Yeah, I know it is totally stupid and sophomoric, but South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a fucking hilarious title that immediately conveys the South Park brand of humor. If we gave out E3 awards, it would so get my vote.
Beyond the silly title, The Fractured But Whole (*snicker*) appears to be a worthy successor to last year’s wonderful South Park: The Stick of Truth. While retaining the RPG elements and combat system of the original, the sequel is switching from the fantasy theme to superhero parody.
“In South Park: The Fractured but Whole, players will delve into the crime-ridden underbelly of South Park with Coon and Friends. This dedicated group of crime fighters was formed by Eric Cartman whose superhero alter-ego, The Coon, is half man, half raccoon. As the New Kid, players will join Mysterion, Toolshed, Human Kite, Mosquito, Mint Berry Crunch and a host of others to battle the forces of evil while Coon strives to make his team the most beloved superheroes in history.”
The only potential red flag is the fact that Ubisoft San Francisco, the studio behind the Rocksmith franchise, is taking over development for Obsidian Entertainment, which could lead to issues since Obsidian’s extensive experience with RPGs is what gave the original a certain level of genre credibility it otherwise probably wouldn’t have had. Then again, the new developers are most likely just going to replicate the core concepts Obsidian already laid down and maybe add on some new ideas, so I wouldn’t be too worried about a drop off in quality.
The good news is that South Park‘s creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, are once again involved with the development and voice work, so authenticity won’t be a problem.
South Park: The Fractured But Whole is being developed for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. A release date has not yet been announced.