Zero Punctuation Season 8 Episode 17 the Stick of Truth

In the 17th episode of season 8 of Zero Punctuation, titled "The Stick of Truth," Yahtzee Croshaw reviews the roleplaying video game South Park: The Stick of Truth, developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Ubisoft.

Yahtzee begins by noting that South Park: The Stick of Truth is a licensed game and, as such, has to work within the confines of the show's established canon and style. He then introduces the premise of the game, which revolves around a group of kids in South Park playing a live-action roleplaying game based on a magical stick that gives its wielder ultimate power.

Yahtzee praises the game's writing, which he says accurately captures the tone and humor of the show. He notes that the game's humor is very crude and juvenile, but also very effective, providing many laugh-out-loud moments throughout. He particularly highlights the game's depiction of the main characters, noting that they feel true to the show and their personalities are well-captured.

Moving on to the gameplay, Yahtzee notes that South Park: The Stick of Truth is a turn-based RPG with a combat system that is very similar to the Paper Mario games. He praises the game's balance, saying that even though it's not a very difficult game, it's also not mindlessly easy. He also notes that the game has a decent variety of weapons and abilities, though he criticizes the fact that some abilities are almost useless.

One area where Yahtzee is less impressed with the game is in its exploration and side quests. He notes that the game's world is fairly small and that there's not a lot to do outside of the main story. He also criticizes the fact that many of the side quests are just fetch quests or involve generic combat encounters.

Yahtzee also has some criticisms of the game's presentation. While he praises the game's visual style and the fact that it looks like an episode of the show, he notes that the game suffers from occasional visual glitches and slowdowns. He also criticizes the game's soundtrack, saying that it's repetitive and doesn't add much to the game.

Overall, Yahtzee concludes that South Park: The Stick of Truth is a very good game that fans of the show will enjoy. He notes that while it's not a perfect game and has some flaws, its excellent writing and solid gameplay make up for these shortcomings.