel and you can definitely see that lack of charm and story telling that Obsidian is well known for. Hopefully we see another Obsidian-developed South Park game in the future, especially considering how poorly the latest South Park game is being received.

Forgot how long the game is, but I love South Park and enjoy just doing so much. Highly recommend playing the Stick of Truth first however.

I Personally cant review this without mentioning The Stick of Truth

An absolutely beautiful game. The humor is just what I expected. My only gripe is that this port is recommended to use a controller, but it definitely isn't needed.

It’s like watching a banger of a South Park season/movie.

I still remember the hype for this game when I was still at high school having recently completed “The Stick of Truth” and not having any money for pre-order/purchase. I later bought the game for Xbox and finished it there a couple of years back.

Then again it is not the same as playing it in handheld mode on the Steam Deck. I got the game again on sale and my overall experience remained the same. Since “The Stick of Truth”, I got obsessed with this type of games. The mechanics perfectly suit the story and world of South Park and there is something genius about how this games were crafted. I can confidently say that this one is as good as the first one as it has it all - South Park humour/satire, great story, progression and mechanics.

Overall, it is a must-play title. It also runs great on the Steam Deck.

The game is good, but f*ck you denuvo and ubisoft connect
and why do I need internet access to play these games with a steam deck? WHY !?

10/10 would fracture my ass to play this game again because i sat on it for so long.

combat system a little bit worse than the first one but the game is still good

It's really good. It's not too long, the combat is engaging and will routinely change up objectives during combat to change up how you handle battles. I'm not a huge turn-based combat fan as eventually every battle becomes a routine pattern, but this game kept things interesting. I'm also a fan of South Park humor so I enjoyed the story.

It is a great game full of comedy. The combat is still turn-based like in the first game and we all know what happened in "Snow Day", that game failed because it was not a single player story or co-op story, just a big arena South Park "shooter". The DLC are good to and they are a must to have a full story, a great tutorial for new gamers. I recommend the game and usually is on sale on any platform. Enjoy.

Take everything funny and great about the first game, throw it away, and you'll have this game. I couldn't wait to finish it - not because I was really enjoying it; I just really wanted it to be over.

This game is actually fire there is so many fractured but holes 10/10 must try again

Even tho I enjoyed the first one a bit more (especially the combat) I would still recommend playing the sequel. VERY funny as expected from a South Park game with no censorship, great game.

Funny game, I genuinely can't tell if I like it more than the first one. The battle system is so creative and fantastic, its a longer, more substantial game. The in-game dialogue and interactions are hilarious. Amazing game.

South Park The Fractured but Whole is a perfect sequel to the amazing Stick of Truth SP game. The game would've been fine if they just started out as super heroes but going the extra mile to make the transition from the first game to this one, which I really appreciate.

The one downside that I will mention is the Ubisoft launcher which is just an unnecessary hurdle.

The characters are all unique, interesting, strong in their own merit and lovable, the game really lets you play around with all of them and excluding some mission which force a certain party upon you, you can pretty much use any characters you desire.

The story is interesting, but it feels dragged out at the end of the game, just for the sake of increasing play time. The same thing can be said about the DLCs as well. I enjoyed the DLCs, but it felt like they just squeezed as many fights as possible in it with a few cutscenes.

Slightly worse than SoT but still very good. Some nice upgrades, some annoying ones (selfies...). It's nice that it takes longer to complete this game, but at the same time it's strange - it feels like they prepared player better for the final boss in SoT than here: that was actually disappointing but it doesn't change the fact, that it's still a great game

pretty fun i would reccomended this game. This games does not age because it just feels like playing half of a south park season that's just about super hero's. Also some fun turn based combat. I do like the detail where you can use every power in the game as you see fit in 3 slots and you can pick any ultimate ability to! In laymens terms you can pick your own load out to use and it will work play the game how you want.

