Fortnite’s Stick of Truth is ruining the South Park collab

After months of rumors, Fortnite has finally gone on down to South Park, and, well, it kind of sucks. To be fair, Fortnite fans have enjoyed some seriously excellent collaborations over the last few months, from the Power Rangers Battle Pass to the Simpsons takeover in November. Now, though, the hateable scamps from South Park have invaded the map for a collaboration that simply misses the mark.

This partnership includes many elements, but there’s one we’re really going to focus on here: the Stick of Truth mythic item. While not a weapon or mobility tool, the Stick of Truth allows the person who holds it to “control the storm.” That sounds cool, in theory. In practice, it makes Battle Royale an absolute nightmare.

When someone triggers the Stick of Truth, it immediately sets the final storm circle wherever the holder is located at that moment. From then on, the storm doesn’t stop shrinking until there’s one person or team left standing. It basically initiates the endgame, leaving most players elsewhere on the map in an endless run to wherever the circle is closing in on, hoping to not get killed by the storm.Once the Stick of Truth comes into play, all strategic gameplay goes out the window, and chaos reigns. Perhaps that’s on purpose, given that this event is titled “Born in Chaos.” But it makes the game less fun for those looking for a simple Battle Royale experience. Instead of being about the best team surviving, it becomes about a race to the Stick of Truth, rendering long-range weapons like a sniper rifle or rocket launcher pointless.

Being the person to activate it doesn’t mean you’re going to win. Thanks to the South Park event’s Kenny Respawn token, you can both die and win the match. This was my experience as my team and I circled in on the remaining players for a final showdown. I was killed early by an entire team of arc-lightning gun wielders, only to be miraculously saved by the same tentacled monster that takes care of Kenny. As I dropped back down to the map, I landed on top of a tower in the exact middle of the final circle and simply crouched there hiding until I won.

It was a cheap victory and something that would only happen in a situation like this, where 20 players are trying to dispatch of each other in a tiny space, with bullets, lightning, and explosives flying freely. Our team took home the Victory Royale because I lucked out and landed in a good hiding spot. That’s not how you want to win Fortnite and, ultimately, the Stick of Truth makes that occurrence way too likely. I wouldn’t be opposed to the Stick of Truth being an item in modes like Reload or Delulu, but it’s just too powerful for Battle Royale games. Unfortunately for this event, it doesn’t get much better beyond the Stick of Truth. The shop bundle skins are all the same type of children-in-mech-suits as The Simpsons event, though here they’re all themed to the South Park kids. The extra items, including pickaxes, back blings, and one of the lamest IP-based emotes in a long time certainly don’t make up for the shortcomings. They also cost a pretty penny, with the bundle that doesn’t include the Towelie sidekick costing 4,000 V-bucks. (The Towelie sidekick, the one item in the shop I think is worthwhile, is a separate 1,200 V-buck purchase.)

The mini Battle Pass isn’t much better. There are two worthwhile items in the pack — an Imaginationland Airship glider and a Terrance and Phillip puppet pickaxe. Other than that, the pass is mostly underwhelming emotes and stickers. The mini pass is free, though, so at least you aren’t shelling out for it.

In all, this crossover feels like a bust — and it all goes back to the event’s most powerful item. The Stick of Truth sets the tone for South Park‘s arrival in Fortnite and, thus far, it’s not cutting it.