How a superhero roleplay turned into a conspiracy to contaminate South Park
In short: When the children of South Park traded fantasy quests for superhero franchises, they expected epic battles. Instead, they uncovered a sinister plot involving mutated cats, crime families, and a kingpin using feline urine to destabilize the entire town. This is the chaotic reality behind the 2017 sequel.
Released on October 17, 2017, South Park: The Fractured but Whole is a 2.5D role-playing game developed by Ubisoft San Francisco. Picking up just one day after the events of The Stick of Truth, the narrative follows the New Kid, a newcomer to town, as they are swept into a rivalry between two superhero factions: Coon and Friends, led by Eric Cartman, and the Freedom Pals, led by Dr. Timothy. What begins as a simple game to win a $100 reward for a missing cat quickly spirals into a massive conspiracy involving the police, sixth graders, and a mysterious new kingpin.
The gameplay mechanics reflect the show's signature absurdity. Players can choose from ten different superhero archexiotypes, such as the high-speed Speedster or the healing Plantmancer, and can even use powerful farts to manipulate time, skip turns, or summon past versions of themselves. Combat takes place on a variable-size grid where tactical positioning is essential to avoid environmental hazards like lava—represented by red Lego bricks—or to maximize damage by knocking enemies into one another. The game even features a system where the player's race selector functions as a difficulty slider.
Behind the scenes, the project saw a significant shift in development. Following Ubisoft's 2013 acquisition of the rights to the previous game, the sequel's production moved from Obsidian Entertainment to Ubisoft San Francisco. While creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were involved in writing the script and voicing characters, the game's release was delayed for nearly a year from its original December 2016 target. Despite divided critical opinions on its reliance on toilet humor, the game was praised for its creative combat and faithfulness to the animated series' aesthetic.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: South Park: The Fractured but Whole
- Also: Wikidata — South Park: The Fractured But Whole - Bring the Crunch · CC0
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