South Park: The Stick of Truth - reviews of 'glorious' tie-in game

What you need to know

A new role-playing video game based on the hit American animated television series South Park is released in the UK this week. The Stick of Truth is scripted by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who also provide the voices of the characters.

The game takes place in the town of South Park, with fantasy role-playing tropes explored through the characters' imaginations. A new kid arrives in town prompting a number of conspiracy theories involving the government, aliens and Taco Bell.

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Players form pairs with South Park characters and take turns battling enemies, including Gingers, crazy homeless guys, and aliens.

What the critics like

Here is a solid action role-player and a fantastic South Park tie-in that's just "as funny and outrageous as the show", says Roger Hargreaves in Metro. Unlike most film or TV spin-off games, The Stick Of Truth manages to hit it out of the park.

"With a controller in your hand, you are almost literally – gloriously – playing a 14-hour episode of South Park," says IGN. It is funny, shocking, self-effacing, and pretty much everything you could ask for from a South Park game.

"It all adds up to a game that is a constant source of grubby pleasure for the duration of its story mode," says Dan Whitehead on Eurogamer. The show's 2D world is recreated superbly and there's unlikely to be a funnier - or filthier - game any time soon.

What they don’t like

The script and comedy are great, but underneath it is a slightly underwhelming RPG, very reminiscent of Nintendo's Mario & Luigi handheld series, says The Guardian. The lack of challenge in the battle system hints at one of the real issues with The Stick of Truth - "the game is much more simple than it looks".