South Park Snow Day is a DISASTER!
Summary
TLDRThis video script details a passionate and personal journey through the South Park video game series, focusing on the anticipation and excitement for 'The Stick of Truth' and its sequel, 'The Fractured But Whole.' The narrator reflects on their childhood love for South Park, collecting merchandise, and their initial foray into Let's Plays with these games. Despite their love for the series, they express disappointment with the latest installment, 'South Park Snow Day,' criticizing its execution, lack of originality, and the shift towards a live service model. The video combines nostalgia, detailed game analysis, and a critical perspective on the franchise's direction, leaving viewers with a nuanced view of South Park's gaming legacy.
Takeaways
- 😃 The excitement and anticipation for the release of 'South Park: The Stick of Truth' was unparalleled, especially as a young fan at the height of South Park mania.
- 📚 'The Stick of Truth' and its sequel 'The Fractured But Whole' were seen as high-quality games that paid homage to the South Park series, with significant involvement from creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
- 🔥 The announcement of a 3D South Park game brought mixed feelings, given previous games' emphasis on replicating the show's unique 2D art style.
- 🚫 Concerns were raised about 'South Park: Snow Day's focus on a snow-themed environment, fearing repetitive visuals and gameplay.
- 🤔 The game's live service model and seasonal pass system sparked skepticism about its long-term value and engagement.
- 🙄 Disappointments included technical issues, lack of engaging content, repetitive enemy encounters, and underwhelming humor compared to the series' high standards.
- 😭 'Snow Day' seemed to lack the depth and creativity of its predecessors, with the creators' enthusiasm and involvement noticeably lesser.
- 🤨 The narrative eventually ties back to the series with a twist involving Mr. Hanky, but this wasn't enough to salvage the overall experience.
- 😮 Despite some improvement in gameplay and mechanics towards the latter part of the game, it was deemed not enough to recommend 'Snow Day'.
- 👍🏻 Hopes remain for future South Park gaming projects, with a desire for improvement and a return to the engagement and quality of earlier titles.
Q & A
What was the narrator's anticipation level for the release of South Park: The Stick of Truth?
-The narrator had an unbridled excitement for the release of South Park: The Stick of Truth, being a huge fan of the South Park series at that time.
What previous South Park game did the narrator play and struggle with?
-The narrator played the original PlayStation shooter South Park game and struggled with it, unable to get past level two.
How did the narrator react to the announcement of South Park: The Stick of Truth?
-Upon hearing about The Stick of Truth, the narrator was immediately on board, expressing willingness to wait through any game delays.
What were the narrator's views on the sequel, South Park: The Fractured But Whole?
-The narrator enjoyed The Fractured But Whole but felt it lost some of the simplicity of its predecessor and dragged out towards the end.
How involved were Matt Stone and Trey Parker in the South Park games?
-Matt Stone and Trey Parker put a lot of work into ensuring the games were amazing, as seen in The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole.
What was the anticipated direction for a new South Park game, according to the narrator and their friend?
-The narrator and their friend speculated that if a new South Park game were made, it should focus on superheroes.
What was the reaction to South Park: Snow Day being 3D?
-The shift to 3D in South Park: Snow Day was unexpected, as earlier games emphasized replicating the show's unique 2D art style.
What disappointed the narrator about South Park: Snow Day's level design?
-The narrator was disappointed with the repetitive and similar-looking snowy environments in South Park: Snow Day, which lacked variety.
How did the narrator describe the enemy variety in South Park: Snow Day?
-The narrator found the enemy variety in South Park: Snow Day to be lacking, with similar kids copied throughout and limited dialogue.
What was the narrator's overall recommendation about South Park: Snow Day?
-The narrator did not recommend South Park: Snow Day due to its lack of content, repetitive gameplay, and not living up to its potential.
Outlines
🎮 Anticipation for 'South Park: The Stick of Truth'
The narrator expresses their childhood excitement for the release of 'South Park: The Stick of Truth,' reflecting on their deep fandom for the South Park series during their early high school years. Despite initially struggling with an earlier South Park game, their anticipation remained undeterred by the game's delays. Upon its release, coinciding with their birthday, the game exceeded their expectations, leading to numerous playthroughs. The sequel, 'The Fractured But Whole,' although enjoyed, was noted for its departure from the simplicity of its predecessor. The narrator appreciated the evident effort by creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker to elevate the franchise's gaming legacy, leading to speculation about future directions for South Park games.
🔍 Reflecting on 'The Fractured But Whole' and Speculation on Future Games
The narrator reminisces about the sequel 'The Fractured But Whole,' appreciating it despite noting its differences from the original. They recall discussing potential sequel ideas, focusing on superheroes, before transitioning into skepticism about the series' future direction. Initial reactions to a 3D South Park game are mixed, reflecting on the creators' previous insistence on maintaining the show's unique 2D style in gaming. The narrator expresses concerns over the franchise's direction, fearing a departure from the love and care previously characteristic of South Park games.
🕹️ Initial Gameplay Impressions of 'South Park: Snow Day'
The narrator dives into their first impressions of 'South Park: Snow Day,' noting its departure into a 3D format and expressing disappointment with its execution and lack of enthusiasm from the creators. Initial gameplay is criticized for its repetitiveness, poor design choices, and lack of engaging content. Despite this, the narrator finds moments of enjoyment in the game's attempts at innovation, such as the card system and encounters with various characters. However, these elements are overshadowed by the game's overall lack of depth and engaging mechanics.
