South Park: Phone Destroyer is much more amusing than you’d think. You’ll definitely enjoy it if you like South Park. Read our review to learn more!
Overview
South Park: Phone Destroyer was released on November 9th. So, it’s about time I played the game and wrote a review. For all you people still on the fence about downloading the game, read on!
Story
The game starts off with the story immediately. You watch a room full of kids fighting over what game they should play next. You’ll find that the premise is very similar to Fractured but Whole where they’re LARPing in the streets.
Cartman bursts onto the scene to announce that everyone is going to play “Cowboys and Indians”. Did I mention the lack of PC? Cartman explains that he knows someone who’s on their phone all the time and that they would be perfect for the Cowboys team. That someone is you.
The fun way the storyline is projected in the game is through ‘texts’ that pop up on the home screen and during a battle.
This particular game mechanic does a great job at connecting the game with the greater South Park universe. Of course, it’s also there to fit in with the beginning of the story of the phone-obsessed player (AKA You).
Gameplay
The gameplay is focused on a card-based system. There are action elements as well. For example, Cartman has a power-up that you can activate after it’s built up over time.
Different cards represent different South Park characters. They also represent different party members. Below are some examples:
- Sheriff Cartman: Tank type that’s slow but has high HP
- Gunslinger Kyle: Ranger type that can shoot from a distance but has low HP
- Calamity Heidi: Assasin type that has very low HP but does high damage
I quite enjoy this type of system because it’s straightforward. Your blue bar at the bottom of the screen loads over time and indicates how many action points you have. Each card requires different amounts of action points to play.
I should add that I’m happy to announce that gameplay difficulty doesn’t change with different skin colours as it does with Fractured but Whole. (As much as I love the social commentary from that game mechanic).
Sound & Music
I always have a soft spot for really good background music and sound effects in games. Games feel so empty without a base soundscape.
This is one of those games you’d least expect to have a really great soundtrack and set of sound effects. You’ll find from the earlier video that the music fits the “Cowboys and Indians” theme perfectly.
Even though it’s not as involved a game, the sound effects are really on point. Each card or character has their own weapon sound effects and even have voiceovers for moments of effort. You’ll appreciate the attention to detail here.
Fun fact: If you go to the Store and ‘poke’ Cartman, he’ll make a whole bunch of silly sounds.
Graphics
I’ve been playing the game on an iPhone 6S and I must say the graphics and the game overall run very smoothly.
Despite playing on a relatively small screen, there’s a lot of depth to the graphics. In the main screen, you aren’t bombarded with a whole bunch of buttons to pick from. The iconography is straightforward.
Getting into the battles themselves, the depth shows in the background, foreground and card overlay. A minor complaint here would be that some text like descriptions can be quite tiny.
Final thoughts on South Park: Phone Destroyer
Even if you’re not much of a card game kind of person, it’s a really great game to just pick up and play. You’ll be very amused with the South Park jokes and social commentary.
Plus, who doesn’t love some Cartman antics?
