Back in the 90s there were a couple of Beavis & Butt-head games. The Genesis version wasn’t bad, but when burping and farting were your primary attacks, the novelty wore off quick. I had concerns Stick of Truth would be in the same category. I’m not above toilet humor, but few can do it with, uh, well… charm.
There really is something charming about Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo. I can’t put my finger on it. His wife is an angry alcoholic. One of his kids was born with a nut in his head so he’s not the brightest nugget of his bunch. Yet Mr. Hankey has the right attitude about life, you know? I know a lot of people who didn’t have such a shit life, but they’re a lot less pleasant to be around than Mr. Hankey.
Yeah, I can’t believe I’m talking about a family of turds, either. Yet that sums up South Park. Gross but charming. Cartman is our generation’s Archie Bunker, the most satisfyingly politically incorrect character since Al Bundy. Meanwhile The Simpsons have lost steam and Family Guy wasn’t much more than a passing fad. South Park has always remained fresh, no doubt because of how insanely topical it is.
The Stick of Truth isn’t very topical, but neither was the movie, Bigger, Longer & Uncut. It’s a wise decision. Considering how long it takes to produce projects like this it would have been about as fresh as Avril Lavigne. While we’re on the subject of its long development, I don’t entirely see where all that time went. Yeah, the animation is relatively pitch-perfect, but each episode of the television show is pulled off in a matter of days. And while the combat system is surprisingly smooth I don’t think all the dev time went there, either.
If you’ve read my reviews on previous games, you know I’m still talking about all the stuff I didn’t like at this point. But there isn’t much to dislike about Stick of Truth as long as you’re a fan of the series. I could go on and on about why you should be a fan of the series, but some people will never see the light. Let’s put it this way: if you watch South Park on a regular basis and you enjoy RPG games like Skyrim, you’ll be in heaven. Well, maybe not if you paid $60 bucks for it. I hear it’s short and the replayability isn’t the highest.
Other than that, I have a feeling it’s not only the funniest game we’ll see for a while, but the best. Now if you’ll excuse me I have to work on my sneaky squeeker.
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