🎙️ Disappointments and Lack of Content in 'South Park: Snow Day'
Critiquing 'South Park: Snow Day' further, the narrator highlights its shallow enemy variety, uninspiring combat system, and tedious level design. They lament the lost potential in the game's thematic elements and the excessive repetitiveness that dulls the gameplay experience. The narrator also points out technical issues, such as audio desynchronization and poor sound design, adding to the game's overall lack of polish. Additionally, the forced co-op mode is criticized for its ineffective AI companions, contributing to a frustrating gameplay experience.
👾 Gameplay Challenges and Frustrations
Detailing further gameplay experiences, the narrator describes significant challenges and frustrations encountered in 'South Park: Snow Day,' particularly with its lengthy levels and lack of checkpoints. The lack of content and the forced repetition of game sections after failure are major points of criticism. Despite attempting to give the game another chance, the narrator struggles with the game's fundamental design flaws and lack of engaging content, leading to a questioning of the game's development decisions and the creators' involvement.
💡 A Glimmer of Hope and Potential Improvements
Despite initial criticisms, the narrator finds aspects of 'South Park: Snow Day' more enjoyable upon further exploration, noting improvements in weapon variety and the strategic use of game mechanics. The game's latter stages reveal more engaging gameplay and hints of the classic South Park humor. However, these improvements come too late, with the game's earlier sections lacking in compelling content. The narrator suggests potential directions for future South Park games, emphasizing a single-player focus and a deeper integration of the series' characters and themes.
🎬 Concluding Thoughts and Future of South Park Games
In concluding their review of 'South Park: Snow Day,' the narrator reflects on the game's shortcomings, particularly its live-service model and limited content. Despite recognizing the game's late improvements and unique elements, they cannot recommend it due to its overall lack of depth and engagement. The review ends with speculation on the future of South Park games, expressing hope that the creators will learn from this experience and develop more ambitious and polished titles in the future.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡South Park: The Stick of Truth
💡Let's Play
💡South Park: The Fractured But Whole
💡Matt Stone and Trey Parker
💡Live Service Game
💡Season Pass
💡Game Mechanics
💡Repetitiveness
💡Fan Expectations
💡Content Creation
Highlights
The anticipation and excitement for the release of South Park: The Stick of Truth during the user's youth.
The Stick of Truth was highly awaited despite multiple delays, coinciding with the user's birthday.
The user's profound admiration for The Stick of Truth, leading to hundreds of hours of gameplay.
Early engagement with South Park games and the disappointment with the initial PlayStation shooter.
Speculation and excitement about the possibility of a sequel to The Stick of Truth.
The sequel, The Fractured But Whole, received mixed reactions for its changes from the original.
Appreciation for the dedication Matt Stone and Trey Parker put into making their video game projects successful.
Speculation about future South Park games, including potential themes like ninjas or Imaginationland.
Concerns over the move to a 3D format for the next South Park game, diverging from the show's unique 2D art style.
Initial skepticism about South Park: Snow Day due to its $30 price point and perceived lack of content.
The lack of enthusiasm from Matt Stone and Trey Parker for South Park: Snow Day compared to previous projects.
The repetitive and uninspiring gameplay of South Park: Snow Day.
The challenges of adapting South Park's iconic characters and settings into a 3D video game environment.
The realization that Snow Day's gameplay and design fell short of expectations.
A call for improvement and innovation in future South Park video game projects.
Transcripts
nothing will ever compare to the
unbridled excitement I had waiting for
the release of South Park this stick of
truth I was 12 years old at the time in
my first year of high school and
probably at the height of my South Park
fandom I was collecting the old plushies
I would rewatch The Movie on DVD
constantly and just wanted to consume as
much of the franchise as humanly
possible and with that it led me wanting
something a good South Park game to play
I got the original Play Station shooter
for my birthday one year along with
sonico six happy birthday me but I could
not comprehend that thing I could not
get past level two so as soon as the
Stick of Truth was an on I was
immediately on board I don't care how
many delays I got to wait through well
wait okay I didn't mean it and boy was I
lucky to have it released the same month
as my birthday means I got to wait a
whole four weeks before I could play it
wowe I adored that game I had hundreds
of hours in it which is really
surprising considering how relatively
short it is for an RPG but I would
replay it constantly running through the
over and over again as all the different
classes loved it so much that it was
even one of the first Let's Plays I'd
ever uploaded to this channel this is uh
this is where I'd show it but I think I
got so embarrassed by them that I wiped
them off the face of the Earth so enjoy
this review of its sequel the fractured
butth hole instead me and my friend were
talking during class one day about what
a sequel to the game would be like and
we both agreed that if the game were to
ever get a sequel it should be a about
super right that's enough of that
speaking of the sequel also really
enjoyed that one too wasn't a fan of of
all the changes I think it lost a bit of
its Simplicity and it drags out a ton by
the end but for what it was I saw it as
nothing more but a worthy followup you
could just tell that Matt Stone and trap
Parker put so much work into these
projects making sure they were as
amazing as they came out to ensure the
franchise's gaming history could work
itself out of the shovelware bins and so
with that the question on everyone's
mind was what's next ninjas imagination
land something entirely new I can't we
it it feels like it's been forever since
the last South Park GM then we heard it
was going to be
3D all right seems like they made a big
deal during the Stick of truths
promotional speeches that a game
replicating the show's unique art style
would be the way to go moving forward
but okay we thought that they were
finally capable of doing a game that
looked just like the show that was sort
of the thing that excited us is you
could sit there and play the game and be
walking around the classroom or walking
around Cartman's backyard and if someone
was to walk in the room and watch you
play the game they would think you're
