South Park: The Stick of Truth vs Torchlight II
South Park: The Stick of Truth is a JRPG open-world game from Obsidian Entertainment (2014) while Torchlight II is an action-RPG RPG game from Runic Games (2012).
Quick answer: South Park: The Stick of Truth rates higher, 8.5 to 8.2 on the GamingPickz Score, and Torchlight II is the cheaper at $19.99.
What each one is
South Park: The Stick of Truth is filed under JRPG and Open-World. In contrast, Torchlight II under Action-RPG and RPG.
From the perilous battlefields of the fourth-grade playground, a young hero will rise, destined to be South Park’s savior. From the creators of South Park, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, comes an epic quest to become… cool. Introducing South Park™: The Stick of Truth™.For a thousand years, the battle has been waged.
The adventure continues in Torchlight II! An Action RPG filled with epic battles, bountiful treasure, and a fully randomized world. Bring your friends along for the journey with online and LAN multiplayer.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Setting See also: List of South Park characters South Park: The Stick of Truth is set in the fictional town South Park in the Colorado Rocky Mountains . The main character, whom the player controls, is the New Kid—nicknamed "Douchebag" —a silent protagonist who has recently moved to the town. Befriending the local boys, he becomes involved in an epic fantasy live action role-playing game featuring wizards and warriors battling for control of the Stick of… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical response Reception South Park: The Stick of Truth received positive reviews from critics. Aggregating review website Metacritic provides a score of 85 out of 100 from 48 critics for the Windows version, 85 out of 100 from 31 critics for the PlayStation 3 version, and 82 out of 100 from 33 critics for the Xbox 360 version. The game was considered a successful adaptation of licensed material to a video game, with critics describing it as one of… (Wikipedia)
Plot
Years after the end of the original Torchlight , The Alchemist (one of the three playable characters in the first game) becomes corrupted by the Ember Blight coming from the Heart of Ordrak, the evil being who had been the source of the corruption under the town of Torchlight, and then destroys the town. The player character takes on a quest to stop this villain, who is using Ordrak's power to disturb the balance between the world's six elements. As the… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception Torchlight II received favorable reviews; on aggregate review website Metacritic the game attains an overall score of 88 out of 100 based on reviews from 67 professional critics. Though the original Torchlight received positive reviews , the game's lack of any multiplayer modes was a near-universal criticism of the title by critics and fans alike. Game Informer stated that " Torchlight II is an excellent game no matter how… (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| South Park: The Stick of Truth | Torchlight II | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.5/10 | 8.2/10 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (98%, 73,376) | Very Positive (93%, 45,503) |
| Critic aggregate | 85/100 | 88/100 |
| Price | $29.99 | $19.99 |
| Install size | 6 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2014 | 2012 |
| Developer | Obsidian Entertainment | Runic Games |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
South Park: The Stick of Truth vs Torchlight II, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
South Park: The Stick of TruthJRPG open-world gameTorchlight IIAction-RPG RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
South Park: The Stick of TruthRPG, Comedy, AdventureTorchlight IIRPG, Action RPG, Hack and SlashThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
South Park: The Stick of Truth ✓Score 8.5 · 98% on Steam · 85 criticTorchlight IIScore 8.2 · 93% on Steam · 88 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
South Park: The Stick of Truth73,376 reviews · 2 add-ons · 6 GBTorchlight II45,503 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
South Park: The Stick of Truth$29.99Torchlight II ✓$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
South Park: The Stick of Truth ✓VerifiedTorchlight IIPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
South Park: The Stick of Truth takes 2 of the marked rounds to 1. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueSouth Park: The Stick of Truth and Torchlight II on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: South Park: The Stick of Truth (GamingPickz Score 8.5)
- The cheaper right now: Torchlight II ($19.99)
- Better on a Steam Deck: South Park: The Stick of Truth (verified)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
RPGAdventureSingleplayerActionCartoonFantasy
Where they differ
ComedyFunnyTurn-BasedDark HumorMature2D
Action RPGHack and SlashLootDungeon CrawlerCo-opOnline Co-Op
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, South Park: The Stick of Truth is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Torchlight II is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| South Park: The Stick of Truth | Torchlight II | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | nVidia GeForce 8800GT | — |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2180 @ 2.0 GHz | x86-compatible 1.4GHz |
| Minimum RAM | 2 GB | 1 GB |
| Install size | 6 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: South Park: The Stick of Truth · Torchlight II.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for South Park: The Stick of Truth and 0 for Torchlight II. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are South Park: The Stick of Truth and Torchlight II in scope?
South Park: The Stick of Truth has drawn 73,376 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 6 GB. Torchlight II has drawn 45,503 Steam reviews.
Is South Park: The Stick of Truth or Torchlight II better?
By the GamingPickz Score, South Park: The Stick of Truth rates higher (8.5 to 8.2). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, South Park: The Stick of Truth or Torchlight II?
Torchlight II is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $29.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get South Park: The Stick of Truth or Torchlight II?
South Park: The Stick of Truth rates higher, 8.5 to 8.2 on the GamingPickz Score, and Torchlight II is the cheaper at $19.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.