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SOUTH PARK: THE FRACTURED BUT WHOLE
review | XBOX ONE
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Publisher: Ubisoft.
Developer: Ubisoft San Francisco. Released: October 2017. Genre: RPG. Other versions: PS4; SWI; PC. Posted 16th May 2026. By Shane Battams © 2026 |
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After growing protective of their license following Acclaim’s sub-par South Park games in the late 90s, Trey Parker and Matt Stone finally saw a South Park game do justice to their iconic yet controversial show with 2014’s The Stick of Truth. Despite being a pretty basic role-playing game, spot-on humour and a picture-perfect rendition of the show’s visuals made for a great game for fans. A sequel seemed inevitable, especially with Ubisoft taking over publishing duties in the wake of THQ’s collapse, and The Fractured but Whole would gift fans another RPG in 2017. Now helmed by an internal studio and overhauled with the Snowdrop engine, the game would swap fantasy for superheroes, and offers another enjoyable RPG experience with improvements aplenty, though also the odd sign of regression.
Set just one day after The Stick of Truth, New Kid is king of the neighbourhood, only to lose his power when the boys decide to play Superheroes. Caught in a civil war between two feuding factions, each made up of homebrew heroes, you partake in an initial race to find a missing cat to claim the reward, though this soon escalates into a conspiracy that engulfs the town. Much like its predecessor, TFbH emulates the show very well; utilising tropes that fans will recognise, gleefully parodying the explosion of cinematic superhero universes, and stuffed with vile yet hilarious punchlines. It can be a little too keen to roll out the toilet humour, and perhaps as a consequence, lacks the true wit of the previous game, but fans should still find tonnes to enjoy.
The Fractured but Whole manages to capture South Park's unique style and humour, whilst delivering a fun RPG
The Fractured but Whole is another 2.5D RPG that takes players across a fully recreated map of South Park, with fewer of the technical woes that plagued the previous game. There’s tonnes more depth to the role-playing systems, including setting up your character. Classes range from the damage-focused Brutalist to an elemental blaster, shaking up how you approach offence. Eventually, you can add further classes to your character that allow you to change moves and specials. There are also Relics that add buffs to both stats and a handful of boosts, such as ally health. As you level up, you can add further relics and expand your tactics. In addition, there’s a slew of sidekicks you can call upon, each with unique moves and benefits, such as Mosquito, who leeches health with some attacks. The result is a deeper, more customisable experience, which proves a lot of fun.
The turn-based combat returns, but has been overhauled somewhat. The battle now takes place on a grid layout that offers greater freedom of movement, as you must now consider positioning and where you need to stand to use attacks. There are also knockbacks, which can not only create breathing room but also throw your foes into allies to deal further damage or enemies to spread your attack. Like before, New Kid’s powers of flatulence also factor into combat, allowing you to perform certain actions such as pausing time or cancelling a foe. These can prove pivotal during boss encounters, which test your skills more than regular fights. It must be said that despite all these new features and tweaks, combat remains rather easy and loses some of its lustre as you progress. While levelling up brings benefits, once you’ve unlocked all relic slots, there’s not much reason to engage in free-roaming combat as Hero Levels cease to attain new benefits after Level 9.
The turn-based combat returns, but has been overhauled somewhat. The battle now takes place on a grid layout that offers greater freedom of movement, as you must now consider positioning and where you need to stand to use attacks. There are also knockbacks, which can not only create breathing room but also throw your foes into allies to deal further damage or enemies to spread your attack. Like before, New Kid’s powers of flatulence also factor into combat, allowing you to perform certain actions such as pausing time or cancelling a foe. These can prove pivotal during boss encounters, which test your skills more than regular fights. It must be said that despite all these new features and tweaks, combat remains rather easy and loses some of its lustre as you progress. While levelling up brings benefits, once you’ve unlocked all relic slots, there’s not much reason to engage in free-roaming combat as Hero Levels cease to attain new benefits after Level 9.
FOCAL POINT: HOWDY, NEIGHBOUR
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Though the appeal of the combat grows a little thin, exploring the town of South Park remains enjoyable throughout the game. As with Stick of Truth, much of the town (from nearby houses to iconic locations such as City Wok) is fully explorable. The town is stuffed with collectables and cool Easter eggs to track down, but it can take a while to open certain areas. Some powers, mostly fart-related, are needed to reveal particular collectables. There are also sidekick powers, where certain friends can aid in your exploration, such as Human Kite to ascend using wind. It adds great incentive to revisit even as you wrap up the main story, so while the 20-hour main quest is a tad short, you can add a ton of time by seeking out everything. From scavenger hunts, fully fledged side quests and collectables such as customisable outfits, it’s great fun.
As the first eighth-generation South Park game, The Fractured but Whole benefits from the Snowdrop upgrade. Running at a crisp 60fps, even with lots of on-screen action, it feels infinitely smoother. Eye-catching summons, screen-filling abilities and hilarious-looking buddy powers all capture the atmosphere of the show. There are loads of great little visual gags to catch, too, such as characters pulling out their phones if you take too long during battle. Parker and Stone voice a majority of the characters, and again, do a fantastic job, delivering all the cutting humour you’d expect. The music proves surprisingly dramatic, and in a weird way, enhances some of the more ludicrous moments you experience at the juxtaposition of crass humour and dramatic orchestral audio. As for the sound effects, every punch and fart, hits the mark.
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South Park: The Fractured but Whole proves another enjoyable RPG parody, offering a stack of improvements that should please fans of the previous game, though it’s still lacking a little in key areas. The storytelling and humour should resonate with aficionados of the show, even if it perhaps relies too much on certain types of humour. The gameplay feels more substantial and customisable, though it remains a touch on the easy side, even on higher settings. However, as both a gleeful send-up of superhero oversaturation and another chance to explore the recreated Colorado town, it still offers plenty. Whether you’re a South Park fan or just looking for a lighter role-playing game to enjoy, this should satisfy you greatly.
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VERDICT
"Although still lacking a little in key areas, South Park: The Fractured but Whole proves another enjoyable RPG parody with more substantial gameplay, a gleeful send-up of superhero oversaturation, and fun exploration." OVERALL: 7/10 |
OTHER SOUTH PARK VIDEO GAMES REVIEWED
South Park (1999, PlayStation)
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South Park: The Stick of Truth (2014, PlayStation 3)
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