watching episode of South Park whatever
though maybe they just want to tackle a
gameplay style that wouldn't be possible
in merely two Dimensions I'm sure that
isn't an indicator of the quality here
I'm positive they're approaching this
with the same level of love and care
that they Pride themselves on I hope we
don't get a [ __ ] four on Game Spot
that's what I hope that'll piss me
off well you didn't get a four it was
Apparent from the very first trailer
that South Park snow day would be a
budget title it was no surprise to see
them adverti the fact that it was $30 so
heavily because if it were a full 60 I
think there would be riots on the street
because this [ __ ] isn't worth it I was
cautiously optimistic for snow day
admittedly not because I saw any glimmer
of hope in what they showed off but
instead because I didn't care that much
seemed to be an open-ish World hacking
slash the visuals looked uninteresting
and they never really did much to ConEd
potential players why they needed to get
this game what made it stand apart from
others and ultimately why it was a
worthy successor to the Stick of Truth
and fractured butthole why it was worth
changing genres I will say however the
biggest thing that got me worried about
snow day was the lack of enthusiasm on
Matt and tre's part for the other games
despite feeling as if they each took
forever to come out you could always
kind on the creators being there to talk
about it where they made it evident that
they were given these things they all as
much work as they would any other of
their projects but with snow we didn't
really get that there was the occasional
promotional video on the South Park
YouTube Channel where Trey looked as if
he were on a completely different planet
and for the IGN preview he was somewhere
else altogether I'm not trying to get
conspiratorial and say that they just
weren't all that invested in this
project but at the same time it's
undeniable that the hyper on the gem was
next to non-existent now Titan well
people don't like it to put it simple I
honestly wasn't going to get this scheme
I didn't get sent no dang free code and
that didn't really give me any reason to
think it was worth checking out but then
I got bored at 2 a.m. and thought [ __ ]
it and so now here I am is that really
what the start screen looks like anyways
I suppose with that it's time to delve
into South Park snow day to see if it's
a passionate per uh H is it a
disastrous is it good or bad also I got
a little announcement to make for years
now I've been fighting back against
uploading compilation videos on my main
Channel just because I don't like
muddying things with what's new and
what's old but I've really been
interested recently in doing bigger
compilations that compile all these
different videos about the same topic
because a lot of folks out there tell me
that they like to listen to my videos
when they asleep or when they're working
or studying and so I finally settled on
what I wanted to do and that's create
midnight Mark these are going to be
re-edited and touched up versions of
some of my older videos compiling them
together so you can listen to them in
the background doing whatever you do I
don't know I've edited out a majority of
the LI noises and find ways to connect
them all together so they're basically
just Mega videos for example on there
right now I have a 5 hour Five Nights at
Freddy's video which compiles my
original retrospective of all the games
along with the books and the movie to
try and make it one big seamless video
so if that sounds like something that
might interest you I plan on uploading
every week but let me know if there's
any specific compilations you'd want to
see on there and be sure to subscribe I
got a bunch of really highquality stuff
made for it like a whole new softer look
along with a new intro that I think
looks fantastic so subscribe to midnight
Mark and thanks for the
support one thing I appreciate about the
opening here is that they bothered
getting South Park Studios to actually
animated in high really for the duration
of this quite lengthy opening you could
completely treat it like another episode
of the show where we see a massive
blizzard head towards t with Cartman
praying to God to please let the T get
covered in the most snow it's ever had
just so he doesn't have to go to school
it's an incredibly endearing idea for a
South Park game on the surface Matt and
Trey always wanted to invoke a similar
feeling to Earth bind with these where
you would play as a blank kid traversing
this time by yourself things seeming so
much grander than they actually are in
reality and this concept lends itself
perfectly towards that with all apparent
snowed in and unable to go anywhere it
makes the entire you're twing the kids
play grind able to do whatever they want
with little to no interference I'm not
really into them going right back to the
wizard stuff with no explanation
fractured but Hol had a nice precedent
where you would assume each new game
would tackle a different genre from the
last but I have to assume they just went
with this for marketing reasons which is
a little sad everyone's designs are
simply one toone copied from The Stick
of Truth kind of Eed in the feeling that
this game didn't know what it wanted to
do to stand apart I'm also not too clear
on why they thought doing a Co parody
would be the way to go for their brand
new gum from the way everyone in
Universe talks about the snowstorm it's
pretty evident this is meant to be a
take on Co you know which they already
did but not everyone is stuck in their
houses and toilet paper has become the
new form of currency biting but really
all of that is kind of relevant again
it's just an excuse to have all the kids
and time playing with each other again
after the new kid ruined the previous
two by getting way too op yeah despite
the change in genre and well di menion
snow day is still following the events
of the RPGs you're once again put right
back at square one with everybody being
incredibly pissed off at you and so now
it's time to join the grand wizard
Cartman's
faction again as Clyde has informed Eric
that the Elven Army led by Kyle is
planning an attack on their Kingdom
they're not really after anything this
time but uh and with that we're dropped
into a short tutorial and by short of
course I mean 15 minutes long I guess
it's to teach us how to deal with this
new fangled dimension I like the idea
for it though you go on a short journey
to school where you have to walk through
the destroyed building Mr Macky locked
inside in the game slowly telling you
more and more about what you can do in
this new adventure I'm a little sad that
you don't get to explore it all here but
whatever I get it's something new more
linear overall the tutorial is a decent
time but I think it really has the
potential to make people have a super
negative first
impression hey what the [ __ ] return fire
