Butter’s Gate III
HIGH Snow Day features some surprisingly sophisticated RPG mechanics.
LOW Tedious combat and a short run time hold it back.
WTF Dark Matter is uh…
South Park has never been shy about courting controversy. From topical jabs at current sociopolitical events to making fun of celebrities, the show has been a cultural staple since the ’90s. Snow Day! isn’t different in that regard, but when it comes to the series’ videogame adaptations, it does change up the gameplay formula quite a bit. However, what must have seemed like a good premise on paper ended up more shallow than Mr. Hankey’s toilet.
Snow Day! is an action RPG with some roguelike elements. Each level focuses around the adventures of the customizable playable character, nicknamed the “New Kid”, on a day off from school after a particularly heinous snowstorm. The neighborhood characters have started working on a new game after the previous Fractured, But Whole after it came to light that my character “broke” it, so the in-game fiction is that they’re going back to square one and creating Snow Day!
Snow Day!’s visuals are nice to look at. Each level is packed with detail, such as detritus from the snowstorm, lovely snow effects, and the town’s locales are all lovingly recreated. The user interface is also clean, and doesn’t overload the player with gauges and bars.
The core gameplay loop of Snow Day! consists of looking for required objects to progress while fighting off hordes of enemies of varying strength and skills. After three rounds of standard combat arenas, the action moves to a boss phase where players will face off against South Park characters, like Stan and Kenny, as well as their respective factions, like Kyle’s elf army. The player can equip a weapon of their choice and up to two special powers in order to fight the hordes of each character.
There is a multiplayer mode, in which friends or other players could potentially join, but Snow Day! is still a single-player title at its core. Those going it alone will get NPC allies that are fairly competent, though they lacked the same kind of abilities available to a live player. Overall, I found multiplayer was not necessary and I could successfully play on my own without the difficulty overwhelming me.
As mentioned, up to two cooldown special abilities can be equipped that greatly assist in combat and mobility. For example, Fart Escape is generally used as a quick upward retreat from enemies, but it can be altered with a card to release a lasting cloud that causes damage. Similarly, the Healing Totem can be upgraded to heal more damage over time, and also do damage to enemies within its reach.
These abilities can be enhanced during a level by talking to Jimmy or Henrietta, who each provide unique benefits. The former will provide upgrades to abilities, while the latter can help via more passive perks, such as replenishing card uses. These benefits only last for the level the player is currently in, so it becomes important to strategize which benefits would maximize the current loadout.
Then there are Bullshit Cards, which are limited-use activated abilities that are selected by both sides, player and opponents, before starting a level, and can be activated at any time. Players get one card, and the enemy NPCs get two.
Bullshit cards give either group a big advantage. In general, players gain cards that act like spells, such laser eyes or radioactive goo, which will damage enemies. Enemy cards are different and will apply effects to all enemies or players at once, such as causing all ranged weapons to deal zero damage.
The cards (as a mechanic) offer a roguelike element that was a nice addition, and the variety in each mission stemming from their use was welcome. Depending on a player’s loadout, they might be using magic to lay damaging terrain and bombs. With another, healing abilities might be used as offense, and more.
Unfortunately, while the cards were great, the combat they were enhancing left a lot to be desired. The core of Snow Day! is tedious combat with only a handful of melee and ranged weapons, and only eight powers. Most enemies can be dispatched quickly with basic attacks, with little changing it up. I assume that enemies using their own cards was meant to require the player to use an extra bit of strategy, but the added bonuses like extra damage or regenerating health just made them more annoying to fight, rather than adding any meaningful challenge. It’s also tough to focus on one enemy at a time, making each fight go slower than it needed to. That said, it’s an incredibly short experience with only five levels in total, and I completed it in just over four hours… It’s dull, but at least it doesn’t stick around too long.
In contrast, the bosses were at least interesting, with unique gimmicks to make their encounters more challenging. In one, Princess Kenny would charm characters to make them move erratically and attack each other. When I got hit with the ability, I would have to mash a button to get out of the effect, but if allies were close by, I would attack them as well.
Outside combat, there isn’t much to explore. A hub area allowed me to buy cosmetics and upgrades, each of which use their own in-game currencies. I could also change my loadout of weapons and spells, but that was about it. It’s a rather large area, too, so it feels like a wasted opportunity that could have been used to sneak in a few cameos from other characters in the show.
South Park: Snow Day! features some interesting mechanics that change up the drudgery of its mediocre combat, but it ultimately feels too shallow and underdeveloped. The short length doesn’t allow much room for the content to grow or develop, either. In the end, I think this is one snow day I’d rather stay inside for.
Rating: 3 out of 10
Disclosures: This game is developed by Question and published by THQ Nordic. It is currently available on PS5, XBO/X/S, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher, and reviewed on PC. Approximately 4 hours were devoted to the game, and it was completed. There is an online co-op multiplayer mode.
Parents: This game has an ESRB rating of M for Blood, Mature Humor, Strong Language and Violence. The rating summary states: “This is a co-op action game in which players explore a town, perform quests, and battle enemy factions during a snowstorm. From a third-person perspective, players use swords, arrows, spells, and special skills to defeat/kill other cartoony children dressed as fantasy characters (e.g., elves, wizards). Combat includes cries of pain, explosions, and frequent blood-splatter effects. The game contains frequent instances of mature and crude humor: cartoon characters smeared with feces; monsters made of feces; characters using flatulence to propel themselves; references to porn/”magazines with b*obs”; old/used condoms fetched to repair a catapult; dialogue such as “Looks kind of juicy, but whatever, as long as it stretches” and “They were really racist and homophobic jokes.” In one menu screen, players can add a testicular sack (Chin Balls) to characters’ faces. The words “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole” appear in the game.”
Colorblind Modes: There are three colorblind modes available: deuteranopia, protanopia, and tritanopia.
Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The game offers subtitles. Subtitles can be resized. There are no audio cues necessary for successful play. This game is fully accessible.
Remappable Controls: Yes, this game’s controls are remappable.
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South Park has been a cash cow for literally decades now, so I’m not surprised they’d push out a turd of a video game, as they frequently did back in the day. Still, after two enjoyable RPGs, I’d hoped they’d turned a corner.