South Park: The Fractured But Whole

 PC
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
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  1. Riot Pixels
    Nov 17, 2017
    70
    Die-hard fans of South Park will get their bang for the buck in The Fractured But Whole, with familiar characters and sometimes funny jokes. But, compared to The Stick of Truth, this game is a definite step back.
  2. PCWorld
    Oct 16, 2017
    70
    Bugs aside, The Fractured But Whole is another successful translation of South Park to video games. Conceptually I still think Stick of Truth was stronger—it managed to mock fantasy video games as much as the fantasy genre itself. Fractured But Whole is undoubtedly a better experience though, with deeper combat, the same engaging exploration, and a more cogent story.
  3. PlayGround.ru
    Oct 26, 2017
    60
    The new South Park game doesn't give you any real challenge. Sometimes it's funny, but overall, it's just boring.
  5. Gameplanet
    Oct 26, 2017
    50
    The Fractured But Whole is more of the same. It's occasionally hilarious, but often misses. Not even an updated combat system and interesting new skills can disguise that fact that it is just The Stick of Truth in a different and less-interesting costume.
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  1. Ars Technica
    Oct 16, 2017
    There's $60 of content here, undoubtedly, but I'd happily pay Ubisoft for a slimmed-down non-interactive version with the unfunny game portions trimmed out. I loved how well Obsidian nailed the balancing act of "make it funny and make it interesting to play" last time. Ubisoft deserves credit for trying something new but not for how badly they stumbled.
  2. Eurogamer
    Oct 16, 2017
    South Park: The Fractured But Whole is an RPG with tangible qualities and enjoyable passages, but without the bite or imagination you'd expect of the name.
  3. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    Oct 16, 2017
    With the combat system and the way it’s actually trying to make a point with its exploration of social issues, The Fractured But Whole does improve on its predecessor in some ways, but it quickly starts to coast, relying too much on familiarity to get by. It’s still South Park, so we get to summon a drug-fueled Kyle’s dad to conduct a Heavy Metal bombing raid, and if you go into the back room of a church, yes, priests will try to have sex with you — it can be horrible and hilarious, just not as often as it needs to be to fill 15 hours.

Awards & Rankings

64
#64 Best PC Game of 2017
39
#39 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
86
#86 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 407 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 224 out of 407
  2. Mixed: 115 out of 407
  3. Negative: 68 out of 407
  1. rxgamer
    Oct 18, 2017
    2
    Typical UbiCancer. Vote with your wallet people.

    $100 price tag for full game Day 1 DLC Pre-order bonus Mandatory Uplay account    Typical UbiCancer. Vote with your wallet people.

    $100 price tag for full game
    Day 1 DLC
    Pre-order bonus
    Mandatory Uplay account
    Multiple layers of DRM (Steam, Uplay, Denuvo)
    Microtransactions in a single player game
    Game breaking bugs at launch
    Story quests locked behind a paywall
    Exclusive Ubisoft club content    … Full Review »
  2. Subjectdelta64
    Oct 20, 2017
    10
    Just finished the game today and I loved every second of it. These people posting reviews 6 hours into the game miss one of the biggest pointJust finished the game today and I loved every second of it. These people posting reviews 6 hours into the game miss one of the biggest point to be made - it starts off slow but the customization and amount of things you can do increases exponentially as the game progresses (summons, augments, characters can combo ultimates to make new ultimates, you can combine all classes and swap abilities in and out each fight etc.) I saw someone say the mechanics were weak but I think people are missing out on the fact that it's a tactics game first and an rpg second, that being said it still offers plenty of rpg content and customization that isn't just gear based you just need to unlock it. A lot of fine details in the environments for fans of the show, touching moments, a well written story (although intentionally silly cause South Park), and overall is the funniest f***ing game I've ever played.

    The combat follows a MegaMan BattleNetwork style which I absolutely loved being such a huge fan of those titles, the character interactions are great and each combination of playable heroes has their own banter during the fights.

    The side-quests kicked it up a notch from Stick of Truth aswell - often continuing on during your play-though of the main story with really brilliant payoffs.

    If you are an impatient little baby wanting extreme action and the funniest jokes you've ever heard in your life within the first 15 minutes then yeah, you will be disappointed.
    I have yet to experience a single bug my entire playtime as well so I do not know where this is coming from either.

    I felt I needed to defend this game cause even though there is Ubisoft cancer all over it, there is a brilliantly designed, well crafted game with a lot of heart put into it from South Park Studios.

    The Uplay is optional, doesn't help gameplay in the longrun, and you get an assassin's creed outfit? Why would anyone be upset missing out on this, I run around the game with a bra on my head and it's great, who cares? it's south park.

    I love this game, it's better than stick of truth by a long shot but even on the hardest difficulty it's very easy to cheese the combat if you are attentive enough.

    Please trust my review I have been a long time south park fan and gamer and I'd like to think I was a rather credible source on the matter. If you like south park and tactics games get this immediately.    … Full Review »
  3. nermack
    Oct 22, 2017
    5
    I tried to like this game i did but it's very slow and boring and i normally love rpgs. The story is not very good the combat drags so badlyI tried to like this game i did but it's very slow and boring and i normally love rpgs. The story is not very good the combat drags so badly since you have already done every ability by fight 20 so the next 300 are just long and the same crap over and over. After level 9 you no longer gain artifact slots so the difficulty of the game jumps as you can no longer get more powerful but the npc's do making each fight a long drawn out slog fest. At the end of the day it's just not that fun and in games fun should be the first priority. Also all the comedy is just fart jokes, very little else. Add in forced uplay even with steam, denuvo which was cracked day 1 so it only hurts people who bought it and content that was removed for dlc..... I just can not recommend this game.… Full Review »
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