Summary
South Park: Snow Day!is going for a franchise first with the introduction of co-op into a modernSouth Parkgame. However, the fact thatSouth Park: Snow Day!is going to give local co-op a miss is an unfortunate waste of potential.
There’s been some confusion around local co-op in the nextSouth Parkgame and whether it will feature in the title. Fortunately, official store listings have cleared up any misconceptions;South Park: Snow Day!only supports online co-op. Players will have the option to be joined by up to three friends, use matchmaking to find random teammates, or play solo with ally bots. It’s a model that’s becoming increasingly prevalent within the AAA space, including examples such asMarvel’s Avengers,Redfall, andSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
South Park: Snow Day! Would Have Really Benefited From Local Co-Op
Local co-op is something ofa dying art outside of Nintendo, butSnow Day!could really have used such a tried-and-tested feature. While exclusively online multiplayer might be the way that the industry is going, the irreverent spirit ofSouth Park—captured in a series of RPGs that take up more than a few retro stylings—would actually be well suited to local co-op. It’s really a shame that fans won’t be able to fight through the raging blizzard afflicting the eponymous Colorado town with friends sitting next to them.
South Park: Snow Day!’s 3D art stylehas attracted some controversy for its deviation from the formula typical of the newerSouth Parktitles. Despite this, the new art direction would have been perfect for local co-op. Though the other RPGs had camera movement, their battles were stuck to a turn-based grid.Snow Day!being in third person and in 3D makes it ideal for split-screen. The fact that the dramatic shift in art style comes with brand-new co-op functionality compounds this, with the former facilitating the latter in the case of local co-op. It still works to make online co-op more of a viable feature, but it’s strange that there’s no local option to take advantage of these circumstances.
Couch Co-Op Is In The Spirit Of South Park
SinceThe Stick of Truth, modernSouth Parkgames have honed in on amplifying the childhood antics of the main cast. Whether their antics be based on fantasy adventures or superhero tribulations, they take the dress-up tomfoolery relatable to many fans' youth and kick it up to 11.
These childhood misadventures and the injection of extreme violence and irreverence imparted upon them are perfectly suited for local co-op.South Park’s main four boyshave always had a comedic dysfunction that reflects the tensions and in-jokes of any friend group, so getting to play on one sofa with friends sounds like the ideal way to play aSouth Parkgame. Moreover, with these titles focusing on the series' comedy, having friends in the same room when playing would make these jokes land better and would improve the social experience.
Snow Day! Sharing Any Traits With An Unstable Game Model is Worrying
As stated previously,South Park: Snow Day!’s co-opis remarkably similar to games likeRedfallandSuicide Squad: Kill the Justice League—games that are generally considered commercial and critical failures. SinceSnow Day!isn’t forcing solo players online or stuffing itself full of microtransactions, there’s nothing to suggest that this game will go down the road of something likeMarvel’s Avengers. Still, it’s worth mentioning that a lack of local co-op puts the title closer to the aforementioned orbit, which doesn’t bode too well and will undoubtedly be disappointing to old school gamers.
South Park: Snow Day!
WHERE TO PLAY
From South Park Digital Studios, the studio that brought you South Park: The Stick of Truth, South Park: The Fractured but Whole, and South Park: Phone Destroyer comes the next chapter in the journey of the New Kid. Join Cartman, Stan, Kyle, and Kenny, in three-dimensional glory, to celebrate the most magical day in any young child’s life - a snow day! A massive blizzard has thrown the town into chaos and, more importantly, canceled school. Play with up to three friends, use matchmaking, or solo the game with ally bots and battle through the snow-piled town of South Park. Engage in frenetic, action-packed combat against warring factions in an all-new story where you make the rules. Equip unique weapons and deploy devastating, upgradable special abilities on a new adventure to save the world and enjoy a day without school. It’s a snow day, dude!
