To say South Park: The Stick of Truth was stuck in its own bit of development hell would be a bit of an understatement. It was a game everyone wanted. People had high hopes for it. Obsidian Entertainment has proven it’s capable of great things, and this game had the potential to be another great one. But one misfortune after another struck. Still, the developer didn’t let that get them down. They delivered, and South Park: The Stick of Truth made it through.
Even more surprising, despite the troubled production, South Park: The Stick of Truth has been pretty well received. It’s doing above average on Metacritic, and we liked it okay here . Sure, it has some bugs. It isn’t a perfect game. But honestly? We should be giving Obsidian a lot more credit for coming through on this one.
I mean, look at what South Park: The Stick of Truth has been through. The initial delay was disheartening, sure, but wasn’t terribly traumatic. It was initially bumped to an April 30, 2013 release at the end of 2012, which was no big deal. Things like that happen all the time, and it was likely a quality control measure. However, it was only a prelude to disconcerting events.
After all, the delay announcement came right about at the same time as the whole THQ bankrupcy fiasco. A company was falling apart and while we all knew South Park: The Stick of Truth was going to be picked up by another company when it went to auction, we had no idea what the transition would be like. Different publishers have different expectations, and the uncertainty of not knowing what would happen next had to take a toll on everyone at Obsidian working on The Stick of Truth.
Especially since that lead to more delays, with South Park: The Stick of Truth getting pushed back to December 2013, and then finally to the day it would actually be released, March 4, 2013. It was probably like going through some kind of gauntlet for the developers. Such events may have even sunk similar games. But Obsidian and Ubisoft pulled through.
Which is why I think we should all commend Obisidian. Yes, these people were just doing their jobs. But, they did face some rather uncertain odds. With everything that happened, no one would have been surprised if South Park: The Stick of Truth failed to deliver the kind of experience trailers and screenshots had led us to expect. But, they came through. It took a little longer than we expected, but I’d like to think it was worth it in the end.
The quest to retrieve the Stick of Truth isn’t the only epic tale here. Obsidian Entertainment went on quite a journey themselves. That doesn’t mean we should be soft on them, and not point out obvious mistakes, but I think the developer does deserve some kudos for coming through with a quality game after everything that happened in 2013. Let’s wish them well, and perhaps keep our fingers crossed for a sequel. And maybe, one day, if we’re lucky, we’ll get to hear some inside stories and truths about what it was like to make such a game when everything seemed to be against them.