South Park: The Stick of Truth hands-on preview

I feel suitably forewarned/reassured that the South Park licensing is more than just a name. The game has been overseen, written and voiced by the shows creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, a duo more recently heralded for the brilliant stage-show The Book of Mormon. But while South Park, famous for its sharp satire, crude language and devilishly effective shock humour, may have had its glory years at the turn of the century, it remains as culturally relevant and able to offend as ever. Now in its 17th year, its equal-opportunity attitude to lampooning has narked celebrities, school bodies, libertarians and conservatives. As well as religious groups, of course, most infamously when Parker and Stone were targeted by Muslim extremists for their portrayal of Mohammed. Its puerile, gross, gratuitously offensive. Hilarious too, and startling in its sociological acuteness.

As you might expect, South Parks initial target is the video game genre The Stick of Truth finds itself part of, gently mocking the tropes of the RPG while using them almost wholesale. But they are implemented with a light touch. The Stick of Truth is developed by Obsidian, a studio that certainly knows its way around an RPG after its work on Fallout, Baldurs Gate and Neverwinter Nights. A heady history, but the RPG mechanics of The Stick of Truth have largely been simplified, leading to a game thats more akin to Nintendos brilliant Paper Mario RPGs than anything from Obsidians back catalogue. Depth appears to be there if you want it with perks, skill trees and weapon buffs aplenty but the initial impression was one of accessibility. This will appeal to South Park fans first and RPG fans second, with the former reassured they should be able to pick up The Stick of Truth without being baffled by its mechanics.

You navigate South Park on a 2D plane in order to mimic the cartoons visual style, though you are able to move in and out of the screen to explore your environment. Moving around is a cinch, but as it stands the structure of the map itself is somewhat clunky. South Parks roads are layered on top of each other, with connecting roads intersecting them, but planning your movement is trickier than it should be. There is Timmys fast travel, located at certain points around the town, though it seems a shame to forego exploration due to wonky map structure.

Its a rare gripe in an otherwise slick and fast hour. The early quests are predictably busywork, having you scoot around town to familiarise yourself and meet characters as you go. First up is to recruit Token, Tweek and Craig to Cartmans faction. Many inhabitants of South Park can be friended on Facebook as you meet them, which unlocks perks and more messages on your timeline.

Other inhabitants, of course, need a good shoeing. Your bread and butter battling will be against the opposing faction (you start with Cartman, but reportedly you can switch allegiance to Stan and Kyle later on), with various different classes facing off in turn-based fights. I KNOW ITS LAME, screeches Cartman. BUT TAKING TURNS IS HOW WERE DOING IT, KAY?

If the early fights are anything to go on, though, the battling is fast and involving. You can select your abilities from a radial wheel, from standard attacks to special moves. As a thief, I was armed with a toy dagger and able to perform backstabs. Each move comes with its own timed button presses to boost your attacks, and if you can time your presses in defence, you can reduce the damage you take. The interaction keeps things moving at a steady pace, while strategic quirks are introduced fairly quickly. Enemies with armour must be attacked with a charged strike, but shields must be battered with quicker standard attacks. Enemies are stacked, often with archers behind melee opponents, meaning you need to use a projectile attack of your own. Status effects such as bleeding and paralysis can be administered or received. Health points can be topped up by scoffing Cheesy Poofs, while a waft of a Taco will revive the unconscious; health potions by another name.

Its wholly familiar stuff, but presented in such a way as to be breezily enjoyable. The sight of Butters, playing a mage, boosting your health by simply giving you a pat on the back before launching an actual claw hammer during a kids play fight is quite the thing. You can attach items you find in the world to your weapon as strap-ons which add properties or extra damage to your attacks, such as a dead bird which offers up gross-out damage. Then there is what Cartman calls the Dragon Shout, a super move in which you wiggle the control sticks in order to build an enormous fart before releasing your charged flatulence at your enemies. Or you could simply relieve yourself in the bathroom, but keep the result in your inventory as a faeces-themed hand grenade.

Id hazard that if poo-bombs arent your thing, The Stick of Truth is not going to appeal. This is very much South Park, the cartoons influence dictating a fun, accessible RPG in its own inimitable way. It is a testament to both Obsidian and South Park Studios that the two parts feel like a whole and that the respective studios had a blast pulling them together but the question is how long they can sustain each other over the course of the game? Will the joke run thin, or the mechanical accessibility give way to repetitive simplicity? Impossible to tell from the first hour, but the fact Im excited to see what follows that hour suggests they are on the right track.

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South Park: The Stick of Truth hands-on preview