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South Park: Snow Day!

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South Park: Snow Day!
Developer(s)Question LLC
Black Forest Games
Publisher(s)THQ Nordic
Director(s)Christopher Brian
Producer(s)Todd Benson
Artist(s)Jacob Glaser
Writer(s)Trey Parker
Matt Stone
Jameel Saleem
EngineUnreal Engine 4[1][2]
Platform(s)
ReleaseMarch 26, 2024
Genre(s)Action-adventure, beat 'em up, roguelike
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

South Park: Snow Day! is a 2024 action-adventure game developed by Question LLC and published by THQ Nordic in association with South Park Digital Studios. The game is based on the South Park animated series and takes place after the events of the previous games The Stick of Truth and The Fractured but Whole.[3] It was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on March 26, 2024, and received mixed reviews from critics.

Gameplay

South Park: Snow Day! centers around the four main characters—Eric Cartman, Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, and Kenny McCormick—participating in snow-based fights and activities, with players assuming the role of a player-created character named The New Kid (as with the previous games the Stick of Truth, Phone Destroyer, and the Fractured but Whole).[4][5]

In an interview with South Park co-creator and project head Matt Stone, IGN likened the gameplay to that of a "roguelike". Stone remarked on the deviations from the series' previous RPG iterations, stating, "We always thought we wanted to do that thing where we do a thing in a show and then like, it's in the game two weeks later, or three weeks, or whatever it is."[6] He also remarked the change from 2D to 3D allowed the development team more flexibility in how they built the game world, saying that creating a game on a 2D plane is "really, really hard when you think about what you have to work with."[7]

Plot

Eric Cartman comes home during an intense blizzard, excited over the prospect of a day off from school, while his mother, Liane, is shocked by the damage and casualties reported on the news. At night, Eric prays to God for a snow day, and in the morning, the news states that all Park County schools are to be closed. Afterwards, he goes outside and tells everyone, including the New Kid, to get outside and play. Once everyone is in their fantasy costumes, Cartman tells the New Kid that Clyde Donovan has information about how the elves, led by Kyle Broflovski, are planning to attack Kupa Keep and tells the New Kid to investigate. After Kyle is defeated, Cartman questions him on why he was planning to attack. Kyle denies this and states that he was planning to talk to Stan Marsh, who he suspects to be responsible for the blizzard.

Cartman sends the New Kid to Stan's Marshwalker territory, but Stan has obtained a powerful axe in a quest, and instantly defeats the New Kid. This leads to Cartman insisting on putting the New Kid on a quest to find the same power that Stan has. After a fight with Kenny Mccormick, the New Kid meets with Jimbo Kern and Ned Gerblansky, who are trying to fend off townspeople who are desperate for food and toilet paper. Jimbo agrees to help the New Kid who is to find several items desired by the townspeople. Eventually, the New Kid has become powerful enough to fight Stan and defeats him. Stan later reveals at Kupa Keep that he had access to dark matter from Mr. Hankey, who became vengeful after being banished from the town over his tweets in the events of "The Problem with a Poo".

Cartman, being faced with the prospect of the blizzard's end which means returning to school, betrays the New Kid and brainwashes townspeople through dark matter infused hot chocolate. After being defeated by the New Kid, Cartman decides to join the fight against Mr. Hankey, and heads off with the boys to Hell's Pass Hospital which Mr. Hankey has turned into a fortress. Mr. Hankey turns into a giant worm and fights the boys, but is eventually defeated by toilet paper cannons, ending the blizzard. As the snow melts, Cartman reflects on having to go back to school, only for Jesus to arrive and express disappointment towards the boys for not forgiving Mr. Hankey over his tweets. The boys go to a toilet and apologize to Mr. Hankey for abandoning him, in which Mr. Hankey quickly forgives them. Cartman and Stan ask for one more snow day and Mr. Hankey obliges, causing another blizzard.

Development and release

In 2021, Matt Stone and Trey Parker signed a $900 million development deal with ViacomCBS, with one of the projects announced being a new 3D South Park game in development that would be developed internally by South Park Digital Studios.[8] In August 2022, the game was teased at THQ Nordic's digital showcase by a small teaser featuring a clip of Randy Marsh's voice exclaiming "Hot! Hot-hot-hot!", taken from the episode "More Crap" (2007).[9] On August 2023, South Park: Snow Day! was officially announced for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.[10] It was released on March 26, 2024 in both physical (on consoles) and digital formats, for the budgeted launch price of $USD/$CAD29.99 .[11]

Reception

South Park: Snow Day! received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic.[12][13]

IGN reviewer Travis Northup called the game “dull, toothless, and a big step in the wrong direction for South Park games”.[15] He criticized the combat for being repetitive and believed that the humor and shock value were lacking.[15]

