South Park: Snow Day! is the sequel to South Park: The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn’t do well, and if it’s worth your time and money.
South Park: Snow Day! Review Overview
What is South Park: Snow Day!?
Just like in previous titles, you play as the New Kid. A powerful blizzard has just struck South Park which can only mean one thing—no school! As you hang out with Cartman, Kyle, Stan, and Kenny, you quickly discover that there may be more to this blizzard than just causing the cancellation of classes. Take out the other kids you’re playing against in this rogue-lite 3D action game.
South Park: Snow Day! features:
⚫︎ Chaotic 3rd-person action gameplay
⚫︎ An original South Park story
⚫︎ A 3D take on South Park with stunning graphics
⚫︎ Rogue-lite style runs with randomized upgrades and powers
⚫︎ Up to 4-player multiplayer
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about South Park: Snow Day!'s gameplay and story.
 Steam |
$29.99 |
South Park: Snow Day! Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Feels Like You’re in a Special Episode Outright Hilarious Fun Combat |
May Be Offensive To You Limited Loadout Options Story Is Short and Will Leave You Wanting More |
South Park: Snow Day! Overall Score - 84/100
South Park: Snow Day! provides fans with yet another opportunity to be part of what feels like an authentic South Park episode. It’s a great experience with tons of references and crude humor fans would undoubtedly enjoy. Its story is great, and so are the visuals and audio. Gameplay is arguably its weakest point, but still isn’t bad at all. The art style may be a little bit different, but make no mistake, this is up there with Stick of Truth and Fractured But Whole.
South Park: Snow Day! Story - 9/10
The game’s story does indeed feel like the synopsis of a special South Park episode. It’s complete with fun twists and turns, hilarious dialogue, and a pretty good ending. What holds this back from receiving a perfect score is that there are only 5 levels to complete, and the story ends after around 7-8 hours of gameplay.
South Park: Snow Day! Gameplay - 8/10
I found the gameplay to be a bit dull at first, but the rogue-lite progression really mixed things up. I still don’t think it’s anything groundbreaking, but it was definitely a blast cutting down other kids with daggers and setting them on fire with my wand. Combat is a little bit clunky, especially on controller, but I think the game’s overall experience relies more on story, visuals, and audio, which are all on point.
South Park: Snow Day! Visuals - 9/10
At first, I was a bit iffy with the game’s 3D art style as opposed to the traditional 2.5D the other games of the franchise had. However, I quickly found out that it’s been adapted really well. The art style is still able to make us feel like we’re playing a special South Park episode, and the graphics and special effects look great.
South Park: Snow Day! Audio - 9/10
The soundtrack and sound effects are on point, along with the voice acting. All these go together to create another gaming experience that puts us in the animated snowy Colorado town of South Park.
South Park: Snow Day! Value for Money - 7/10
South Park: Snow Day! costs $29.99. While I think this is a very good game, it’s very short, with your first playthrough completed in around 7 or 8 hours. While rogue-lites typically have lots of replay value, I don’t see this one being played a lot, unless they add in a lot more content. By the time you finish the game, you will have probably been able to try out most, if not all of the loadout combinations already, along with having seen and heard most of the cutscenes and dialogue as well. I don’t regret my purchase, but some may feel like they should get more for their $29.99.
South Park: Snow Day! Review | Short but Sweet
As someone who’s played both The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole to completion, as well as being a big fan of South Park as a whole, I was very excited for Snow Day. The previous two games are what I consider to be the best video games based on TV shows. No other game has been able to completely make its players feel like they’re part of the TV show the way the past games did. However, with this title breaking the turn-based formula and opting for a 3rd person-action rogue-lite experience, along with being 3D instead of the 2.5D that made the games indistinguishable from the show, I was iffy on whether or not Snow Day would still feel like an authentic South Park experience.
Turns out I worried for nothing, and it still indeed felt like I was a guest star in an episode. It definitely doesn’t look like South Park at first glance, but it took me just 5 minutes to appreciate the new 3D look. The game was able to switch up the art style while still staying faithful to how each character looks, talks, and reacts. The only thing that I noticed was different was how the movements were much more fleshed out, like when walking and running, which I think is essential given the nature of this game. The graphics are great, along with the special effects, especially on ultra settings, which my mid-tier RTX 2060-powered PC was able to run smoothly.
The game starts out with a cutscene of Cartman watching the news with his mom. The anchorman talks about a very powerful blizzard hitting South Park so suddenly. Cartman’s mom is genuinely concerned while Cartman himself is ecstatic with the thought of not having to go to school. Once classes were officially canceled, Cartman rushes outside to start playing with his friend and you’ll then create your character.
Right from the start, the game oozes with the typical humor South Park is infamously known for. Some may find it distasteful, but I found it to be absolutely hilarious. The dialogue between characters is rich and funny. The story plays out in cutscenes in between gameplay runs. While the humor is undoubtedly there, the ending was unexpected, heartfelt, and actually pretty deep. I’m sure a lot of people would be able to relate to the game’s overarching lesson. There are a ton of callbacks and references to events that happened both in the show and especially in the past two games, which will undoubtedly satisfy a true South Park fan.
The gameplay couldn’t be farther from the past two games. Ditching the turn-based 2D formula, Snow Day plays more like a rogue-lite hack-and-slash 3rd person action game. The game features "runs," which are essentially playthroughs with randomized elements such as map layout and upgrades. You’ll be taking down all sorts of foes from kindergarten kids, to bruiser sixth-graders, to even full-blown adults. There’s a variety in how they fight, with kids swarming you with melee attacks and sixth-graders in full hockey gear tackling you to the ground and pounding you until you escape. There are a few bosses too, each with different unique ways to beat them.
