When comparing South Park: The Stick of Truth vs Dark Souls III, the Slant community recommends South Park: The Stick of Truth for most people. In the question“What are the best singleplayer games on Steam?” South Park: The Stick of Truth is ranked 52nd while Dark Souls III is ranked 70th. The most important reason people chose South Park: The Stick of Truth is:
When you start the game, you have the option of choosing between four distinct classes: Fighter, Mage, Thief, or Jew. The classes all give you a different edge in combat to suit your style, and the armor for each one makes you fit right in with classic dungeons and dragons fantasy games. If you choose to be a Jew, then you'll be able to take down groups of bad guys all at once with huge, powerful attacks named after religious references. Later on in the game, no matter which class you are, you can summon Jesus in combat to come down from the sky and purge groups of enemies with an automatic gun. South Park fans will probably get a good laugh out of the combat and how over-the-top it is.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro South Park's trademark humor throughout the turn-based combat
When you start the game, you have the option of choosing between four distinct classes: Fighter, Mage, Thief, or Jew. The classes all give you a different edge in combat to suit your style, and the armor for each one makes you fit right in with classic dungeons and dragons fantasy games. If you choose to be a Jew, then you'll be able to take down groups of bad guys all at once with huge, powerful attacks named after religious references. Later on in the game, no matter which class you are, you can summon Jesus in combat to come down from the sky and purge groups of enemies with an automatic gun. South Park fans will probably get a good laugh out of the combat and how over-the-top it is.
Pro Puts you in the middle of the South Park show
The art style makes the game indistinguishable from the South Park show, featuring the same voice actors and an abundance of references to the long-running series. You'll get to meet the kids, team up with them, and earn their friendship as you explore the town and get in all sorts of trouble together. Each of the characters' houses are mostly fully explorable, and whichever companion you choose will make remarks about the things you find, like what someone's parents might have gotten up to as you rummage through their bedroom. There's a lot to discover, and all of it feels like an authentic recreation of the show dedicated for South Park fans or anyone who wants to jump into the franchise for the first time.
Pro Entertaining parodies of the RPG genre
All throughout the story, you'll find funny knocks on the fourth wall as characters make comments about why the voiceless protagonist doesn't talk, and the meaning behind why everyone has to take turns in battle. The whole premise of the South Park kids embarking on an epic fantasy quest together is fun and imaginative, especially as they make remarks about why they're dressed in their outfits and carrying swords or staves. It pokes fun at the role-playing genre while serving as a reminder that the kids are only playing a very convincing game of make-believe.
Pro Customizable player character
You can tailor your male protagonist to look however you want, with plenty of hair options, skin tones, eye shapes, and more. While your protagonist isn't voiced and has no name, you'll still feel like a realized character in the South Park show because of how much the boys include you in their activities. Later on in the game, you'll find the girls who will offer to give you a make-over with dresses, shoes, makeup, and hairstyles for a whole new look.
Pro Extensive lore that's presented in unconventional ways
There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story.
Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you.
Even though the actual story in Dark Souls III is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
Pro Stunning environments
The world of Dark Souls 3 looks amazing, so you may often feel the need to stop and take in the beautiful sights. This can be the sheer size of structures, mountains, or caves. It can also be the decorations, inscriptions, or details in a room. There's always so much to look at, allowing you to truly immerse yourself in its world.
Pro Can give a great feeling of accomplishment
The Dark Souls series is known for its difficulty and Dark Souls 3 is no exception. It's filled with difficult enemies and tough boss battles, able to cause you grief on more than one occasion. However, every time you progress to the next safe spot or defeat a boss you'll often be filled with a mix of joy and relief. Beating this game will almost certainly feel like an achievement.
Pro Unpredictable boss battles
The boss battles in Dark Souls 3 consist of several phases, changing up how the bosses fight over the course of the battle. They will gain new abilities, become more aggressive, or reveal various nasty surprises. This creates an enjoyable experience that is different from most modern games where bosses are just glorified pincushions.
Pro A great variety of equipment for almost any playstyle
You'll be finding new pieces of equipment quite often, giving you many options to choose from. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to pick the equipment that best suits your playstyle.
For example, heavy armor will make you move slower, but you'll be better protected. Greatswords have a wide reach, but you swing them really slow. Conversely a dagger is very fast but it has a horrible reach.
Pro Solid controls
This game feels and plays really well. Your character responds to button inputs immediately and it almost never feels like you're losing control over it. The control scheme can also be customized, giving you the option of a more personalized experience.
Pro Great combat system
Dark Souls 3 is a very fast-paced game but it's not just about having quick reflexes. A lot of the combat comes down to exploiting your enemies. To do that, you have to learn their patterns and attack the moment they pause or perform a telegraphed attack. This creates a combat system, which rewards awareness and patience, and is satisfying to master, even if you don't have extraordinary reflexes.
Cons
Con Too easy on the default difficulty
Battles aren't all that challenging on the default difficulty that the game starts with. If you notice that the game seems too easy, then you can go into the options menu and adjust things to your liking.
Con Crude humor that isn't for everyone
If you don't enjoy the crass, vulgar humor in the South Park shows, then this game probably won't change your mind. Some players might be put off by the shocking jokes, cursing and foul language, and other raunchy and inappropriate scenarios.
Con Poor support for mouse+keyboard control
The default DS3 key/button bindings actually prevent full use of certain weapons by requiring the shift key to be pressed and not-pressed simultaneously. Rebinding is possible, but limited by issues like the left mouse button overriding all others and certain bindings not actually working in game (e.g. Shift+MiddleClick).
Con It's hard
You should try avoiding the trap of great review scores since most of them fail to mention the difficulty. It's simply put - hard. A lot of the combat requires quick reflexes, good mechanics, and the mental fortitude to carry on after failing for hours. If you're new to the Souls-like genre or simply want to enjoy a relaxing evening playing a video game, you most likely won't enjoy Dark Souls III.
Con Poorly tuned dynamic visiblity
You may notice some texture pop in while sharply turning the camera. It can be somewhat distracting if you notice it, but most of the time you won't because it happens in the distance.
Con Occasional performance issues
There are portions of the game that will have noticeable framerate drops, which can negatively affect the gameplay. Most of the fault lies with the game engine, so getting better hardware won't help that much.