'South Park: The Stick of Truth' is Out Today! What Do The Reviews Say?

The day all South Park fans have been waiting for has finally arrived; The Stick of Truth, which promised to be a 14-hour expletive-filled, powers that be-mocking, ethnic minority-offending, satirical mind-bender of a bumper, playable South Park episode is released today, March 7. But has the game matched those promises?

Critics Love South Park 'The Stick of Truth'

Yes, would be the short answer. The critics have fallen in love with 'South Park: The Stick of Truth', praising its compelling RPG elements, which are laced with enough sarcasm and satire to truly make them a South Park experience, and the painstakingly realised world, which transmits the iconic aesthetic made famous by Matt Stone and Trey Parker over the last 17 years.

“With a controller in your hand, you are almost literally – gloriously – playing a 14-hour episode of South Park. There’s much, much more here for series fans than the uninitiated, but it’s a light but good quality role-playing game in its own right,” say the big boys, IGN, with their review penned by Ryan McCaffrey.

South Park 'The Stick of Truth'

Official Xbox Magazine’s review went along the lines of: “In Stick of Truth, Obsidian has created what’s essentially an incredibly well-paced, extended playable episode of the TV show, cramming in a tightly constructed “greatest hits”–style, kitchen-sink gag reel of everything that can make the show such a riot. For fans, it’s hard to imagine a better way to wind down the Xbox 360 console generation than with this gloriously gassy, burrito-fueled send-off.”

Edge were slightly less impressed, but were still moved to award Stick of Truth a solid 8/10. “So, yes, their irreverent take on the medium may have a few technical shortcomings, but you’ll usually be grinning far too much to care,” said their review.

South Park 'The Stick of Truth' Has Been Praised for its RPG Elements

And finally, Game Informer, who were quite taken with the South Park RPG. “I can’t think of a better way to bring this franchise to gaming consoles,” wrote Dan Ryckert. “The RPG format allows for a ton of funny items and sidequests, the objectives are unlike anything else in the genre, everything moves along at a solid pace, and the overall feel is distinctly South Park. It’s one of the most faithful adaptations of a license I’ve seen, and it ranks among the best comedic games ever released.”

Fans of South Park – the ones who’ve followed all 17 seasons so far – will need no invitation to rush out and buy Stick of Truth, but considering the reviews have been so overwhelmingly positive, this game might stand alone as a role playing experience, rather than piggybacking on the considerable cultural zeitgeist that is the South Park empire.