return fire what who is that that can't
be matter Trey it sounds like someone
doing a bad Eric Cartman impression I
think I think this literally might just
be one of the developers inserting their
own
impression okay there's something I'm
going to talk about way more later but
this is definitely one of those games
where you start incredibly underpowered
painfully so and so having to control
the new kid with only two measy weak
weapons with little to no difference in
how you approach each fight kind of
shows how quickly it takes for this game
to become repetitive it's not a good
sign when I start getting bored of the
mean cycle during the tutorial but on
the more positive side your character
controls all right seeing high they
running 3D will never not be jarring but
turning jumping all feels fine except
for running running [ __ ] sucks I
think I was Elite to realizing this game
was most likely intended to be played
with a keyboard and mice honestly what
it reminded me of while playing was
fornite of all
things damn damn I'm kind of nasty but
it does this annoying ass thing where
your character's walking speed is
incredibly slow with you having a run
button and stamina meter really like
that you have infinite stamina when not
in battle too that's a great feature
however you can only run while pressing
directly in front of you meaning if you
want to run to the left or right to
dodge [ __ ] you're [ __ ] you're going to
go right back to walking again this
wouldn't be a big deal playing with a
keyboard and mice since you can more
easily move the camera while
multitasking but on a controller where
the run is attached to the circle button
it makes it really obnoxious to have to
use one finger to hold that darn while
using your thumb to move the camera all
always disrupted me [ __ ] pissed me
off but whatever controls still are fine
for the most part combat feels all right
even if the bow takes forever to use and
does a little to no damage but things
seem to be at the very least decent so
far and with that we're dropped into the
Hub world you can customize your new kid
here although there's not much variety
when you start I went with fantesia at
Mickey mice you can also choose your
weapons with tolken again one option but
what you're supposed to do here is talk
to Eric who will give you a list of uh
five missions to to conquer and upon
choosing you walk to this little snowb
which will loow you in this is not what
I did though I ran around this Hub world
for each just seeing what I could find
anwers nothing for some reason they let
you walk around this giant ass Hub World
outside of carman's backyard and want
nowhere near on the level of what the
others had to offer I still appreciate
having the ability to walk around Derek
Street if there were something to
actually find I understand that of
course we're not going to have the
amount of Freedom that's expected from
an RPG but at the same time it's South
Park in 3D of course I'd want to run
around this place they've had a long
almost 30-year history to pull from it
was cool getting to explore the kids
bedrooms and see all the props they've
accumulated over the past 25 Seasons
listening to the different tracks Tre
has produced on the radio again it's
something very pedantic to get over but
sadly this only comes from the two of
them having set the bar so high so when
it's not here it ends up feeling as if
something is missing from everything
I've seen thus far it appears that the
best phrase I can use to describe their
riding and setup a snow day is s Park on
autopilot there's no real effort here to
break new Grind to do something that
will blow people's minds not that it
needs to but if their goal here is to do
something at a much smaller scope then
the last thing I would want to do is
make any references to their previous
material that actually tried to do
something grind breaking and succeeded
mind you I know I'm complaining a lot
which doesn't seem fair considering I
haven't even you know started level one
and stuff but I really think I was
mostly disappointed to see that snow
dead just kind of starts s throws you in
with little to no Fanfare spectacle
apart from that janky but admittedly
neat transition from 2D to 3D I don't
know stick of truth and fractured but
hole just had incredibly strong openings
in my opinion so this one starting out
with a drawn art BB tutorial and not
even being all that funny to make up for
it seems like a sign of things to come
all right level one
end okay I've avoided the white elephant
in the room for long enough don't know
what I'm talking about well I I want to
show you something here is what the
tutorial of snow day looks like here's
the Hub world we just saw no here's
level one notice anything I get it's
called snow day and all but this really
seems like an idea that was better in
concept than execution because all these
[ __ ] places look the same want to
know why I know this every stage I just
showed you completely random this is
level one this is the tutorial and this
is the Hub World fantastic and as we'll
get into later this game's being sold
with a season pass with the promise of
future DLC stuff D the line so it sucks
to know that they're all going to have
to adhere to this snow dead gimmick when
it would be way cooler to actually visit
more places from the show or at least a
couple areas that aren't just completely
white you were almost never inside
buildings in snowa it is primarily an
outdoor adventure and so after a while
your mind grows bored of looking at the
same theme over and over again with hold
to nothing breaking up the monotony of a
screen that's 95% just [ __ ] white
South park has snow I get that but it's
never been on this level everywhere
Blends together and I'm so baffled as to
hi nobody in the team noticed this
before making it the primary focus of
the game the N64 scth Park game has
better art Direction than this I'd argue
anyway so to get back on our mission we
got to find Kyle to put a stop to
whatever plan he's in acting on Eric and
so oh there he is right there cool
here's where I got to give snow death
some props I actually really do like the
main idea behind each St and it's that
at the start of every R the leaders of
both forces meet to explain what perks
their armies will have during the level
you get two each time but the enemy can
get an upwards of five at a time perfect
this can go from them equipping all the
foes with deadly bows and arrows laser
swords Reviving some Fallen enemies
turning them into vampires and sadly
what you get isn't anywhere near is cool
oh boy I can be like 5% bigger making it
harder to evate attacks or shoot lasers
out of my eyes they're next to pointless
when fighting on Terin that isn't
completely flat but I appreciate the
idea I guess with the game as visually
and as we're going to soon see
mechanically repetitive of snow day this
card system does a pretty good job at
making each run feel a little varied you