You’ll start each run by choosing an upgrade card and a "bullshit card." Upgrade cards will change or improve your weapons and abilities for the rest of your run. The leader of whatever faction you’re facing will also be choosing upgrade cards and bullshit cards for their team. You only get to pick one bullshit card for the entire run, but you’ll have the opportunity to find Jimmy and Henrietta (the goth/emo kid) in your runs, both of which would let you pick between 3 upgrade cards that boost your power.
You can equip 1 melee weapon and 1 ranged weapon, along with 2 abilities for each run. These will also determine which upgrade cards you’ll be able to choose. It’s fun experimenting with different combinations and finding different combinations to make you OP. There were some very fun playstyles I found. One run I found myself upgrading my axe’s spin attack to have more range, deal more damage, and pull enemies closer, which reminded me of playing with the Whirlwind Barbarian build in Diablo 4. For another run I focused on upgrading my wand’s damage, range, and effects, essentially turning it into a flamethrower with decent range and fast recharge times, easily setting groups of kids on fire. While I definitely had fun, I wished that there were far more options to try out than just 3 weapons for each type and 6 abilities in total.
Overall, Snow Day was able to provide a hilarious and authentic quality South Park experience, albeit in a different way from the previous games. It’s a great game, but there needs to be more weapons and abilities. Its story is also a little bit too short for $29.99.
Pros of South Park: Snow Day!
| Things South Park: Snow Day! Got Right |
|---|
|
Feels Like You’re in a Special Episode Outright Hilarious Fun Combat |
Feels Like You’re in a Special Episode
Sure, the art style is a little bit different, but this is still an authentic South Park experience. Think of it as an episode where they switch up the art style, much like that episode where they showed live-action versions of the main characters stuck in a boat, or the one where they’re featured in an anime-themed art style. The voice acting is the same, the plot is just as outrageous, the dialogue is really funny, and the humor they use is the same crude, vulgar, and satirical type of humor we’re used to seeing in the series.
Outright Hilarious
The South Park games are the funniest games I have ever played, and this one is up there with the rest. I laughed my butt off so many times while playing the game. One example of when I laughed out loud was right at the start of the game, when Cartman and his mom were watching the news regarding the blizzard. The anchorman talked about how the blizzard was responsible for multiple casualties, and Cartman ecstatically said "MULTIPLE CASUALTIES!!! They’re gonna cancel school!! I know they will!" As you’d expect from anything South Park-related, it’s loaded with jokes that most often hit rather than miss.
Fun Combat
I think that the game’s combat starts off pretty basic but gets fun as you get stronger the deeper you are in your runs. It’s definitely not perfect, but I think the game’s overall experience relies more on the content rather than the gameplay. In my opinion, the game’s fun lie in the different combinations you could try out. However, you’ll quickly run out of combinations to try due to how there are only a few options for weapons and abilities. It’s one of those games where the gameplay is definitely fun, but not fun enough for you to want to play more once you finish it. I’d probably go for another playthrough once they add in more content, or in a few years if they don’t at all.
Cons of South Park: Snow Day!
| Things That South Park: Snow Day! Can Improve |
|---|
|
May Be Offensive To You Limited Loadout Options Story Is Short and Will Leave You Wanting More |
May Be Offensive To You
South Park does not shy away from making fun of things people normally wouldn’t. It makes fun of everything and everyone, often gaining infamy for this reason. Subjects like sexuality, race, and religion, are some of these topics that the series does not shy away from. If you are easily offended by these, don’t play the game. Religious figures and certain races are what I found to be some of the things made fun of in the game that I think might rub people the wrong way.
Limited Loadout Options
There are 3 melee weapons, 3 ranged weapons, and 6 abilities to choose from. By the time you finish the relatively short campaign, you probably tried them all already. Sure you could choose different upgrade cards every time, but there aren’t a lot of those that change how you play the game. The overall gameplay experience definitely feels like it lacks options.
Story Is Short and Will Leave You Wanting More
I finished the game in about 7 hours, and I loved every bit of it. However, I couldn’t help but wish it were longer. There’s some post-game content available, but I didn’t feel like it was enough to make me play more.
Is South Park: Snow Day! Worth It?
If You Love South Park, You’ll Love This
The game is really funny, the story is entertaining, the art style, although it looks a little different, looks great, and the gameplay is pretty good. It’s a great South Park experience that I’m sure most fans would enjoy. While some may feel like they deserve more story and gear options for $29.99, I think that it’s still a great experience worth paying for. If you’d rather wait until it goes on sale, that’s a good option too.
| Platform | Price |
|---|---|
| Steam |
$29.99 |
South Park: Snow Day! FAQ
Is there local multiplayer for South Park: Snow Day?
No, the game only features solo play and online multiplayer.
What is the strongest weapon in South Park: Snow Day?
I found the wand to be the most effective ranged weapon, and the daggers for melee weapons as it makes you so much more mobile.
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South Park: Snow Day! Product Information
 |
|
| Title | SOUTH PARK: SNOW DAY! |
|---|---|
| Release Date | March 26, 2024 |
| Developer | Question |
| Publisher | THQ Nordic |
| Supported Platforms | PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Comedy |
| Number of Players | 1-4 |
| ESRB Rating | M |
| Official Website | South Park: Snow Day! Website |
