If I had to pick a single adult-oriented animated series, South Park would be at the top of that list. Even before I was old enough to watch it, Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s foul-mouthed construction paper-turned-CGI comedy set in Colorado has remained consistently funny and topical, earning itself a swath of multimedia projects, including, of course, video games.
Before the well-regarded duology of RPGs consisting of the Stick of Truth and the Fractured but Whole, South Park games have been, to put it bluntly, not very good. So when I saw the initial reveal trailer for South Park: Snow Day! I immediately got flashbacks to 1998’s FPS title, simply titled South Park. Specifically, vivid memories of throwing dubiously yellow snowballs at gobbling turkeys as a cacophony of compressed soundbites assaulted my underage ears.
Graciously (or perhaps disappointingly), despite the copious amounts of snow, South Park: Snow Day! forgoes any snowball fights and encounters with angry poultry in favour of a decidedly medieval fantasy theme based on the characters and settings established in the RPGs mentioned above. This makes Snow Day! a good entry point for fans of the series who have yet to experience a South Park game and for those who may have already played the Obsidian and Ubisoft-made role-playing titles.
“Before the well-regarded duology of RPGs consisting of the Stick of Truth and the Fractured but Whole, South Park games have been, to put it bluntly, not very good.”
As the title may suggest, South Park: Snow Day! sees the children of South Park take to the streets to engage in a long-drawn-out day of LARPing shenanigans after an exceedingly frosty snowstorm leaves the Colorado mountain town in disarray.
Like its source material, although not earth-shattering, South Park: Snow Day!’s narrative exudes the same irreverent humour that makes the otherwise standard 4-5 hour campaign found in the game worth playing, particularly if you’re a longtime fan of the series.
You play as the new kid, who happens to join sides with Eric Cartman, who naturally pits you against the elves, or in this case, Kyle, Stan and Princess Kenny. In other words, each of the main cast members of South Park proper translates to boss encounters during the four main stages of Snow Day!
Each level in South Park: Snow Day! begins with both the player and computer picking two cards, which generally include a power-up or augment skill card and a Bullshit card, which functions as your special move or AoE attack.
Additional cards can be earned by clearing areas and finding Jimmy, everyone’s favourite stand-up comedian, in addition to occasionally finding new cards inside chests. Special rare cards can also be found when the player encounters Henrietta, one of the resident goth kids of South Park. The cards themselves, or more specifically, their designs, like much of Snow Day! oozes with charm, with each and every card approximating the look of a crayon masterpiece that wholly captures the spirit of South Park.
The cutesy make-believe aesthetic of the game, combined with South Park’s inappropriately hilarious writing, trickles down to every facet of Snow Day! including the mobs you encounter, which largely consist of preschoolers who not only sound adorable but make dispatching them genuinely funny, never truly getting old, due to the short length of the base game.
Gameplay in each level consists of getting to the end of a key location ripped out of the TV series, often requiring several side objectives to be completed before facing off against one of the four main cast members. Side objectives in South Park: Snow Day! range from helping thaw Randy (Stan’s dad) out of some ice, to collecting used condoms to use as the elastic required to repair several ballista strewn about around the map.
In terms of player agency and abilities, South Park: Snow Day! grants the player three distinct ways to dispatch enemies, at least as far as AoE and range attacks are concerned, which include a bow, magic homing missiles and fire spitter attack, along with your standard melee attacks, which appear to be the same regardless of loadout.
Range and AoE moves are tied to the left trigger, while melee attacks are on the right. Additionally, as the new kid, players have two passive abilities mapped to the bumper or shoulder buttons, which include everything from a fart that acts as a double jump, a totem that heals your party, to a bubble shield that protects you from mobs. Skill cards found in each level can also alter the effects of your passive skills, adding damage buffs and other boons that add complexity to your loadout.
“Coming in at $29.99 CAD, South Park: Snow Day!’s asking price is reflected in its amount of content, which, for me, is more than worthwhile if you’re a longtime fan of the TV series and have like-minded friends to play with.”
The main gameplay hook or loop in South Park: Snow Day! is having the opportunity to experiment with different cards, which add to the chaotic nature of the game while helping to keep things feeling fresh despite its relatively short amount of content at launch.
Although I did not have the time to partake in the closed multiplayer sessions for the game, I can confidently say that South Park: Snow Day! is best experienced with at least one other friend, as the in-game AI party, although serviceable, made clearing the stages on harder difficulties rather difficult and unfun.
Outside of combat, South Park: Snow Day! doesn’t feature a whole lot, but what’s there is welcome, particularly the inclusion of unlockable cosmetics for your player avatar, which, although lacking in overall variety, featured enough to get a few laughs out of me while decking out my new kid avatar. Coming in at $29.99 CAD, South Park: Snow Day!‘s asking price is reflected in its amount of content, which, for me, is more than worthwhile if you’re a longtime fan of the TV series and have like-minded friends to play with.