can even see in the hub world with
Butters that there's a bunch of rule
cards in here I feel like I only saw the
same five or six through right my time
with it but I'm sure they're neat what
further builds upon this is the Jimmy
and Henrietta pit stops you can get to
throughout each stage they're everywhere
only able to be interacted with after
wiping out each hord of enemies which
makes it really infuriating when the
area is massive and some random kid is
hiding around some somewhere AI most
likely busted and unaware of where to go
and so now you need to run all around
the place looking for him or just pray
they eventually despawn I have no idea
why that would keep happening anyways
with Jimmy you can equip one of three
cards each of them giving you a
different permanent perk such as adding
a grind P to your fart move which I find
useful even better when you stack them
and get a card that allows your farts to
suck enemies right below you setting
them up perfectly to be crushed there's
a different set of perks depending on
which weapons and powerups you choose to
go into battle with there's unfort Ely
only a grand total of three melee and
three long range weapons but they all
feel pretty different even if I wish
there were more guess I got to wait for
the season pass upep toate boy video
games sure are fun but the sheer amount
of upgrades you can obtain for each
weapon again helps with giving it some
variety and you can even use your toilet
paper to make the card a higher Rarity
increasing whatever the effect is for a
bit for example I can get a card that
adds a Tesla coil effect onto my fire
wand me can get incredibly overpowered
or increase the range of my health totem
you can equip a lot more powers of token
after unlocking them but unfortunately I
thought that the two default options
health and the farke were more than
useful enough for me to justify not
trying any of the others all right maybe
if I didn't unlock them so far in that I
was already used to what I had and
didn't want to risk switching them out
for reasons I will get into later on the
opposite end henr at his parrot cards
are usually used for getting you ready
for the next fees of the battle like
replenishing your [ __ ] card uses are
getting more toilet paper for your next
Jimmy encounter this is the best aspect
of the game in my opinion I and
something that I wish I could see all of
but again only five stages so [ __ ] me I
guess something I'm really beginning to
notice as I play through the first stage
however is that the enemy variety
[ __ ] sucks just to see kids copy and
piece it all over the place which would
be a little more excusable if they
recorded more than five lines of
dialogue for
[Music]
him
ow can I have a do over don't get me
wrong it was a sweet idea for Matt and
Trey to let their kids voice the enemies
in snow de Trey uses his daughter so
often in the me and show that I could
recognize her voice anywhere but by God
it gets old if it were just for a couple
enemies or hell even just stuck to one
enemy type then I'd be fine with it who
cares but they are everywhere often
times repeating the same lines over each
other constantly it doesn't help in each
battle feeling incredibly repetitive
which is definitely not further helped
by the combat you you can do all of
three things in snow de a basic combo
your long ranged weapon of choice and a
jumping attack that's all you're going
to be doing here throughout each and
every level with stage one it seems like
they're trying to make the variety come
from your objective like this part where
you find Randy trapped underneath
Stark's Pond needing to find gas in the
keys for a truck to help him Escape but
it's just a glorified fetch Quest the
game may as well be standing you on a
linear path because getting these items
equit to nothing more than just wiping
out every enemy in an area and taking it
off whoever's back it was attached to
and it's not you have the freedom to
just rush in steal the item and run out
of there you know it being your choice
whether or not you want to kill all the
enemies and be rewarded with a card from
Jimmy at the end no because despite
Cartman constantly telling you to stop
what you're doing and grab the item pick
up that loot and let's get back to
fighting the elves I'm working on it but
once you have the thing a new Mission
pops up at the top of the screen
informing you that you still have to
defeat everyone meaning I know I have to
make my way all the way back to the
start of the area and fight through
everyone again which I didn't do in the
way because I wanted Cartman to stop
[ __ ] yelling at me not having a good
time going to be real this is getting
boring got that right this wouldn't be a
huge deal or anything but these levels
drag out for eaches just the same waves
of enemies over and over again for what
feels like an eternity it never feels as
if there's any progression for so long
because you're just fighting endless
waves with the same bad guys in the same
[ __ ] locations I'm only on the first
level yet it feels like it's been going
on for an hour with no end inside I make
long levels if you want whatever as long
as it's fun but if you know your stage
is this [ __ ] long then the one thing
that you definitely wouldn't want to do
to evoke fatigue in your players is to
advant to them how long they've been
doing this for by having the music end
you sit in silence for a bit and then
the song starts from the beginning
again that is inexcusable this is some
crash the Wrath of Cortex [ __ ] right
there and God the sign design is a
[ __ ] whole other issue not only does
it have that glorious repeating music
but we've also got some truly terrible
sign effects in here like the [ __ ]
Minecraft walking son while traveling on
ice but on top of all that for almost
every single cut scene here the audio is
completely out of sync they're my secret
army we're attacking you before you
attack us what are you talking about my
spies saw your army me gearing up for
battle your spies what the [ __ ] are you
talking about yeah you're yeah your
spies KY they your spies are getting
ready for battle this is a constant
throughout most of the game not to
mention the terrible mixing I don't know
if it's because they recorded last
minute lines at home or something but
sometimes the characters sound like
they're talking through a [ __ ] tin
can even worse is they attempt to have
the characters speak and come off as if
they're in the room with you especially
while wearing headphones and so certain
characters can only be heard from one
side but they didn't bother mapping it
to whatever side the character is
physically standing on
again you're only going to notice this
if you're wearing headphones where's the
raccon sponsor when I need it but at the
start of the level we have Kyle on the
left side and Cartman on the right would
only make sense for Cartman's voice to
come from the right side and Kyle's to
