Compulsion Games officially revealed South of Midnight during the 2023 Xbox Games Showcase. Described as a stunning third-person action-adventure game set in a fictionalized version of the Deep South, the concept sounded and looked intriguing. I walked away curious to learn more about this world and its characters.
After playing through a full chapter last week, I would describe South of Midnight as a promising title full of creativity, personality, and charm. Here are more of my thoughts on the game and what you can expect when the final product drops in April.
Southern Hospitality
South of Midnight is a third-person perspective action-adventure game set within a gothic fantasy-stylized version of the Deep South. Players step into the role of lead protagonist Hazel as she travels across this constantly evolving world in search of her mother after a hurricane wreaks havoc on their hometown of Prospero. While on her journey, Hazel uncovers secrets about her family’s past, develops magical weaving abilities, and encounters mythical creatures.
The preview build I participated in featured the full third chapter of Hazel’s adventure. While following the river’s path which she hopes will lead to finding her mother, she encounters a Ghost weaver from the past named Mahalia, who teaches her more about her new abilities. As Hazel continues to navigate her surroundings, she faces evil spirits named Haints and meets a talking storytelling fish named Catfish. Catfish promises to help Hazel on her journey if she can free him from the clutches of a Mythical Creature named Benjy.
When I hit the start button, the first thing that caught my attention was the glamourously constructed presentation. The opening and closing of each chapter are narrated and envisioned as beautifully illustrated fairy tale stories part of a larger book that pulls you deeper into the world. After these brief introductions, you are instantly met with stop-motion animated cutscenes before transitioning to gameplay.
South of Midnight is built entirely in Unreal Engine 5. All of the character models have a signature art style that matches the personalities and memorable performances of the actors and actresses voicing them. The same rule applies to how Catfish and Benjy are portrayed in this chapter as they are further developed as characters throughout this 90-minute chapter. By the end, I was fully invested in Hazel and Catfish and wondered what challenges they would face ahead. I was also left questioning if the gameplay loop would remain the same for every chapter.
Combat, Traversal, and Discovery
Speaking of gameplay, the key highlights for Chapter 3 revolved around the pillars of combat, traversal, and exploration. As I started to venture down the beaten path, I encountered combat arenas that were activated and concealed after stepping into them. These are the moments where you’re instantly greeted by different types of Haints that you’ll have to defeat to continue moving forward.
The combat aesthetics revolve around using Hazel’s weaving abilities to push, pull, and stun enemies with powerful attacks before hacking and slashing them. After depleting their health bar, you unravel them by pressing the Y button. Each combat arena has a green healing item that you can use at any time and successfully unraveling enemies gradually restores your health bar.
You should expect to use the dodge button frequently during these battles as the Haints like to group up on you. Admittedly, I found the combat a bit challenging and repetitive at first but I like that you can level up and unlock more abilities as you progress through the game. This opens up the possibility of more variety on the combat end but we will have to wait a little longer to see how this evolves more satisfyingly.
One aspect I loved about my time with South of Midnight was the emphasis on using traversal moves to navigate the world more quickly. You can double jump, glide, climb, and wall run throughout various points in this chapter. Being able to dodge and double jump made Hazel more versatile in combat scenarios and added more excitement when outmaneuvering enemies. I’m curious to see what other moves Hazel will unlock as we spend more time with her in future chapters.
One final thing I enjoyed about this game was the expansive side stories being told behind the main narrative. While this isn’t an open-world game, there are plenty of things to explore and objects to interact with that better define the world’s lore. Furthermore, you explore Benjy’s backstory and how he became a mythical creature. This self-contained story felt like a fable and I’m eager to see if we will get more stories like this one for other mythical creatures we will meet in the game.
Final Verdict
South of Midnight is coming together nicely as a uniquely rich experience by Compulsion Games. The decision to create a story that feels like a fairy tale rooted in the soulful essence of Southern culture makes it feel unlike anything I’ve played before. I look forward to continuing Hazel’s story and seeing how the final product turns out.
South of Midnight launches on April 8th for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Game Pass. Are any of you planning on checking out the game? Let us know in the comments section below.
