South Park: The Stick of Truth is a role-playing video game[1] that is viewed from a 2.5D, third-person perspective.[2] The player controls the New Kid as he explores the fictional Colorado town of South Park.[3] The player can freely move around the town although some areas remain inaccessible until specific points in the story are reached. Notable characters from the series – including Cartman, Butters, Stan, and Kyle – join the New Kid's party and accompany him on his quests,[3] though only one character can be active at any time.[4] The game features a fast travel system, allowing the player to call on the character Timmy to quickly transport them to any other visited fast travel station.[5][6] At the beginning of the game, the player selects one of four character archetypes; the Fighter, Thief, Mage (which represent standard fantasy types), and the Jew. The Jew class specializes in "Jew-jitsu" and long-range attacks. Each class has specific abilities; armor and weapons are not limited by class, allowing a Mage to focus on melee attacks like a Fighter.[3][4]The New Kid and his allies possess a variety of melee, ranged, and magic attacks.[7] Experience points rewarded for completing tasks and winning battles allow the New Kid to level up,[3] unlocking new abilities and upgrades such as increasing the number of enemies an attack hits or the amount of damage inflicted.[7] Magic is represented by the characters' ability to fart;[8] different farts are used to accomplish specific tasks. For example, the "Cup-A-Spell" allows the player to throw a fart to interact with a distant object,[9] the "Nagasaki" destroys blockades, and the "Sneaky Squeaker" can be thrown to create a sound that distracts enemies.[10] Attacks can be augmented with farts if the player has enough magical energy.[11]The player has access to unlockable abilities that can open new paths of exploration, such as shrinking to access small areas like vents,[12] teleportation which allows the player to reach otherwise unreachable platforms, and farts which trigger an explosion that defeats nearby enemies when combined with a naked flame.[13] Actions committed against enemies outside of battle affects them in combat; the player or opponent who strikes first to trigger a fight will have the first turn in battle.[4][14] Combat takes place in a battle area separate from the open game world.[15] Battles use turn-based gameplay and each character takes a turn to attack or defend before yielding to the next character.[13]During the player's turn, a radial wheel listing the available options—class-based basic melee attacks, special attacks, long-ranged attacks, and support items—appears.[16] Basic attacks are used to hit unarmored enemies and wear down shields; heavy attacks weaken armored enemies.[17] A flashing icon indicates that attacks or blocks can be enhanced to inflict more damage, or mitigate incoming attacks more effectively.[18] Each special attack costs a set amount of "Power Points" or "PP" (pronounced peepee) to activate.[3][19] Only one party member can join the player in battle.[4] Certain characters, such as Tuong Lu Kim,[20] Mr Hankey,[21] Jesus, and Mr. Slave can be summoned during battle to deliver a powerful attack capable of defeating several enemies simultaneously; Jesus sprays damaging gunfire, while Mr. Slave squeezes an enemy into his rectum, scaring his allies away.[17]One support item can be used each turn, including items that restore health or provide beneficial status effects that improve the character's abilities.[1] Weapons and armor can be enhanced using optional "strap-ons",[19] such as fake vampire teeth, bubble gum,[22] or a Jewpacabra claw.[19] These items can cause enemies to bleed and lose health,[22] weaken enemy armor, boost player health[19] or steal health from opponents, and disgust foes to make them "grossed out" and cause them to vomit.[15] Additionally, the "strap-ons" can set opponents on fire, electrocute them,[23] or freeze them.[20] Some enemies are immune to one or more of these effects.[20] Enemies can deflect certain attacks entirely; those in a riposte stance will deflect any melee attack, requiring the use of ranged weapons, while those in reflect stance will deflect ranged weapons.[1]The player is encouraged to explore the wider game world to find Chinpokomon toys[22] or new friends who are added to the character's Facebook page.[13] Collecting friends allows the player to unlock perks that permanently improve the New Kid's statistics, providing extra damage or resistance to negative effects.[5][7] The character's Facebook page also serves as the game's main menu, containing the inventory and a quest journal.[3] The Stick of Truth features several mini-games, including defecating by repeatedly tapping a button that rewards the player with feces that can be thrown at enemies to trigger the "grossed out" effect, performing an abortion,[24] and using an anal probe.[25] Some of these scenes are absent from some versions of the game because of censorship.[25]