South Park: Snow Day! review – This game is puerile, full of bad language… and gives new meaning to ‘wind power’. That’s the good news, writes PETER HOSKIN
South Park: Snow Day! (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, £24.99)
Verdict: M’kay
If you know Stans from Kyles, and Mr Garrisons from PC Principals, then you’re 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 highly enjoyable RPGs, they were like extended episodes of the show itself. Same lo-fi, 2D animation style. Same politics, childishness and punch. Have fun.
Now there’s a new one. In some ways it’s like the third part of a trilogy. Once again, you’re the legendary New Kid in town, playing a pretend game with all your sweary friends, including the sweariest of them all, Eric Cartman.
Snow day! – so called because it takes place during snowstorms that keep the children out of school – covers an entirely different genre
The game full of references and delights for those who have watched South Park on television for years
Once again, you’re the legendary New Kid in town, playing a pretend game with all your sweary friends, including the sweariest of them all, Eric Cartman (right)
Once again it’s packed with references and delights for those who have spent years watching South Park on television.
Only this time it is different. Snow day! – so called because it takes place during snowstorms that keep the children out of school – covers an entirely different genre.
Rather than a narrative RPG, this is a kind of team-based action game where you and up to three other New Kids wander across icy little landscapes, using your (often, um, gastrointestinal) powers to take down waves of enemies. It’s also in suitably rudimentary 3D, giving you a new perspective on the battle.
But what works as a South Park fan experience doesn’t always work as a game. The fights often degenerate into messiness as it is difficult to distinguish the children on your side from the children on the other side. The special forces don’t quite make it through the swamp either.
So, as Cartman would say: fuck you guys. The snow day is over. I’m going home.
Instead of a narrative RPG, this is some sort of team-based action game where you and up to three other New Kids wander across icy little landscapes and use your powers to take down waves of enemies.
The fight sequences often descend into messiness, as it’s difficult to distinguish the kids on your side from the kids on the other side
Rise of the Ronin (PlayStation, £69.99)
Verdict: groundbreaking
Many games want you to – ahem – spin around.
Ghosts of Tsushima. Trek to Yomi. Sekiro. They all cast you in the role of a masterless samurai, bent on defeating the forces of evil with little more than your wits and your sword skills to help you.
Here’s another one. It’s called Rise Of The Ronin – and it’s probably somewhere between Ghosts Of Tsushima and Sekiro.
As with the first, your swordsman (or woman) treks through a vast, beautiful open word of bamboo and cherry blossoms, completing numerous quests and side quests along the way.
Like the latter, it really wants every fight – and there are many – to be a challenge.
In Rise Of The Ronin you take on the role of a masterless samurai, bent on defeating the forces of evil with little more than your wits and sword skills to help you
The swordsman – or woman – treks through a vast, beautiful open word of bamboo and cherry blossoms, completing countless quests and side quests along the way
It really wants every fight – and there are many – to be a challenge
If that makes Rise Of The Ronin sound the same, then for the most part it does. There are also quite a few from the Witcher and Assassin’s Creed series here.
Yet it’s still a very elegant example of this type of action-adventure game – and in two specific areas it even sets itself apart somewhat.
The first is the 19th century setting; a more advanced, more globalized version of historical Japan than we’re used to seeing on our screens.
The second is the actual fighting. The creators of Rise Of The Ronin – Team Ninja – are fond of complicated swordplay, having previously developed the Nioh games.
And this is some of their best work. Not only does your warrior have a range of fighting styles, from double swords to long spears, but each of these styles has its own complexity and options.
It’s still a very elegant example of this type of action-adventure game – and even stands out somewhat in two specific areas
You can create the best version of yourself to tackle the game’s tough problems. And those bits are really tricky – or at least they were for me and my very un-samurai-like reflexes.
Luckily, Team Ninja has been semi-forgiving and Rise Of The Ronin has built in three selectable difficulty levels. But even the easiest villains on the easiest level aren’t exactly pushovers – again, at least not for me.
So there is only one thing to do: practice, practice, practice. The way of the samurai is hard, I have discovered. But thanks to video games, I know I will complete it.