come from the left right left but no
check this out
blers explosive barels was this a rush
job why did it come out like this you'd
at least think with the little amount of
content present here it it would the
very least be polished and I can't
believe I feel to mention this at all so
far but you're not alone in this
Adventure no instead there is mandatory
co-op with the requirement of you having
three players with you during your run I
never bothered trying out the
matchmaking since I don't want that to
affect my Impressions or anything and
God knows I don't have three friends
willing to drop $30 on this [ __ ] or
three friends but thankfully if you
don't have real people to play with you
the game will automatically assign you
three AI characters and boy they sure
don't help at all they more often than
not just stand R do a couple of Texs
maybe then they die now I have to stop
what I'm doing because Cartman won't
stop chastising Me by not Reviving my
teammate and find a way over to them for
an epic fortnite revive all while
avoiding the enemies because God know if
I perish these [ __ ] aren't going to
be jumping in front of no bullets for me
too busy staring at the [ __ ] Sun
doing a whole lad of nothing whatever at
least appears that I'm approaching the
end of the stage [ __ ] finally it's
only taken an hour where you get
ambushed under Stark's Pond by The Elves
and God does it suddenly Mak sense why
that CHS to rarely lock you inside en
closed areas because well look at this
it's a visual mess not helped by every
single character bleeding together at
least in an RPG most of the kids being
used from the cmbs didn't affect
anything since it was clear where
everything was you're here enemy here go
but here it's just a bunch of
bobbleheads whacking together I can't
tell what's going on if I'm winning or
not especially because my stats just
[ __ ] disappeared thank you oh God
[ __ ] no not n like my controller just
[ __ ] disconnected because my [ __ ]
dog stood on my remote while it was
plugged in and busted the cords and not
just switches off randomly thanks dog I
died oh my God [ __ ] please please my AI
companion if there were any time for you
to function it would be nigh please I
begging
you what the [ __ ] okay no big deal I
guess I'll just respawn at the last
checkpoint
and don't let your ass get kicked by the
[ __ ] El again man I have I have a
reputation protect I have to do the
whole thing over again there are no
checkpoints in these hourlong stages of
course why would there be I think I'm
going to
bed and that was my first experience
with South Park Nota didn't leave a
stellar first impression originally I
was planning on powering through all
this in one sitting but I think they've
made it clear that that is not the way
to go unless I wanted to end up putting
my [ __ ] head through a wall this is
why I never wanted to experiment with
weapons or powerups because I know that
if I pick a bad combo without knowing I
would potentially have to Replay hours
worth of gameplay and as I lay awake
there trying to comprehend what the [ __ ]
I Just plad one thought couldn't leave
my head what happened here I talked
about it earlier but Matt and TR seem to
have such confidence behind their
previous gaming projects even during
their Comic-Con panel where they could
not see more D trotten Tre claiming to
perpetually be in the staties and right
before a new episode releases where he
worries it's the worst thing he's ever
made but it's clear that came from a
place of care he wanted it to be good
and for his efforts to pay off so badly
that the thought of folks not liking it
made him miserable but here I don't know
I just don't see it I remember first
hearing about this scheme when Matt and
Tres signed on for that $900 million
deal with paramite to start making the
specials for them for the next 7 years I
think this video game was a part of that
contract and honestly it makes total
sense why there seems to be such a lack
of passion behind this project if that's
the KE Stick of Truth came from their
desire to redeem their reputation in the
video game market and make something
they would have wanted to play
fractured but hole came from their
attempt to take criticism from The Stick
of Truth into a kind wanting to top
themselves where snow death seems to
have come from signing a contract saying
they would the brunt of the work here
seems to be on THQ Nordic end with mant
and Tre checking in every now and then
to give input not being able to dedicate
all their time to it because not only
are they busy having to make a season of
scth park each year but also two
hourlong specials and they just got done
opening their new restaurant which seems
to have taken up most of their focus
over the past couple years and our THQ
Nordic are a talented Studio sure I'm
incredibly excited for their upcoming
Epic Mickey remake but at the same time
I think the overall plan for snow Das
seems way more ambitious than anything
they've attempted before see South Park
snow day is not just your regular GM
it's this terrible little thing known as
a live service game this is the last
thing I would have expected from them
considering TR seemed very adamant
during the Stick of truths release to
that DLC was lame and that they didn't
want to do it and everyone kept saying
that word to us not word that phrase to
us not phase those letters to us
DLC and they're like oh just make a
DLC I agree [ __ ] that there's a few
ideas along the way that we've kind of
peeled off and said okay we're going to
make that like DLC freshed but ho had a
couple pieces but at the very least it
was an entirely new story it felt like a
worthy add-on but here not so much live
service is basically just DLC but it
sprinkled out to you over the course of
however many months with the payment
being made up front of course buy the
content first then decide if it was
worth your money and the best part is
because it's part of an existing game no
refunds better play it anywhere to get
your money's worth this has since become
the trend for games where you release a
product with an intentionally small
amount of content to bring players in
and then have them purchase a season
pass to obtain new content whenever
they're done with it the only problem is
when you make your game like this you
need to make sure it's good enough for
people to be willing to Shell out more
money for more content whether it be
weapons cosmetic items are what Snow
dead desperately needs more of levels
with how many games are do doing this
now I just can't see South Park sow Dead
doing enough new to Warrant a majority
of Gamers adding yet another
subscription to their ever growing list
and with no players buying the season
pass there's less money to put into the
game and less money means less content
and less content leaves you with a husk
of something that could have been a lot
cooler if they just put more time into
it enough time to wen't buying it for a