Awesome sequel in gaming franchise, the bar is set low and they managed to make another fart joke game with super heroes in south park universe. i didnt get the bowels of time achievement so review is negative. also there is no replayability if anyone wonders.

the stick of truth's combat style ain't shit compared to this games combat style. love south park, initially played this on playstation, but since this was on sale for 8.99, i got it along with a couple DLC's that only costed 2.99 bc of the sale.
this game is the definition of brain rot, but i love it.

Asked for a refund because Ubisoft Connect is awful. The 15 minutes of gameplay clocked is solely from failing to create an account.

If you love South Park, this game is great, it's literally like watching a South Park movie. Get it on sale and enjoy it!

Really nice if you like South Park in general. It has a lot of good jokes. Mechanics are interesting and the story sucks you in.

game is good, but the ubisoft launcher? so not needed
also run pretty well even in my PC specs is below recommended lol

I love this game!! got 100% and also the Casa Bonita DLC
i would recomend this if you like the show, it feels like you´re in an episode.
def one of my favs, and honestly the best game out of the 3 South Park games

The South Park style humor is still there, but doesn't feel the same.

Compared to "The Stick of Truth" I find "The Fractured But Whole" lacking in some aspects. The map and characters feel less developed (a good example is Canada, which was a big letdown). Summons stories are developed to the bare minimum.

The DLCs are just a mess. The Day 1 cosmetic DLC and a paid tutorial DLC speak for themselves.

The Fractured But Whole contains bugs like if you overlever your character, you lose access to editing artifacts, and need to load an older save or start from the beginning. I've encountered only a few of them, but your experience may warry.

I recommend buying it only at a discount.

Anything South Park related is great. Fun story and funny moments. This and the The Stick of Truth are both great games. I'd still probably prefer the Stick of Truth over this, but there was nothing I disliked about either game.
Just whatever you do, don't buy the South Park game "Snow Day!".. that game is ass

great game but the ubisoft thing sucks 10/10 game ubisoft 1/10

One of the more entertaining RPG ive played. good shock factor comedy and moves fast through the story which kept me playing.

I was thoroughly enjoying this game. Finally finished it. The ending was just terrible. Just left a horrifically bad taste in my mouth. It's a fractured but whole experience.

I can't remember the last time I actually laughed out loud while playing a video game. There are so many funny moments in this game where the characters address you directly. For example Eric will repeat dialogue in a slightly more annoyed tone if it's clear you weren't listening. If you go to skip a cut-scene Eric will say "oh you don't want to skip this dude this is sweet."

I was sceptical about how much I would like the combat style because I'm more of a fps gamer but after pushing through the first several tutorial fights I found I really enjoyed it. The different classes and combat buddy combinations you can make really are entertaining. There's also a lot of things to do collection-wise and I can see that it's actually realistic to get 100% achievements on this game if you really wanted to.

There are times where it's clear that this is a sequel to Stick of Truth so I do wish I played that first but I'm sure I'll get it eventually.

on the surface yes. Game is hilarious and so fucking funny from being a long time fan of the show. From a "completionist aspect" fucking awful. I ran into genuine bugs where if I had a controller plugged in the game would be unresponsive until I "Alt+ Tabbed" out of and back into the game. Not like "once per combat scenario" more like literally every individual characters turn, including enemies. There are a few things that really tank my love for this game. Another big one being... You HAVE to have a third party launcher to even play the game. Regardless of the platform of ownership being Steam.
If you can get past everything else. The game has real gold hidden underneath shit. You just gotta wipe away the shit first.

This game is really awesome,fun gameplay and story line,its also really funny sometimes

Revolting, funny, South Park. Nice secuel but I think I liked more the first gameplay. The endgame was the most out of hands sh!t I ever seen tho

Aside from constantly having to restart my game because of Ubisoft, the game and story is actually pretty fun for the most part. There are some classic easter eggs and south park well just being south park. 8 of 10 recommend, but be prepared to deal with ubisoft launchers usual issues

This is a fun game without a lot of replay value. I definitely recommend playing it at least once. Unfortunately, the jokes don't land as well the second time.

