With latest South Park game, South Park: Snow Day, launching recently, you might be thinking about checking out the other South Park games.
Quite a few games were made under the South Park IP, but not all had the creators of the show, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, involved in their development. Because of this, some are more memorable than others. So, here are all the South Park games in the order they were released.
1998 – South Park
Release date: Dec. 21, 1998
Developer: Iguana Entertainment/ Appaloosa Interactive (PS)
The very first South Park game was a first-person shooter. Players choose between Stan, Kyle, Cartman, or Kenny as they battle enemies that arrive in South Park after a strange comet strikes the town. The game was negatively received on PC and PlayStation, but the Nintendo 64 version was more favored.
Despite not being particularly good or successful, I have fond memories of playing this game as a kid, and it could be cool to see a remake in the future—as long as Matt Stone and Trey Parker have some input.
1999 – South Park: Chef’s Luv Shack
Release date: Oct. 12, 1999
Developer: Acclaim Studios Austin
The next South Park game was very different to its predecessor. Rather than an FPS, Chef’s Luv Shack was themed like a game show, and made in the traditional 2D South Park style rather than 3D. Players choose between the four main characters, answer questions, and play mini-games. It faced mixed reviews across the board.
Chef’s Luv Shack was intended as a multiplayer game (and didn’t feature AI players), but I still played it by myself as a child. At least I’d always win.
2000 – South Park Rally
Release date: Jan. 5, 2000
Developer: Tantalus Interactive
South Park Rally was a racing game and the last South Park title to be published by Acclaim Entertainment. It’s your run-of-the-mill Mario Kart clone, with very little to offer that goes above and beyond the bog-standard for this genre.
South Park Rally received mostly negative reviews, so it’s no surprise that there was no major outing in the video game world for the South Park franchise for almost a decade.
2009 – South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play!
Release date: Oct. 7, 2009
Developer: Doublesix
Fast-forward nine years, and we got South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play, a fun and addictive tower defense game that marked the first time Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and the South Park Digital Studios team had an active role in development.
The simple tower defense premise works well with the irreverent South Park humor, while the ability to choose between various characters with different abilities allows for constantly changing gameplay.
2012 – South Park: Tenorman’s Revenge
Release date: March 30, 2012
Developer: Other Ocean Interactive
Following up Let’s Go Tower Defense Play was Tenorman’s Revenge. While it’s far from a terrible game, it was a disappointment compared to Tower Defense.
It’s a platformer developed in collaboration with South Park Digital Studios, but the ongoing fun and replayability that made Tower Defense so memorable was lost in Tenorman’s Revenge.
2014 – South Park: The Stick of Truth
Release date: March 4, 2014
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
With a slew of middling to downright bad South Park games (and one bright spark in the mix with Let’s Go Tower Defense), it seemed like there was never going to be a South Park game that truly wowed audiences. Then along came The Stick of Truth.
South Park: The Stick of Truth is a fully fleshed-out fantasy RPG that centers around the kids role-playing and getting well and truly immersed. In true South Park style, their playtime quickly turns into a fight to save their town from a devastating threat.
This was the first South Park game where Matt Stone and Trey Parker played a huge part in the development. They were the main writers alongside Eric Fenstermaker, and the game took four years to make. The time spent was well and truly worth it, as not only was Stick of Truth an amazing game in its own right—received positively by fans and critics for its fun gameplay, hilarious story, engaging RPG mechanics, and 2D animation style—it’s also the best South Park game to date.
2017 – South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Release date: Oct. 17, 2017
Developer: Ubisoft San Francisco
The sequel to The Stick of Truth came in the form of The Fractured But Whole (testing the patience of the censorship process with that one) and once again, Parker, Stone and the rest of the team knocked it out of the park.
It’s another epic role-playing game but this time around, the kids take on their superhero alter egos to save South Park.
2017 – South Park: Phone Destroyer
Release date: Nov. 9, 2017
Developer: Ubisoft RedLynx
A surprisingly fun mobile game released in 2017 just a month after Fractured But Whole. Phone Destroyer is a card-collecting strategy game. The customizable card decks and awesome card designs (featuring the characters of South Park in various costumes, like Sheriff Cartman and Bounty Hunter Kyle) make up for the repetitive and somewhat uninspired gameplay.
2024 – South Park: Snow Day!
Release date: March 26, 2024
Developer: Question
Last but not least is the most recent South Park game, South Park: Snow Day. Although the game is a direct sequel to Stick of Truth and Fractured But Whole, it’s a completely different experience.
Matt Stone and Trey Parker were still very much involved in the game, but they opted to make it a roguelike rather than an RPG. It launched to mixed reviews, but I’ve had a lot of fun with it so far. I recommend giving it a try even if you’re disappointed it’s not an RPG.