Kotaku writer Zack Zwiezen took issue with the 3D art style stating it “often, ironically, looks cheaper and cruder than the papercraft style of the beloved series.”[24] The Kotaku review also noted a lack of humor and dialogue, citing an over reliance on on grunt and pain noises in fights. Like other reviews, it also took aim at the combat, calling it “imprecise and floaty” and “dull”.[24]

Game Rant’s review negatively compared the game to its predecessors The Stick of Truth and The Fractured but Whole, stating that it was “destined to live in their shadows.”[25] The review stated elements of the greater South Park universe were underutilized, such as side characters that could have had expanded roles in the snow setting and settings from the town itself that went unexplored. Like other reviews, it went on to criticize the combat mechanics and humor execution. The review’s author pointed to the limited amount of combat weapon combinations and an over reliance on toilet humor compared to its predecessors which, while also using toilet jokes, had “more range in displaying that beloved, crude South Park humor.” [25]

Nintendo Life writer Jamie Ditchfield noted that technical issues made the game difficult to play on Switch, and also criticized the game’s writing. [16] Particularly about the humor, Nintendo Life said there were “hardly any memorable comedic moments to reference, something we’d never expect to say when talking about South Park of all things.” [16] Ditchfield concluded that the game had “a lot of potential with some of its roguelike-inspired mechanics but ultimately fails to deliver an engaging experience whether you're playing it solo or in co-op.” [16]

Video Game Chronicle gave the game three stars, and praised the 3D cut scenes, voice acting, writing, and music, finding that the game feels “authentically South Park” [26] However the review noted that the similar feeling snow environments coupled with only having five stages available at launch, made the game feel repetitive and light on content [27]

Sales

In it's debut week, South Park: Snow Day! was the third best selling game of that week in the United Kingdom.[28]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Review: SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY!". 25 March 2024.
  2. ^ SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY! From 2D to 3D - SOUTH PARK, retrieved 2023-04-06
  3. ^ Callaham, John (February 24, 2023). "THQ Nordic shows off South Park: Snow Day and more during its Digital Showcase". Neowin. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Rivera, C. Anthony (December 21, 2023). "South Park Co-Op Game Gets Release Date and Budget Price". Game Rant. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  5. ^ Moore, Tom (August 11, 2023). "THQ Nordic Showcase 2023 recap – TMNT: The Last Ronin, South Park: Snow Day, Alone in the Dark, and more". PlayStation.Blog. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  6. ^ Weber, Rachel; Marshall, Bob (March 5, 2024). "South Park's Matt Stone on Making Snow Day! After 2 Huge South Park RPGs". IGN. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  7. ^ South Park Co-Creator Matt Stone Breaks Down South Park: Snow Day!. IGN. March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  8. ^ Shaw, Lucas (August 5, 2021). "South Park Creators Sign Massive New $900 Million Deal With ViacomCBS". Bloomberg News. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  9. ^ Middler, Jordan (August 13, 2022). "Here's everything shown during the THQ Nordic Showcase 2022". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  10. ^ Harrold, Kate (August 14, 2023). "South Park: Snow Day officially announced for new-gen consoles and PC". GAMINGbible. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  11. ^ Lane, Rick (December 22, 2023). "South Park: Snow Day gets a release date and a $220 special edition with a talking toilet roll holder". PC Gamer. Retrieved February 24, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "South Park: Snow Day! for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "South Park: Snow Day! for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  14. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (March 25, 2024). "South Park: Snow Day! review: repetitive action makes for a co-op stinker". Digital Trends. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c Northup, Travis (March 25, 2024). "South Park: Snow Day! Review". IGN. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d Ditchfield, Jaime (25 March 2024). "South Park: Snow Day! Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  17. ^ Faulkner, Cheri (March 25, 2024). "South Park Snow Day review – chaotic roguelike fun with friends". PCGamesN. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  18. ^ Talbot, Ken (March 25, 2024). "South Park: Snow Day! Review (PS5)". Push Square. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Chandler, Sam (March 25, 2024). "South Park: Snow Day! review: Grab your sword and snowballs". Shacknews. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  20. ^ Iwaniuk, Phil (March 25, 2024). "South Park: Snow Day! review – a crude, enjoyable playground tussle". The Guardian. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  21. ^ Scullion, Chris (March 25, 2024). "South Park: Snow Day is an authentic, but repetitive co-op curse 'em up". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  22. ^ Terence, Anthony (March 25, 2024). "South Park: Snow Day review – a content drought erodes its slapstick combat". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  23. ^ Stanton, Rich (March 26, 2024). "South Park: Snow Day review". PCGamer. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  24. ^ a b "New South Park Game is About as Fun as Reading a Phone Book". 27 March 2024.
  25. ^ a b "South Park: Snow Day Review". 25 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Review: South Park: Snow Day is an authentic, but repetitive co-op curse 'em up". 25 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Review: South Park: Snow Day is an authentic, but repetitive co-op curse 'em up". 25 March 2024.
  28. ^ https://www.vgchartz.com/article/460490/south-park-snow-day-debuts-in-3rd-on-the-uk-retail-charts/
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