full 60 because while $30 is a good
price for a regular game these days it
feels to consider most of these live
service games are free with all the
money coming in from the season season
passes but with South Park after buying
the season pass you've now almost spent
as much as you would have on an actual
AAA release all for the promise of
getting more content leader on the line
and with the way things are looking n
all we have by the end of 2024 is more
costumes two new weapons and a new game
mode which presumably won't have a story
like the main Campion so what motivation
is for me to keep playing to rise the
leaderboards or do battle with my
friends well news flash the game has
been out for a week now and the player
Beast hasn't managed to crack an alltime
peak of not even 4,000 players that
sounds like a lot in theory but remember
I have to imagine maybe like 5% of these
people are going to be invested enough
to buy the season pass what's going to
happen a month after the Keem is
released or 6 months or a year with a
seemingly minimal amount of content
being added over the course of the year
I can't imagine it's going to bring in
many new players and it's only a matter
of time before the current player b gets
bored of replaying the same five levels
or basic fights against a couple waves
of enemies that they're already fighting
in the story mode okay well whatever the
pass is in the past it's a new day and
I'm going to try to go into this again
with an open mind you know what's funny
is I didn't even notice there was a
whole other side to the hub World here
when I first played it with Craig and
tweaks bezar for alternate outfits and
oh [ __ ] Mr Hanky feel like it's been
forever since we've seen him he lets you
use these dark matter jars you find
throughout the levels to upgrade your
skill tree increasing your damage Health
stanina you it's a little interesting I
guess these slightly higher stats seem
to be just what I needed to get through
the first level honestly it was no
[ __ ] sweat this time especially after
after swapping out that dinky ass bow
for a fire attack I also learned that if
you use your fire to escape and then
shoot the cloud with your fire it
ignites and damages all the enemies and
its radius you that's neat I wish there
were more Elemental stuff like this
where I can actually think about what
would be best for me in the moment not
to mention it's a fun and uh cool I did
manage to get to the boss fight with
Kyle this time which ended up being the
most fun I've ever had so far in this
whole thing I don't like that he has the
power to teleport all over the bloody
place at will but the mechanics in snow
death seem much more intuitive and
enjoyable when I'm aimed at a single f
with a set amount of patterns I can
learn and figure out what would be best
for me in the moment also the first time
in the game that I actually laughed
that's something [ __ ] you Cartman I
think maybe the reason why folks are
criticizing this game's comedy is sadly
once again because of the RPGs obviously
those things are going to be jam-packed
with cut scenes and dialogue and jokes
meaning there's more opportunity to make
you laugh you know they could shoot art
20 jokes to you in a minute at least one
was F to be funny compared to snowdale
which cut scene in mind peels in
comparison so of course there's going to
be less opportunity to make you laugh
and when a joke feels to land you got to
sit on it for like an hour till the next
cut scene arrives after beating Kyle
were informed that he actually didn't
plan any attack on Cartman and that Stan
is the one behind this endless winter
apparently having gone mad and so now
with Kyle on our side it's off to see
what's up with him from here each level
despite not breaking out of the snow
theming at least makes an effort to
explore a different area in time we
visit the rooftops of Mean Street HS
Pass Hospital the ruins of soda soopa
[ __ ] I wish there were more of that near
the beginning level three and five in
particular I think are real highlights
because there's a way more clear goal in
mind both of which have you Skilling to
the top of buildings makes it feel like
you've actually progressed the further
you get up and see how far the drop
below is it's not a vast Improvement or
anything you're still just whacking the
same crids of enemies for the most part
but there's a lot of little things that
I'm starting to notice like this that I
kind of like my throat's [ __ ] Dy like
realizing all the characters are going
to have their own unique factions with
different designs representing the
character well except for Kenny as we
soon see Stan deploy him uh her to
defeat you stand moving on to the next
level as Kenny n represents the flag
stolen a mission 2 Little Liam but
whatever it was still fun again the
one-on-one fights are my favorite part
of snow day by a long shot something
worth commenting on is how I think as
the game goes on the graphics and
designs of these locations are given
much more opportunity to impress I think
these levels look best when there's a
bunch of colored lights surrounding you
in the night it contrasts nicely against
the snow and it almost makes certain
levels stand apart from others almost
really my biggest issue at this point in
how snowdale looks would have to be the
character models themselves when trans
leading the characters to 3D you're
going to end up losing a lot of that
charm if anything this game just ends up
looking like a fully realized version of
that Old South Park Xbox game that got
cancelled they can't stand at 3/4 angles
and so you're always staring at their
slapped on sticker face with their eyes
wrapping around their heads along with
their Silhouettes being seriously
hindered like look at Kyle's trapper hat
I just learned it had an name it doesn't
stick out nearly enough he looks wet too
foxy along with Butter's hair having to
fall flat in his head instead of
sticking eye reminds me of these Liam BB
toys I had as a kid it's the best I
could do and it's clear that with scth
Park Studios is being enlisted to
animate every single cut scene so the 3D
animators could use it as a reference
you know there was a lot of effort in
here to make it feithful to the show but
it just didn't work out too well in my
opinion not bad but not good I wonder if
in the future they could try and emulate
a Mickey mice ear effect when
appropriate giving features like Butters
hairdo or st's puffball the ability to
follow the camera making sure it's
always front facing who knows how that
would look in practice though I ain't no
[ __ ] 3D modeler or hell just make the
game look like the newest intro the show
they've been using for like a decade and
are it looks fantastic and I'm sure
folks would love a playable version of
that it would look fantastic but I
understand that probably wouldn't heal
yet again changing the genre but I
wouldn't be shedding a tear over it well
