Last week, Ubisoft (in partnership with Trey Parker and Matt Stone) released South Park: The Fractured But Whole, the follow-up to the well-received Stick of Truth. Although the dev team, Parker, and Stone had some huge shoes to fill when it comes to a sequel, Fractured But Whole reviews suggest that they were able to at least deliver another memorable and entertaining experience. But just how deep is that experience?

In our time with South Park: The Fractured But Whole, it took about 18 hours to complete the full story campaign along with all of the general side missions. There were a few collectible focused side missions that were unfinished, which would likely add another hour or two depending on whether a player was using a guide.

It’s also easy to see someone finishing the game in 15 hours if they focused only on the story, avoided all side content, and were playing on the easiest difficulty. Even on the normal difficulty, some of the boss fights in the game can prove challenging. We would recommend grinding to get all of the artifact slots as soon as possible, since those will increase the player’s overall viability in battle while adding a few extra stat boosts to the RPG team. With a competent team, getting through the game should be a relative breeze.

To recap:

  • Story Only: About 15 Hours
  • Story and Most Side Missions: About 18 Hours
  • 100% Completion: 20 Hours+

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Compared to South Park: The Stick of Truth, The Fractured But Whole is a few hours longer, which should please fans of the franchise. More time spent in the world of South Park is always a treat, or at least it is now that the games are good. There was once a time when South Park games were notoriously bad, but Stick of Truth found a way to successfully blend the crass storytelling of the TV series with engaging video game mechanics.

The Fractured But Whole ups the ante by tackling the superhero genre this time around, and using an RPG combat system that takes into account placement on a grid map. If nothing else, the new system forces players to think a little more strategically when it comes to teammates and move sets.

With so many games releasing in October and beyond, gamers will need to use their time wisely. Thankfully, South Park: The Fractured But Whole isn’t too much of an investment, even for those players that want to see every Easter Egg in the game.

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.