It's a pity South Park has been watered down by all the censorship it had to go through. Nonetheless, the game is still pretty fun to play and has some funny moments. New combat is definetely a big plus.

Why is every game by Ubisoft so broken and buggy? Including this one? - After Completing the campaign and getting through the very buggy section of Mephestos genetic Lab where I had to constantly Alt+Esc in order to resume with what should be normal battle mechanics. Along with repeating the story from the beginning because of a glitch with completing the Fastpass fast travel mission. Then to see their very own devs admit not wanting to fix bugs and waiting several years past the "bug fix contract period" to admit that they will not be fixing the bugs. I definitely will not be purchasing the DLC or any further games from Ubisoft ever again.

it's just fun. it doesn't have to be highbrow entertainment, it's just enjoyable to play and the story is funny.

In South Park TFBW it takes everything you loved about the first game the SOT and enhanced it. This game has a combat style that is different and it takes place in a grid like style. I've done so much fighting in this game, I don't even remember how the first games combat went. This South Park game adds more characters, like my boy Towlie. FULL of South Park references and hilarious jokes. Game always had me laughing. Loved all the different classes you could choose from and be, as well as the special combat items you could use to enhance the battle experience. 9/10 game, solid purchase, and would definitely recommend.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole – The Most Epic Superhero Showdown Ever! 🦸‍♂️💥

If you're a South Park fan, this game is like diving headfirst into the funniest and most absurd episode of the show. The Fractured But Whole takes everything great about The Stick of Truth and cranks it up to 11! 🎮🤯

The story? Absolutely hilarious. It's packed with jokes, twisted plotlines, and superhero chaos that only Trey Parker and Matt Stone could come up with. You play as the New Kid, joining Cartman and the gang in their epic quest to become... the ultimate superhero team. 🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

The gameplay? Way better than you'd expect. Turn-based combat, strategic moves, and every fight feels like an episode of South Park, complete with insane abilities and over-the-top animations. The world of South Park is brought to life in a way that's funny, chaotic, and surprisingly relaxing – you’ll be laughing too hard to stress! 🤣💥

Whether you're here for the laughs or the amazing gameplay, The Fractured But Whole is hands down the best South Park game ever made. If you love the show, you need to play this game. 🌟🎮

Generated with AI and <3

I’m writing this like waaay after I finished it. The sequel to the stick of truth, a game I enjoyed for oh so many reasons just keeps up with its predecessor. Stick of truth and fractures but whole are what every South Park fan wanted ever since the first time we saw Kenny die for the 100th time or Cartman being Cartman. We wanted to play a fun game in the city of South Park, with its characters, humor and art style. So, Tray and Matt delivered and I wholeheartedly thank them for that. It was a blast.

Pros:
- You are in South Park, an awesome game version of it.
- You get a background story as the ‘new kid’ with the special power of making friends unnaturally quickly. On top of that you have mystical fart powers that bend the fabric of reality.
- This game in particular has a secret super boss and I laughed my ass off when I learned about it.
- The quality of the humor is between the first half of the series and the last 6ish seasons so not as somewhat flat as the newer seasons tend to be but still not on par with the earlier ones. Still a plus though.
- The difficulty level is just about right. That was something I missed with stick of truth, that one felt too easy very early on.
- The story picks up right after stick of truth and makes oh so many references to it.
- The funniest thing for me was that no matter what super hero role you pick your ‘tragic background story’ was always you seeing your dad fucking your mom. Most brilliant joke in the entire game.
Cons:
- Not a whole lot here. As I said if you like south park its nitpicking to say anything outstandingly negative about it. If anything I’d wished for a real harder difficulty mode instead of the joke that the game gets harder the darker your skin is (which it wasn’t, it was just a joke). But yeah, that’s about it.

I love this game. Together with stick of truth we have a masterpiece of south park story telling here.