A code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this South Park: Snow Day! review.
Unlike The Simpsons, which faded into cultural obscurity thanks to its notable decline in quality, South Park has weathered the storm in a way that alludes most animated comedies. With 26 seasons under its belt, it’s almost surprising that the show is still popular enough to facilitate spin-off video games.
2014’s The Stick of Truth and 2017’s The Fracture but Whole were objectively great games. Not just great South Park games, but something worth playing as a fan of the series or not. Unfortunately, Snow Day!, which transitions from the turn-based 2.5D setup of the last two games into full-blown 3D, is a resounding disappointment that even fans of the TV series will struggle to enjoy.
South Park: Snow Day! Review
Snow Day! follows on from the last two games with the player once again taking control of South Park’s “New Kid”. When a blizzard of biblical proportions hits the Colarado town, killing residents and destroying infrastructure, Cartman and crew are just glad for the time off school and an opportunity to continue their role-playing adventures.
While the game opens in the classic South Park style, it soon transitions into 3D. Everything from cutscenes to the actual gameplay is rendered in this way and it’s incredibly jarring as a long-time viewer.
The magic of the last two games came from them feeling like you were playing an actual episode of the show. This time, it doesn’t feel like that. Instead, you’re just playing a spin-off video game. And with it, all the charm is gone.
The game itself is short, with the main portion clocking in at roughly 5-6 hours. Thankfully, Snow Day! isn’t a full-priced game, otherwise it would be difficult to recommend it at all. But with this short run-time and lack of an open-world, you aren’t even able to enjoy exploring South Park in 3D. Sure, there are a few recognisable locations like the elementary school and Hell’s Pass hospital, but you can’t look around the town in anything like the detail you could in the previous games.
With the move to 3D, the game has also done away with the turn-based combat and RPG mechanics, opting instead for a roguelike action game. This is an interesting idea, but the implementation is poor. The turn-based system perfectly suited South Park, whereas the new system is incredibly one-dimensional and, frankly, boring.
In total, there are six weapons to choose from in South Park: Snow Day! – three melee weapons (daggers, a sword and shield, and an axe) and three ranged weapons (a bow, a staff, and a wand). Each of the melee weapons handle differently but using them never amounts to anything more than mashing the attack button over and over. Ranged weapons add a bit of variety, but the wand felt like the only logical choice thanks to its effectiveness against crowds.
And that’s the thing. In Snow Day!, all you do is battle hordes of enemies. Over and over again, you fight against groups of smaller children. In each section, you need to completely eliminate your enemies before you can move on to the next area. These combat sequences make up the entire game (outside of a couple of ridiculously easy puzzles) and get boring very quickly. Not just because of the one-note gameplay, but also because of the repetitive and annoying voice lines, and lack of enemy variety.
The main game takes place over five chapters and is intended to be played co-op with up to three other players. I didn’t get to test the co-op (sessions with the developer had ended before I got my review copy), so instead I had to make do with bot companions. I suspect the game would be more fun with friends where you can tactically choose player roles; however, with the lack of weapon/skill variety, it’s difficult to see how this would really work.
Alongside weapons, you’re allowed to pick cards which enhance your abilities prior to each run. There’s also a rarity system that governs how effective each card is. However, just like the weapons, there’s little variety in the cards and you’ll see the same cards on pretty much every run. “Bulls*t” cards grant special abilities like invisibility or laser eyes and add another layer to combat, but, again, there isn’t much to pick from.
The free launch DLC, To Dance with Ravenous Shadows, is there to extend upon the game’s base offering. While that would be great if the short campaign left me wanting more, it didn’t. So, there’s not much appeal to fighting hordes of enemies in the DLC.
South Park: Snow Day! Review – Verdict
South Park: Snow Day! is a huge let-down after two fantastic video game adaptions. Despite the sub-par gameplay and ill-conceived move to 3D, the biggest negative to Snow Day! is the almost complete absence of South Park‘s trademark edgy sense of humour.
All of the comedy in the game is derived from toilet humour and Cartman not wanting to go back to school. While the former has always been a part of South Park and its video game adaptions, it isn’t enough by itself. As a result, the game just feels like it was made for kids. Seemingly, South Park has gone soft.
If you enjoy fighting endless waves of enemies in simple combat, then there might be something here to enjoy. But for most, South Park: Snow Day! is a decidedly skippable spin-off game, even if you’re the most diehard of South Park fans.
Overall Rating: 5/10
Version played: PC
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South Park: Snow Day! releases on 26 March for PS5, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
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