Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 307 sampled Steam reviews (258 positive / 49 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Story & writing15% mention it
- Combat9% mention it
- Bugs & crashes5% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Combat12% mention it
- Story & writing10% mention it
- Bugs & crashes8% mention it
- Controls & UI8% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
59%
56 reviews
5-15h
82%
50 reviews
15-40h
93%
137 reviews
40-100h
87%
52 reviews
100h+
92%
12 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 82 | 32 |
| Creator reviews (3 tracked) | – | 82 | 1 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 85% | 79 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 82 | 76 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 94% | 88 | 63 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 178 reviews sampled · 180 total reviews in window · weighted 149.8 up / 9.7 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (189)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“South Park: The Fractured But Whole for Nintendo Switch allows you to finally play while sitting in the toilet. Sadly, the re-release does not contain additional content and suffers from a number of technical problems that Ubisoft promises to patch in the future.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“A good game, and a good RPG, but not as memorable as its predecessor.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“The saving grace is that the game is mechanically one of the best, most accessible RPGs crafted in a long time.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a sequel that does everything a good second game should do: it keeps what worked, expands the possibilities and improves the overall experience. With acidic humor, sharp satire and more robust mechanics, the title is a full plate for fans of the series and also for those looking for a light, yet creative and very well-written RPG. Despite a relatively short main campaign for the genre's standards, it is a journey that is worth every minute.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Minor technical issues aside, the stellar combat, engaging narrative, and quirky humour make this 30 hour romp through the quiet mountain town of South Park, Colorado, worth checking out. Particularly if the TV show's brand of humour gels with you. It's a marked improvement over South Park: The Stick of Truth in almost every way. [OpenCritic note: Rishi Alwani separately reviewed the XB1 (9) and Switch (8) versions. The scores have been averaged.]”
read full review ↗ - 80
“While it's a fair few months behind the releases that graced other platforms in 2017, the Nintendo Switch version South Park: The Fractured But Whole isn't diminished by its later arrival. While it's no great leap from the mechanics of the first game, it still offers both an ideal introduction for players looking to try out a turn-based RPG and a worthy addition to any genre fan's collection.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“It’s difficult to recommend this title to anyone without much knowledge of South Park, because the experience is suffused with material only fans will fully appreciate. This is nevertheless one of the occasional licensed titles that actually does its source justice, and is an incredibly easy recommendation to anyone who likes RPGs and has some appreciation for Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s amazingly long-lived series.”
read full review ↗ - 78
“I wasn't surprised to find that the game had little to offer after the credits rolled, and that's fine. A South Park game doesn't need to be Skyrim; it only needs to spout ass jokes and politically incorrect caricatures at any given frame, and in that, The Fractured But Whole succeeds wildly, with tight, coordinated scripting from Parker and Stone. If watching a near-day's worth of an interactive adult cartoon isn't your bag, literally any other competent RPG will fill that crack, though.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“If you're a fan of the South Park series, you're going to love this. It's packed full of references and Easter eggs from the show's 20+ seasons and many of the smaller references will be more meaningful to those fans. It's easy to see that Ubisoft and South Park Studio's made this game 'For the Fans' and they nailed it.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Overall South Park: The Fractured but Whole gets a 9/10, the humour is great for those who meld well with its style or if you’re a fan of the series. The gameplay has improved greatly from the first game with more strategic thinking being required for later parts of the game. The dungeon maps are longer with more puzzles, if a bit fewer in numbers in comparison to the first game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“You will find yourself laughing quite a bit at every ridiculous encounter you’ll come across, and those worried that this game may not live up to what came before it should rest easy. This is a trip into the mountains well worth taking, even if you missed out on its predecessor.”
read full review ↗ - 70
GameMAG
3DNews
Slant Magazine
GameFM
Gadgets 360
Nintendo Life
RPGamer
Paste Magazine
ani-game.com
Invision Community
Gamer Escape
The Angry Joe Show…and 177 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Bring the Crunch Title UpdateAug 1, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Summer 2018 Title UpdateJul 25, 2018
- From Dusk till Casa Bonita Title UpdateMar 27, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- From Dusk till Casa Bonita Title UpdateMar 27, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- The Gendering HotfixJan 26, 2018
- The Gendering HotfixJan 26, 2018
- Danger Deck Title UpdateDec 19, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Danger Deck Title UpdateDec 19, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- All-Platform Fall UpdateNov 21, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- All-Platform Fall UpdateNov 21, 2017
- PC Patch Notes - Title Update 2Nov 6, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- PC Patch Notes - Title Update 2Nov 6, 2017significant · resets scoring window