TIt’s snowing heavily in South Park, Colorado, and young Eric Cartman is looking for a chance to skip school. Huddled in his bed, he clenches his fists and closes his eyes tightly, hoping that the blizzard will worsen to Biblical levels so that the next morning the school can declare a snow day. When he wakes up, the city is in panic – scores of dead, widespread panic buying of toilet paper, and weather so unprecedented that many fear it’s a sign of the end. Of course, he’s overjoyed.

What follows is the titular Snow Day, in which neighborhood children paint a fantasy war on a bright white canvas, in which elves and humans fight according to rules that may change in an instant with the development of a “random” card. Masu. South Park has always been great at capturing the bits of childhood we forget as we grow older, and with the premise of Snow Day!, developer Question Games has captured just such nuggets. I’ll find out. Give some kids a free day and a cardboard sword, and they’ll build an entire universe and bicker about exactly how it works.

What this means for players is the roguelike elements that were completely removed from South Park’s previous two 2D turn-based role-playing games, 2014’s The Stick of Truth and 2017’s sequel The Fractured But Whole It is a cooperative action game with

You can be forgiven for feeling some regret about that parting. Those story-driven games gave us countless gags that were too vulgar to tarnish this fine publication, and the abrupt transition to retro 8-bit graphics when they entered Canada When, for example, they found creative ways to use the medium itself for comedy. Frankly, the writing in Snow Day! isn’t all that sharp. But its advantage is its pick-up-and-play accessibility and unexpected depth as a roguelike.

Battle small children in your ramshackle Tolkien cosplay, deploying basic melee and ranged attacks as you race through the burbs, collecting toilet paper (new gold since panic buying began) and modifier cards. Masu. These are things like dealing extra damage to bleeding enemies or increasing the range of your farts. The more you progress through the match, the more specialized playstyles you can specify, making each battle more interesting.

Especially when a bullshit card drops. This gives you and your enemies ridiculous abilities like laser eyes and meteor showers. They’re done sparingly and are always met with enough ire from Cartman and others to remind you that these rules are supposed to feel like they’re being improvised by a 10-year-old.

Control isn’t always good. In fact, it rarely feels that way, as attack and movement animations are marred by the floating feel and lack of proper weapon feedback. But on snowy days! Keep your brain focused by allowing you to plot more efficient builds. Every card you choose has consequences, as there’s always a tougher battle around the corner and a boss fight at the end of your run. This won’t keep you and your pals in South Park’s perennial winter for as long as popular hangout spaces in co-op games like Fortnite. But for those nostalgic for the days when snow meant freedom, it offers a weekend of farting, chaotic fun.