South Park: Snow Day!

I wanted to love this game, especially when I heard that Matt and Trey wanted this as an avenue to have a sort of metaverse with the show. So, events can happen in the show on one night and the next it picking up in the game. The premise is very cool, but sadly this game ain’t it. Its going to take a lot of patches and things to get this up to snuff, which is sad because it does some neat things. The different cards in game that work as powers for one, players can choose one ‘bullshit’ card to use which is some uber power like making someone vampires, or giving super strength. All of it with the vibe that these are still kids playing outside. Sadly, it’s all just wasted in its current state, I really hope the developers can turn this around because I want to go on down to South Park and meet some friends of mine.

After two triumphant video game outings, South Park: Snow Day is a crushingly disappointing effort, with new development team Question leaving behind everything that made the New Kid’s previous two adventures such a success. Bland combat, a distinct lack of humor, and one-dimensional level design come together to create something that I suspect most will bounce off immediately. Not even the mildly interesting rogue-lite card system and persistent upgrades can save this one from disaster. At worst, I expected Snow Day to be something that at least could be recommended to hardcore fans, but with such a disregard for what makes South Park special, this is one even the most die-hard of fans can avoid.

South Park: Snow Day! distances itself from previous games both in terms of genre and visuals: and the result falls short of expectations, with repetitive and unimaginative combat.

It is hard to discern just who South Park: Snow Day! is for. Diehard South Park fans will not get much out of its lackluster references and lack of new ideas for the franchise. Meanwhile, those who care more about playing a fun game won’t find the mechanical complexity that can be found in previous franchise RPGs.

South Park Snow Day feels like a step in the wrong direction for the franchise. With fantastic RPGs that nailed the vibe of the show so well, it’s hard to understand why they would instead move the games in such a misguided direction...With an uninteresting gameplay loop that relies on other players for its fun, the release just simply doesn’t hold up when put against other heavy hitters of a similar genre. And even when the game does feel good, it seldom feels like a South Park project, leaving players wondering what could have been.

Despite being occasionally funny, the game is never fun.

What’s unforgivable is that, at its core, South Park: Snow Day! isn’t remotely fun to play. Its combat and progression systems aren’t engaging, and only the most hardcore of South Park fans will find a glimmer of hope in the bulletproof humour that’s borrowed from the cartoon.

South Park: Snow Day! features some interesting mechanics that change up the drudgery of its mediocre combat, but it ultimately feels too shallow and underdeveloped. The short length doesn’t allow much room for the content to grow or develop, either. In the end, I think this is one snow day I’d rather stay inside for.

Calling Snow Day a rehash of its predecessors wouldn't be fair. In fact, that would be a compliment. While the last game had enough content to keep players engaged for 20-30 hours, you can plow through South Park: Snow Day in less than five hours. Since Snow Day is less expensive, it's fair to expect less content. However, it's also fair to expect some effort, and it pains me to say that Snow Day feels like a cold-hearted cash grab.

South Park: Snow Day! is a roguelike shooter experience that is short and extremely mediocre to the point of being bad. While it isn't incredibly broken, it still fails to provide a meaningful experience, especially compared to the games that came before it. The shift from 2D to 3D isn't important at all. Rather, it's the incredibly repetitive and boring approach it takes alongside its formulaic plotline that makes it feel like one of the worst episodes in the series.

THQ Nordic has truly channelled its namesake with South Park: Snow Day, an underbaked, content-less licensed game that imbues the worst of the PS2-era for a modern audience. Stay indoors.

South Park: Snow Day! flushes a nostalgic multiplayer premise down the toilet.