Ultimately, the humor and writing are what make The Fractured but Whole worth playing. Another recent political event is handled a bit more subtlety but is equally effective. Even though the game rarely takes a meaningful stance on these issues, the way it deals with them is silly and hilarious in the ways that made South Park such a phenomenon to begin with.
Though I expected this superhero spoof to make up the main thrust of the sequel’s fun-making, it ends up being more of a backdrop for a variety of hot-button issues the game fearlessly mocks in typical South Park fashion, such as the ridiculously confusing nature of modern gender identity politics, and the ongoing friction between African Americans and Police in the USA.
The game’s subtitle, The Fractured but Whole, partially refers to the fact that the franchise has become divided due to disagreements about which heroes get their own movies and TV shows. While The Stick of Truth took a stab at lampooning fantasy tropes with a premise of the kids of South Park role-playing inside a fantasy universe of their own creation, the sequel takes aim at the Super Hero industry, with the kids trying to build up their own superhero franchise complete with movies and Netflix series, in the hopes they can one day sell it and make a lot of money.
