South Park: Snow Day! review - This game is puerile, full of bad language... ... trends now

South Park: Snow Day! (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, £24.99)

Verdict: M'kay

Rating:

If you know your Stans from your Kyles, your Mr Garrisons from your PC Principals, then you are a fan of TV's South Park. And you, my discerning friend, have been well served by video games in recent years.

The Stick Of Truth (2014) and The Fractured But Whole (2017) weren't just really enjoyable RPGs, they were like extended episodes of the show itself. The same lo-fi, 2D animation style. The same politics, puerility and punch. Great fun.

Now there's a new one. In some ways, it's like the third part of a trilogy. Once again, you are the fabled New Kid in town, playing make-believe with all your sweary buddies — including the sweariest of them all, Eric Cartman. 

Once again, it's full of references and delights for those who have spent years watching South Park on telly.

Except this time it's also different. Snow Day! — so called because it takes place during snowstorms that prevent the kids from going to school — occupies a separate genre altogether.

Instead of a narrative RPG, this one is a sort of team-based action game in which you and up to three other New Kids roam across icy little landscapes, using your (frequently, er, gastrointestinal) powers to defeat waves of enemies. It's in suitably rudimentary 3D, too, giving you a new perspective on the fight. 

But what works as a South Park fan experience doesn't always work as a game. The combat often descends into messiness, since it's hard to distinguish the children on your side from the children on the other. The special powers don't quite cut through the morass, either.

So, as Cartman would say: screw you guys. Snow day's over. I'm going home.