South Park: The Fractured But Whole | Release date, story, everything we know

It came as somewhat of a shock that South Park got its own video game in 2014, even more so that it was one of the best RPGs of the year. South Park: The Stick of Truth had some somewhat plain and simple combat, but it was ultimately executed well, with the typical South Park crude humour. Later this year, South Park is getting another game (after its release date was delayed), and in case you weren't sure if it was going to be just as South Park-y: it's called The Fractured But Whole. Here's everything you should know about South Park: The Fractured But Whole.

What is South Park: The Fractured But Whole's release date?

The current release date for South Park: The Fractured But Whole is 17 October, 2017. Originally, the game was to be released on December 6, 2016, but was then delayed into the first quarter of 2017 to meet expectations. In February 2017, it was then delayed again into the 2018 fiscal year, and the final release date was announced in May 2017. 

What are the reviews like?

Generally, very positive! Scores seem to generally be hovering round the 8/10 mark, with most critics reporting similar opinions on the game. If you're a South Park fan, it's more of what made South Park: The Stick of Truth great, but it also comes with the same issues South Park has as a TV series.

What consoles or platforms is South Park: The Fractured But Whole releasing on?

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is coming out on Windows, PS4, and Xbox One. There are no currently announced plans to bring the game to the Nintendo Switch. 

What do I get for pre-ordering South Park: The Fractured But Whole?

If you pre-order the game, you'll get two bonuses: South Park: The Stick of Truth as a digital download, and Towelie, 'your gaming bud'. That's the full South Park: The Stick of Truth game (which The Fractured But Whole sort of runs on from), while we don't know exactly what Towelie will be doing in-game.

Towelie, though, is a recurring character from the South Park show, so if you're a big fan, the name should ring a bell.

South Park The Factured But Whole Where to buy

Are Trey Parker and Matt Stone involved?

Yes they are! Both Trey Parker and Matt Stone are listed as writers for South Park: Fractured But Whole. In case you don't recognise them, they're the creators of the show, and have been writing for and working on it ever since 1997. We can only assume they'll be providing their voices, too, as they're behind some of the main characters, like Cartman and Butters. 

What's the story in South Park: The Fractured But Whole?

After the events of South Park: The Stick of Truth, the kids of South Park have taken to a new fad. Where they were previously playing a traditional fantasy tabletop roleplaying game, now they're roleplaying as superheroes. Much of the promotional art, including the game's cover, is a parody of the Marvel Civil War storyline, where a bunch of superheroes start fighting each other, even though they're all the good guys.

Cartman wants to get on that hot superhero $$$, and so devises his own superhero universe franchising plan. He wants to use all their superhero characters in a very Marvel-esque series of films, while Kenny disagrees. The two split off into their own groups, presumably coming to a violent battle some time at the end of the game.

You're playing as the same character as in the previous game, a customisable kid that's recently moved to South Park just called New Kid. This time, you're not limited to just playing as a boy, girl, or nonbinary character, and there's a lot more customisation. This did result in some controversy, as your character's skin colour can change the difficulty of the game (although to what extent isn't obvious, there's some contradicting statements). 

Other than that, we don't know a huge amount, but presumably it will go through all the superhero clichés. The fall from grace, the moments where a baddie shows absolute power, the uplifting finale after a challenging fight: it's almost certainly going to parody every superhero you know.

What is the DLC and what do I get in the season pass?

If you've picked up the South Park: The Fractured But Whole season pass, you can expect three DLC packs to drop into your 2D, cartoon RPG lap.

The first DLC pack is Danger Deck, "the ultimate combat challenge," posed by Doctor Timothy. In the game, he's a parody of Professor Xavier, and sides with Mysterion, making him (presumably) an enemy. Normally, he's Timmy Burch, one of the regular characters on the show (who mostly just says "Timmy" over and over again). For completing Danger Deck, you'll get "exclusive costumes and artifacts," and it's coming out in December 2017.

In 2018, the second bit of DLC, From Dusk Till Casa Bonita, will release. This is a new story where the player has to work with both The Coon and Mysterion "to defeat a demonic presence at Casa Bonita." Going off the title, it's a direct parody of From Dusk Till Dawn. Without spoiling the film too much: expect vampires. This DLC is coming out in 2018, but the exact date is unconfirmed.

Casa Bonita itself is a location from South Park season 7, and hasn't appeared in the show since. In the episode "Casa Bonita", Cartman is angry that he wasn't invited to the theme park, and so plans to kill Butters. As is the way of life for the South Park kids.

Finally, Bring The Crunch is also coming out in 2018, but there's few details available on it. It will introduce a new superhero class to the game, and has a new story, but otherwise details are sparse.

What are the reviews like?

Critics have generally received South Park: The Fractured But Whole well! It's sitting at 8/10 on Metacritic at time of writing, with main criticisms being that it doesn't go far enough to enable strategic depth, and that it suffers from the same issues as all South Park media in terms of humour.

If you're a fan of South Park, it looks like The Fractured But Whole is made for you, but if not, don't expect it to convert you.

What are the South Park: The Fractured But Whole system requirements on PC?

Minimum:

• Resolution - 720p @~60FPS

• Video Preset - Low

• V-Sync - Off

• OS - Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)

• PROCESSOR - Intel Core i5 2400 | AMD FX 4320 or equivalent

• VIDEO CARD -  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560Ti / GTX 650 / GTX 750 / GTX 950 / GTX 1050 AMD Radeon HD 7850 / R9 270 / R9 370 / RX 460 (2GB VRAM or above | See supported list below)

• SYSTEM RAM -  6 GB

Recommended:

Resolution - 1080p @~60FPS

Video Preset - High

V-Sync - Off

OS - Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (64-bit versions only)

PROCESSOR - Intel Core i5-4690K | AMD FX-8350 or equivalent

VIDEO CARD - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 / GTX 750ti / GTX 960 / GTX 1060 AMD Radeon R9 280X / R9 380 / RX 470 (2 GB VRAM or above | See supported list below)

SYSTEM RAM - 8 GB

Supported NVIDIA video cards at release:

• GeForce GTX500 series: (minimum) GeForce GTX560Ti or better | (recommended) none

• GeForce GTX600 series: (minimum) GeForce GTX650 or better | (recommended) GeForce GTX670 or better

• GeForce GTX700 series: (minimum) GeForce GTX750 or better | (recommended) GeForce GTX760 or better

• GeForce GTX900 series: (minimum) GeForce GTX950 or better | (recommended) GeForce GTX960 or better

• GeForce GTX1000 series: (minimum) any GeForce GTX10 card | (recommended) GeForce GTX1050Ti or better

Supported AMD video cards at release:

• Radeon HD7000 series: (minimum) Radeon HD7850 or better | (recommended) 7970 or better

• Radeon 200 series: (minimum) Radeon R9 270 or better | (recommended) Radeon R9 280X or better

• Radeon 300/Fury X series: (minimum) Radeon R9 370 or better | (recommended) Radeon R9 380 or better

• Radeon 400 series: (minimum) Radeon RX460 or better | (recommended) Radeon RX470 or better