South Park: The Fractured But Whole is out today, complete with a re-tooled combat system

Comedy is hard; satire is harder. To keep your finger on the pulse of popular culture and skillfully skewer the social issues of an ever-changing landscape… that’s damned near impossible. Yet South Park has done it for decades; the 20th season debuts today, and the newest South Park RPG, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, will follow closely behind.

The new game South Park: The Fractured But Whole skewers the superhero saga of Coon & Friends at the moment when the world at large has hit maximum comic-book-superhero ridiculousness. As usual for South Park, it’s a perfect satire at the perfect time.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

Fans of the previous title, South Park: The Stick of Truth, praised the game, but wished for a longer experience and a more satisfying combat system. The development team at Ubisoft Studio San Francisco agrees on both points.

South Park: The Fractured but Whole features a bigger, longer campaign, with a script and performances by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. “They’re really, really involved,” Senior Producer Jason Schroeder told PlayStation.Blog previously. “My aspiration is to make sure every South Park fan gets an unedited Matt Stone and Trey Parker experience.”

The entirely overhauled battle system is a significant part of that experience, and compared to The Stick of Truth, The Fractured But Whole will require an entirely new approach to combat.

South Park: The Fractured But WholeSouth Park: The Fractured But Whole

You’ll play out every battle on a tactical grid; as you move your team members into place, you’ll need to select their powers carefully for the battle at hand. Some excel at melee, others are better at range; the areas of effect will vary as well, so it’s wise to consider your options. Choose – and use – your friends wisely!

You’ll also be able to use environment to your advantage. For instance, in the VIP room at the Peppermint Hippo, the furniture can be used to provide cover for your team or restrict the movement of your enemies. Using abilities like knockback can physically shift enemies around the grid, bashing them into other foes for extra damage and setting them up for a devastating attack from a teammate.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole

The battlegrounds themselves will change in size based on your location, so your tactics will need to change with them. You’re free to mix and match your teammates and their powers before each battle, so there’s no one right way to win a fight in South Park: The Fractured But Whole.

We know South Park fans are eager to try the new combat for themselves, and thankfully, you won’t have to wait much longer. South Park: The Fractured But Whole arrives on PlayStation 4 on 17th October.

South Park: The Fractured But WholeSouth Park: The Fractured But Whole

The post South Park: The Fractured But Whole is out today, complete with a re-tooled combat system appeared first on PlayStation.Blog.Europe.

Subscribe to our mailing list

Get the latest game reviews, news, features, and more straight to your inbox