Why Fractured But Whole is a PERFECT South Park Sequel

2014’s South Park: The Stick of Truth did something incredibly impressive. Gave us a genuinely fun and exciting RPG experience that FELT like you had been dropped into an episode of South Park. And while you might have expected Matt and Trey to leave it at that, feeling good about a wildly successful adaptation of their biggest property into the video game world, they were not satisfied. Instead, they nearly immediately began work on a follow up, a game that would eventually become South Park: The Fractured But Whole. And while it took me a bit longer to come to appreciate the South Park sequel, I can now pretty confidently say that I love it just as much as the first game. And amazingly, for mostly different reasons than I love the Stick of Truth. So join me as I dive deep into the massive, ambitious and incredibly impressive sequel, South Park: The Fractured But Whole.

Edited by Joe Murphy @nazchoz798

Music:
Johnny 2 Cellos Theme Music - Norman Marston

Video Used:
South Park (1996-2023)
South Park The Stick of Truth (2014)
South Park The Fractured But Whole (2017)

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted.

[whoisezekiel]

i desperately want a new kid video, the way matt and trey were able to make the concept of a silent protagonist a giant long running joke is amazing

[WyattD]

Fun fact, if you try to skip the opening cutscene, Cartman will stop you from doing so multiple times until he just gives up and then you just skip to the credits.

[christinalittleton]

The whole "Car!" bit is wholesome; despite being on different sides, they warn each other about traffic laws.

[goodmorningpeople.]

Fun fact, it’s pretty obvious but when you start the fractured butwhole tutorial (since it introduces you to the mechanics), it follows suit of stick of truth. When you visit the bard in cartmans house. They ask where’s the the wizard and “Where is the fucking stick of truth” meaning that they didn’t tell anyone else about the fact they threw the stick into the water.

[erikm]

I do like the idea of the New Kid working with Professor Chaos next game. My idea is that, to instigate more chaos, Professor Chaos has developed a technology to collide the multiverses, which is, in reality, him hacking the latest social media system and sending everyone different messages about what game they're playing. So now the kids have broken out into factions playing Superheroes, fantasy, ninjas, etc, all fighting each other over what they should be playing. New Kid has to use their social media powers to restore order in the multiverse. I'm not sure how feasible it is, but I would love to see a massive story with a bunch of paths and endings based on who you side with each day. So you have your starting faction, then each day the story changes based on how you did things the previous days.

[superduper]

It physically hurt how little this genre of rpgs (superhero theme) is not utilized in more crpgs. It's like studios only know two genres, medieval dnd fantasy and sci fi, and are allergic to all others

[od]

Also, getting to see Mysterion more is always a perfect sequel to anything

[AlphaBookZ]

I just love the fact that because they couldn't name it "Fractured Butthole" they did the MOST South Park thing imaginable & named it "Fractured But Whole". The way they both dodge & accept the barriers is hands down the best superpower. I love the simplistic ingenuity of the show's creators!

[missingLEGACY]

Interesting things to note, the Morgan Freeman boss can't be fought if you play as a black kid, he gives you a unique item instead. You can also use the dlc buddies from the beginning of the game if you completed the dlcs on another save file.

[Willlll]

Coming back to these older games makes me realize that snow day honestly isn’t bad at all. We were just really spoiled before😂

[OhWowThatsDumb]

With how good both of these games are I’m very excited and curious for what the third game is going to be now that it’s been announced

[eclipseartstudios]

When you think about it, Mitch Conner basically represents the part of cartman's mind that wants to be in charge, be in control of everything and everyone and to always have things his way and only his way. Every part of himself that he will never admit about himself. Its really sad when you really think about it.

[brandonmaddox]

I love that you fight drunk Randy, the only thing that would’ve made it better would be the cops pushing him in the car “I’m sorry I thought this was America “

[charmer]

One of the things I do like about fbw is that the later battles feel really intense and difficult, unlike the first where you could basically break the game

[John_Doe]

The most shocking thing about the whole game was how much of a *good* game it is. Trey and Matt said in an interview they thought they were done with making videogames after SoT, until they realised that experience taught them how to actually make them.
They've never shied away from their love of tabletop and video games, so it shouldn't be surprising at all that they'd do something cool. But you can really see how their skills and design matured from one instalment to the other.
The combat system is *awesome*! I haven't had this much fun just playing an RPG since maybe the GBA or PS1 eras.
It's unique, versatile, engaging, it encourages experimentation and can be perfectly incorporated into the storytelling itself. It's a true inovation in the turn-based RPG genre, which is something I haven't seen in a long time.

The DLCs are great, and if you do them as soon asap (once you get all companions who have environment abilities), they thread the line between challenging and total nightmare. Which I really loved.
Shame you didn't mention the fighting DLC, I actually really liked it. Sure, it's just a coloseum-type add-on, but it was still fun to clear all the challenges after I'd 100%'d the rest of the game. I didn't want to let go, because I'd had to much fun through the whole experience, so that really allowed for a great time before saying goodbye. Some of those fights were almost impossible, so I felt like I'd proven myself and conquered not just the game, but the gameplay as well.

[mosketo]

To me, this is better than The Stick of Truth. Has more playable characters, is more strategic, has great dlc, the superhero theme is great and is very fun. I was absolutely obsessed during my first play through.

[ArnLPs]

The song that plays while you run from Spontenous Bootey is just so good, I totally listen to it on a regular basis.

[FancyCat]

I wont lie, at first i hated the combat system for this one but when i tried it again from the beginning i realized i felt this way cuz i sucked at it. Fractured but whole is definitely a strong sequel and i eagerly await what the next game will be.

[deshawnedwards]

I'd LOVE to see them make a third South Park game, which is pretty likely they'll do.

I'm just wondering what genre they would do for it. My best bet would be Ninja as a reference for the Good Time With Weapon episode.

[KawaiiJackHonne]

Fun fact if you choose Black American as your race in The game even your parents are arrested