It’s time to boldly go. During the 2022 THQ Nordic digital showcase on August 12, the publisher teased a new South Park game. The reveal features the South Park Digital Studios logo with a voice-over from Randy Marsh. Randy tells us something “hot” is coming, indicating this game is probably still early in development.
Assuming this new game will follow in the footsteps of the The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole, it will likely have a central theme that ties the story together. Stick of Truth was inspired by high fantasy, and Fractured But Whole was inspired by superhero franchises. With that in mind, we hope it leans heavily into sci-fi, harkening back to the series’ very first episode in 1997.
Both games feature references to South Park’s most beloved episodes, but also included parodies of iconic media such as Final Fantasy, The Elder Scrolls, and the MCU. So, now that fantasy and superheroes have been done, the next logical step is sci-fi, and thankfully, there’s no shortage of movies, shows, and games in this genre to make fun of.
The most obvious choice is to satirize Star Wars, with possible references to The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan TV series. Likewise, by the time the new South Park game comes out, Bethesda’s space RPG Starfield will probably already be available, making it a prime candidate for references and jokes.
Films or shows like Nope, Lightyear, and Westworld, are also easy targets — and, as South Park has shown, no piece of media is off limits from being made fun of.
Leaning into sci-fi wouldn’t just be an easy win in terms of parody, but it would also open up the doors for references to some of the series’ most beloved stories and characters. South Park has a rich history with this particular theme, dating back to the very first episode from 1997, “Cartman Gets an Anal Probe.”
In it, the town of South Park gets invaded by aliens and Cartman gets abducted, though things don’t unfold how you’d expect. The aliens deem cows to be the most intelligent life forms on Earth, subsequently leading to the humans’ survival (with the exception of Kenny, of course).
But this isn’t the only episode to feature sci-fi themes. Another one, “Starvin’ Marvin in Space,” sends the group of boys to a distant planet called Marklar to save starving Ethiopians. The new game should give players a chance to revisit this planet, where the language is nearly identical to English, only all nouns are “Marklar.”
The Stick of Truth also has some small sci-fi sections, giving us a small taste of what the next entry might be like. In it, the main character must escape the clutches of an alien spaceship after getting abducted — referencing the iconic first episode.
But the next game should double down on this and send players into space, featuring wild planets from the show, while referencing other forms of media. Since much of what goes on is up to the boys’ imaginations anyway, the limits are endless when it comes to how things could unfold in the next game.
The unnamed South Park game is currently in development and will be published by THQ Nordic.
