Butt holes are fractured in the newest South Park game.

Three years after the excellent RPG South Park: The Stick of Truth, the sequel, The Fractured But Whole (insert giggle) has been released.
I had been anticipating this game for a while because of how much I loved The Stick of Truth and how much I love South Park.
South Park is one of my favourite TV series and I even think it is better than The Simpsons.
I know I may receive some hate for that statement but it is just what I believe.
While The Simpsons started excellently, it is has been going on a downward spiral since season 10 and now, in its 29th season, it is no longer funny.
South Park, on the other hand, has not only remained great for years but has consistently got better as well.
It has only seen a recent drop in quality from Season 18 onwards, while The Simpsons drop in quality started much earlier.
However, even though I think the quality of South Park is starting to drop, this does not affect the game because South Park: The Fractured Butt Hole is a really good game.
It is no where near as good or revolutionary as The Stick of Truth was but it is still a good game.
You play the New Kid again and, after the kids switch games from fantasy to super heroes, you are robbed of your status and have to begin again and build your character up as a hero… while enhancing your fart powers along the way.

The thing I liked the most about The Fractured But Whole was how it improved gameplay from The Stick of Truth.
The gameplay in this one is much more intense and satisfying to play, with you having to think tactically about how to move forward in the game.
Every enemy has different moves and techniques that you have to think your way around, which I really enjoyed.
This all leads to some fun and intense boss battles.
The hardest boss in the game is easily Morgan Freeman.
I still have no idea how to beat him but thankfully he is only an optional boss.
Along with the improved fighting mechanics, your roster has also increased with you being able to choose from 12 allies to fight with you, opposed to the previous game’s six allies.
Every ally is unique and has their own set of skills.
It is incredibly fun to constantly swap out different allies for new ones to try different play stiles.
However, you may find yourself using more allies than others.
I, for example, constantly found myself choosing Scott Malkinson (AKA Captain Diabetes) as my ally in battle because of his great strength and shield ability, which made him able to live longer in difficult battles.

The customization is also great, with you being able to use increasingly hilarious objects to make your character stronger.
Even customizing your character generates a laugh, with the game’s difficulty being related to the color of your skin.
Lighter skin means the game will be easier, while having darker skin will make it harder.
As Cartman (AKA The Coon) puts it, “don’t worry, this won’t affect gameplay, just every other aspect of your entire life.”
It is this social commentary that makes South Park, and thus the game, really shine.
But you are not playing The Fractured But Whole just for the gameplay are you?
No, most people, like myself, bought the game for the humor.
South Park is a hilarious show so it only makes sense that the story would contain multiple moments of out loud laughter, right?
Well, yes and no.
You see, I did really like the comedy in this game but my problem is that it just feels very toned down.
The Stick of Truth was an incredibly controversial game, with many moments that pushed the boundaries of what could be shown.
It had anal probing, an abortion mini game and even a sequence of you fighting Underpants Gnomes under your parents, who are having sex.
This resulted in a lot of censorship in countries like Australia.

This gross out humor was pure South Park and made the game stand out.
In comparison the comedy in The Fractured But Whole feels very toned down, like the creators did not want to risk the game being censored, like in The Stick of Truth.
The game was still incredibly funny but it felt slightly lacking, considering it did not push the boundaries that its predecessor did.
There is one scene that slightly pushes the boundaries but otherwise they play it fairly safe, for the most part.
Another problem I had with the game was its glitches.
I felt like this game should not have been released for a little bit longer just so they could fix the bugs.
For the first five minutes of my play through there was no sound, except the characters talking.
There was no music or sound effects, which was very distracting so this did not give me a good first impression of the game.
Even worse the game froze on me twice in the middle of battles so I had to quit the game and then go back into it.
Thanks to the game’s auto save I could go almost right back to where I was but it was still very annoying to have to do this.
So it definitely felt like the game was not quite ready to be released yet.
However, despite my slight problem with the comedy and the occasional glitch I still think The Fractured But Whole is a really good game that is worth your time.
The gameplay is incredibly fun, the social commentary is spot on and, even though I was disappointed the game did not push the boundaries The Stick of Truth did, the game was still really funny.
If you are a South Park fan I would definitely recommend this one.