South Park: The Fractured but Whole is a role-playing video game that is viewed from a 2.5D, third-person perspective.[1] The player controls the New Kid as they explore the fictional Colorado town of South Park,[2] around which the player-character can be freely moved. A fast-travel system allows the character to be moved between unlocked travel points.[3]
The game allows the player to select one of ten archetypal superhero player-characters; the nimble Speedster, the short-range, high damage Brutalist, the long range, moderate damage Blaster, the weather-based Elementalist, the offense-attracting Cyborg, the long-range, status effecting Psychic, the stealthy Assassin, the gadget-using Gadgeteer, the healing Plantmancer, and the high-damage, swift Martial Artist.[4] At first only three choices are available (Blaster, Speedster, and Brutalist);[5][6] the New Kid can eventually access all ten classes, freely matching powers from the available classes,[6] for example, the player can use the Blaster's fire blasts, the Assassin's knives, and the Martial Artist's kicks.[7] The player can assign four powers from the classes, three regular attacks and one ultimate attack.[8] Ultimate attacks can only be used after filling the Ultimate bar, a pool of points shared between the New Kid and their allies that is increased by completing timed button presses during attacking and defending phases.[9][8] Throughout the game, the player can select up to three allies from twelve characters to accompany them in battle, each possessing three powers and an ultimate attack.[3][10]