anyways after defeating Stan we learned
that he's been put under what's
essentially mind control filling him
with Ridge and just what's been doing
all this or who ever since I got that
dark matter stuff from Mr Hanky I just
felt like different and what did you say
I got this dark matter stuff for my Axe
and I just felt so powerful that I
thought I could from Mr Hanky the
Christmas Poo yeah don't you guys
remember Mr Hanky was kicked out of town
by the entire town everyone turned on
him wait what the [ __ ] oh that's right I
completely forgot that Mr Hanky got
kicked out of the show like 6 years ago
finally we're getting a followup to that
Random episode for some reason 6 years
later honestly this perked me right back
up the game story finally showing a
spark of life with the boys realizing
that Mr Hanky has returned for revenge
on the T poisoning everyone with his
dark met [ __ ] it's [ __ ] right it's going
to be [ __ ] Cartman even briefly betrays
the group to join forces with Mr Hanky
never wanting to return to school which
made for a fun double twist that stage
kind of [ __ ] sucks though all the
enemies by this point are getting really
strong with poisoned adults not joining
among the fighting children but I mainly
hate it because once again they [ __ ]
act as if you can skip past all the
enemies when you're still expected to
beat them all when we find Eric the
mission thing tells you to catch Cartman
and this [ __ ] can run and so I'm
chasing him all the way to the end of
the area he gets away because it's an
automated sequence and it tells you that
you can't progress until you defeat all
the enemies but you told me to catch
Cartman whatever the bull roog fight at
the end was really cool even if that's
not bull roog but whatever honestly if
they wanted to make this game bigger and
honestly better why couldn't it just
have been a single player adventure with
each me and kid and T getting their own
level with them as the final boss each
kid has separated into their own Army
and the only way to bring them to yours
as the new kid is to kick their ass not
just me and four boys either Craig tweak
Jimmy tolken I don't know Timmy even the
more you play the more you wind up
building your own clan of scyth Park
kids with you being able to swap out
three at a time kind of like fresher but
whole each kid having different skills
and attributes basically what I'm saying
is South Park Kingdom Hearts admittedly
the combat does get better as you go on
though once you begin getting more Jimmy
card options for your new weapons it's
really easy to get overpowered in a
level if your luck is right but
thankfully it's balanced enough to where
you getting a bad selection doesn't
automatically mean you won't have a
chance and the more I go on and the more
I start to get a handle of this cycle
they're going for the more I'm finding
myself actually starting to enjoy this
unfortunately however the Mr Hanky boss
fight at the end was a bit of a leton
the design is cool and I like that the
goal is to get toilet paper off the
little ones and shoot it at him from
cannons but goes by way to quick and and
super antil climatically either way with
that the game is over even Ends by
giving a conclusion to that Mr Hanky
stuff with Jesus kind of just showing up
to express disappointment for them for
not being more willing to forgive Mr
Hanky for those problematic tweets that
he made and with that they apologize and
everyone is friends again huzzah Mr
Hanky are willing to make it a snow de
whenever the boys wine which I find to
be a fun way of letting the game have a
definitive ending while giving an in
Universe reason for why it continues to
snow I'm losing my voice from all that
screaming earlier saying that though
there's nothing really to do n you're
informed there's this Nicole thing
random character where you can find her
in levels and get to do something it
claims it will make things super hard
but I'm not sure if that's the entire
level or just certain parts I don't
really feel like fine night and I've not
seen a single YouTube video showing it
off so I guess that's it right for n at
least I can't say I'm surprised how
short it was again given the price tag
but five levels I can't get past that
snow death feels as if it's ending right
when it's starting to begin it feels as
if there's so much untapped potential
here especially given how much enjoyment
I got out of the last couple levels I
really think snow da at its best when
it's leaning into what little variety it
can offer like stage 3 giving you
specific missions like lighting yourself
on on fire while lighting these beacons
up the tower or again five having you
travel up the hospital snowdale works
when it's disguising the fact that
you're basically just mashing the same
two button combos for 5 hours but
unfortunately I don't think it reaches
that potential very often I wish this
game could have been made in a day where
live service stuff wasn't the trend hell
I think if this was released on the PS2
and the 2000s it would have been one of
those games that tries to shove in as
many different styles as it can driving
combat shooting collectathon all of
which would be equal amounts of media
Jer but in this day and age in 2024
games just don't seem to be that simple
anymore now you have to buy season
passes to truly get your money's worth
and if not then try to get some
enjoyment out of the same five levels
over and over have at it I just can't
see this game being very successful
enough to make more story content I
haven't seen a single soul talking about
this gamee unless it's to say how bad it
is the only audience here is existing
South Park fans whereas I'd argue
anybody could love the Stick of Truth or
fractured but whole simply because
they're good GS
but at the very least I hope this
doesn't deter matre from trying their
hand at another video game in the future
if anything I hope this gives them the
motivation to want to improve upon what
didn't work about this one but can you
realistically start development on
another project while expecting folks to
continue spending money on the last one
or do you just call it quits and move
past it while pissing off the people who
did bother spending the season pass
money on snow day they've put all their
eggs in one basket and with how busy the
Duos seem to be along with frankly just
being a lot older now you know the sick
of truth is 10 years old I'm really
uncertain what the future South Park
games hold but at the very least I pray
that this isn't what they go out on
despite having a good bit of fun with
the latter half of snow day I definitely
wouldn't recommend it to anyone the only
people who would want to play this thing
have already bought it realistically
there's just not enough here to Warrant
the price along with there being just
much better things to play right now and
so with
that uh that's
[Music]
[Applause]
it
[Music]
a
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)
