There are very few animated television shows that have achieved the legacy that’s been reached by South Park. It started as a crude animated experiment on Comedy Central, but now over 20 seasons and 300+ episodes later it’s been able to firmly prove itself as one of the most important adult animated series of this generation.
South Park has become a cutting edge source of timely satire and absurdist comedy and the property’s strength as a TV show has allowed it to branch off into other markets. South Park video games have been happening since the 1990s, but much like the show itself, these titles have shown tremendous growth in terms of scope and general quality.
9 Chef's Luv Shack Is A Feeble Attempt At A South Park Game Show
One of the earliest South Park video games leans into the popularity of Isaac Hayes’ Chef and his constant musical stylings, albeit in the context of a trivia-based party title. It’s easy to see the influence of party titles like You Don’t Know Jack on Chef’s Luv Shack, but it’s not a flattering translation of the premise.
Coming out in 1999, there’s not a lot of South Park to pull from when it comes to exciting trivia challenges and the limited minigame selection are all uneventful. Chef’s Luv Shack is an abuse of the South Park license and there’s very little going for this odd title.
8 The First South Park Game Is A Needlessly Challenging First-Person Shooter
1998’s South Park, initially for the Nintendo 64 and then later released for the original PlayStation as well as Windows, marks South Park’s video game debut. The game turns to the first-person shooter genre as players make their way through South Park and face threats that are reflective of the show’s first two seasons— like aliens, deformed clones, and killer turkeys.
There are some creative ideas with the different weapons in the game and the presence of multiplayer is appreciated, but the core game is incredibly difficult. South Park shouldn’t be a grueling FPS challenge that alienates the show’s audience.
7 Tenorman's Revenge Is A Playful Platformer With A Deep Love For Lore
One of the few South Park Xbox Live Arcade releases, 2012’s Tenorman’s Revenge is an unfortunate instance where the game’s story is more entertaining than the game itself. Tenorman’s Revenge is a platformer that involves Cartman recovering his stolen Xbox 360 hard drive from Scott Tenorman, with his quest taking him through time to the year 2546.
The presence of Ginger robots, Towelie, ManBearPig, and a climax set at the Chili con Carnival isn’t enough to redeem this empty game. However, it’s satisfying for a game to take the Shakespearean tragedy that is Scott Tenorman and make him a major video game villain.
6 Phone Destroyer Is A Love Letter To RPGs (& Microtransactions)
2017’s South Park: Phone Destroyer is the most recent South Park video game, but it surely won’t be the last. The mobile game lays into the in-app purchase infrastructure that’s gone on to define these styles of games. This criticism of “freemium” content is explored in the South Park TV show, but it engages with the idea on a more personal level here.
Phone Destroyer utilizes a deck of card style of gameplay that’s akin to Clash Royale. Special cards can be acquired through in-app purchases and one’s enjoyment of this title will likely have a lot to do with the player’s relationship with and tolerance for microtransactions.
5 South Park Pinball Gives The Classic Archetype An Animated Makeover
There were actual South Park pinball machines that existed during the 1990s and 2000s, so it’s not an exceptional stretch to translate this concept over to the virtual market. Video games have evolved in major ways, but it’s reassuring to see that there still seems to be an audience for the simplicity of pinball, even if it’s limited.
2014’s South Park Pinball is a multi-platform release that’s an extension of the popular Zen Pinball series. There aren’t really unexpected surprises here, but fans of pinball shouldn’t be disappointed. South Park Pinball also includes a bonus table, Butters’ Own Pinball Game, which goes a long way here.
4 South Park Rally Gives Cartman & Friends The Mario Kart Treatment
The racing genre of video games has pumped its brakes a little in recent years, but there was a period where any intellectual property would receive an out of place kart racing title with the hopes of seeing even a fraction of Mario Kart’s success. Accordingly, South Park Rally doesn’t really make sense as a game, but it copies the Mario Kart formula in a way that’s still satisfying for a late ‘90s racer.
There’s a reason that a sequel never happened for South Park Rally, but it still showcases a wide array of characters with some unconventional ways to overwhelm opponents on the racetrack.
3 Let's Go Tower Defense Play! Effectively Cashes In On A Gaming Fad
South Park experimented with some less substantial releases for Xbox Live Arcade, with 2009’s South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! being the first. Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! arrives at the perfect time where tower defense titles were at the height of their popularity. There had also been a considerable drought of South Park gaming content.
Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! ostensibly functions as the standard style of tower defense games that crowd the mobile market, but it nails the gameplay and is one of the better examples of how to successfully integrate South Park’s sense of humor into games.
2 The Fractured But Whole Is A Strong Follow-Up To A Classic Game
There’s still debate over whether The Fractured But Whole is stronger than its predecessor, The Stick of Truth. 2017’s Fractured is the official sequel to the series’ open world gem, but it also firmly stands on its own.
The Fractured by Whole is a longer game that improves upon its combat system and develops a less repetitive style of gameplay, but it’s still slightly lacking over the story and attention to detail that’s put into The Stick of Truth. This sequel is still so impressive that fans are hopeful that a third game will come out to complete the trilogy.
1 The Stick Of Truth Is A Love Letter To Both South Park & Gaming’s Past
A handful of South Park video games were developed before The Stick of Truth, but the 2014 release truly feels like the first “real” South Park game. Trey Parker and Matt Stone were deeply involved in this game and it feels like one of the better South Park movies in terms of the scope of its story.
The Stick of Truth provides a beautiful spin on the fantasy genre, but it engages in such a passionate deconstruction of RPGs that amounts to a game that’s as satisfying as it is funny.