jdodson gives this a "Meh" on the Ghost Scale
It’s not amazing, it’s not bad. This is ok but you may want to choose another title.
jdodson gives this a "Meh" on the Ghost Scale
It’s not amazing, it’s not bad. This is ok but you may want to choose another title.
South Park Phone Destroyer was announced at 2017’s E3 and based on the good reviews of South Park Stick of Truth my interest was peaked. Even though I was really interested in playing it Phone Destroyer somehow the game launched and I didn’t hear anything about it. That changed when I recently saw it in the App Store and since it’s a free to play game I installed it.
Cowboys VS Indians
I’m going to start things out by noting that South Park gleefully revels in offense. At this point South Park has made fun of just about everything so saying that South Park might offend people isn’t really news. Some give South Park a pass because they spread out the satire and mockery to everyone but that doesn’t get it off the hook for sometimes being a bit mean spirited. That said, when South Park is at its peak it’s witty satire is biting and contains a socially relevant message.
Phone Destroyer picks up right after the events in The Stick of Truth where the kids are done playing Elves and Orcs and want to play Cowboys and Indians. Whereas it was common for kids to play Cowboys and Indians in the 80’s, 90’s and earlier it seems like this form of play has lost fashion. Parly because other forms of pop culture are more popular such as Superheroes and Star Wars but also because of cultural appropriation and many Native Americans taking issue with it. Satire at its best has a larger message to inform the audience and in the case of Phone Destroyer it seems that Cowboys and Indians is merely a backdrop. If it’s some kind of political or social satire I didn’t get far enough in the game to see it so it just seems to be… offensive because it can be?
Get To The Gameplay Partner!
The core gameplay of Phone Destroyer kept my attention longer than something like Animal Crossing Pocket Camp but that’s not high praise. The game does feature ace voice acting and innovative story beats such as other characters calling you in game requiring you to turn your phone to actually take the call.
Like many free to play games you can buy in game currency in gold coins and cash. These can be used to buy in game card packs and give you access to materials to upgrade cards or buy new cards themselves. Advancement is through a PVP leveling system and a Candy Crush like set of game levels. You get free cards packs every couple hours so the free to play aspect of the game isn’t too punishing. In fact the game isn’t all that bad itself it just suffers because it’s core gameplay, like many free to play games, is repetitive and boring. Like, why do I care about PVP again? Come to find out I don’t and the most interesting part of the game, it’s character interaction and paper thin story beats don’t come enough to keep me interested. When I realized that I had unlocked all the base level cards and I needed to be PVP 5 to continue and i’ve mostly stopped playing because of it.
TLDR
Phone Destroyer is a fine free to play game and if you love South Park you should check out. I didn’t love it but it contained enough fun elements to keep me playing for a few hours.
Cowboys VS Indians
I’m going to start things out by noting that South Park gleefully revels in offense. At this point South Park has made fun of just about everything so saying that South Park might offend people isn’t really news. Some give South Park a pass because they spread out the satire and mockery to everyone but that doesn’t get it off the hook for sometimes being a bit mean spirited. That said, when South Park is at its peak it’s witty satire is biting and contains a socially relevant message.
Phone Destroyer picks up right after the events in The Stick of Truth where the kids are done playing Elves and Orcs and want to play Cowboys and Indians. Whereas it was common for kids to play Cowboys and Indians in the 80’s, 90’s and earlier it seems like this form of play has lost fashion. Parly because other forms of pop culture are more popular such as Superheroes and Star Wars but also because of cultural appropriation and many Native Americans taking issue with it. Satire at its best has a larger message to inform the audience and in the case of Phone Destroyer it seems that Cowboys and Indians is merely a backdrop. If it’s some kind of political or social satire I didn’t get far enough in the game to see it so it just seems to be… offensive because it can be?
Get To The Gameplay Partner!
The core gameplay of Phone Destroyer kept my attention longer than something like Animal Crossing Pocket Camp but that’s not high praise. The game does feature ace voice acting and innovative story beats such as other characters calling you in game requiring you to turn your phone to actually take the call.
Like many free to play games you can buy in game currency in gold coins and cash. These can be used to buy in game card packs and give you access to materials to upgrade cards or buy new cards themselves. Advancement is through a PVP leveling system and a Candy Crush like set of game levels. You get free cards packs every couple hours so the free to play aspect of the game isn’t too punishing. In fact the game isn’t all that bad itself it just suffers because it’s core gameplay, like many free to play games, is repetitive and boring. Like, why do I care about PVP again? Come to find out I don’t and the most interesting part of the game, it’s character interaction and paper thin story beats don’t come enough to keep me interested. When I realized that I had unlocked all the base level cards and I needed to be PVP 5 to continue and i’ve mostly stopped playing because of it.
TLDR
Phone Destroyer is a fine free to play game and if you love South Park you should check out. I didn’t love it but it contained enough fun elements to keep me playing for a few hours.
