South Of Midnight Review

Sometimes you just need a good palette cleanser after a big or challenging experience or playing multiple games from the same genre. For me, Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight was the perfect panacea after a couple of point-and-click adventures that made my brain work hard at times. With South of Midnight, I was able to engross myself in a world and a story that oozes southern charm and is full of enchanting characters. There’s an argument to be had about the gameplay, but sometimes a story will sink its hooks in deep enough to soften the less impressive elements, and South of Midnight’s narrative had me hook, line and sinker.

South of Midnight is a third-person narrative-driven action-platformer set in the fictional American Deep South town of Prospero. Players are Hazel Flood, a young woman who discovers she’s a Weaver – a person with magical abilities who can explore beyond ‘the grand tapestry,’ a cosmic-esque dimension that allows those chosen to see tragic past events that have caused trauma to the world.

Welcome to the beautiful Deep South

One day, Hazel’s house is swept away in a deadly hurricane with her mum, Lacey, still inside. Despite her best efforts, Hazel is unable to catch up with the house, thus beginning her journey to find her house and Lacey – hopefully alive. What unfolds over the next 12ish hours is a dark and compelling story that weaves emotional threads amongst Southern folklore and superstitions that perfectly plays to its storybook feel. It’s a fascinating premise on paper, and the fact that Compulsion Games takes some dark turns makes the narrative hit harder overall. It’s elevated by some fantastic writing and voice work, particularly Hazel (played by Adriyan Rae), whose teenage attitude is a mixture of carefree confidence and childhood pain, largely stemming from her Dad’s death. 

Prospero and its neighbouring areas boast truly magical environments. Some of this world’s beauty must be seen to be believed, yet beneath the grand tapestry, stigma has tainted much of the landscape. This stigma arises from the tragedies that have transpired over the years, such as murder, the loss of a child, and family betrayal, but it’s told through a fantastical lens that helps make these themes more palatable. Throughout her journey, Hazel will explore and delve into these events, hoping to restore the parts of the world that have been affected, and it is these moments that stick with you long after the credits have rolled, like they stick with Hazel, opening her emotionally more and more with each one.

Gameplay in South of Midnight is your stock-standard action-adventure title – everything here is serviceable without standing out. It’s a shame somewhat because the story and presentation do a lot of heavy lifting, and while I’m not a game developer, I feel like if Compulsion Games had implemented some interesting mechanics instead of going with an off-the-shelf action-adventure blueprint, then we could be talking GOTY contender. 

Platforming is the way forward

But none of the gameplay is bad, it’s simply that the core loop is one you’ve experienced many times before. Players will traverse a fairly linear path, with the odd beaten path leading them to some Floof (the game’s upgrade currency) or lore in the form of readables. Hazel’s abilities can be used in traversal, allowing her to double jump, glide, wall run and make previously invisible objects solid for a short time. When all combined, platforming is enjoyable, but it was never more than something taking me to the next story beat or combat encounter.

Combat sequences take place inside areas where Hazel must defeat and unravel (banish) a bunch of enemies (known as Haints), which will then clear the stigma, restore the environment, and allow you to move forward. Unravel Haints mid-fight will reward Hazel with a smidge of health but will also inflict damage to nearby foes, and you’ll need it because Haints can be fast and tricky to take down at times. Hazel has one attack mapped to the X button, a dodge move and a handful of attack abilities that operate on a cooldown. There’s your rudimentary push, pull, freeze, and possess abilities that can be upgraded, and a couple more that you can unlock with Floofs later in the game.

Unfortunately, combat never really expands beyond its initial design, aside from a couple of new enemies and a skill tree that is ankle deep. The only time this formula gets changed up is during boss fights, which are fairly easy to win once you figure out the pattern. Annoyingly, Hazel’s powers are essentially redundant during these fights, which sums up South of Midnight’s problems; it never does anything interesting with its mechanics.

We could all use a little magic in our day

Much has been made of South of Midnight’s stop-motion aesthetic, which is truly spectacular. Compulsion Games has done an amazing job to bring this world to life with such visual splendour, and I frequently stopped to admire the gothic beauty of the world. Shoutouts must also go out to the creature designs, which are excellent and really help sell the feeling that you’re playing a fairytale.

But the whole experience wouldn’t hit as hard without the incredible work of composer Olivier Deriviere (the man does not miss), whose southern-infused sound design helps elevate even the smallest moments. The highlight is that every spirit that Hazel contends with has its own song – lyrics included – that gradually builds as Hazel uncovers its story, almost as if it’s a narration. Deriviere has a good habit of making his music feel like a part of the story, and it’s super impressive how much his work here adds another layer to the experience.

Final Thoughts

To call South of Midnight a ‘perfect’ Game Pass title would be disrespectful because the reality is that our industry has become obsessed with bloated experiences, and it’s led us to believe that anything less isn’t worth paying for – at least at full price. The truth though, is that we need more creatives being just that, and South of Midnight is part of Xbox’s supposed plans to let its developers cook. We just have to hope that the kitchen doesn’t close when service is over, because we need developers like Compulsion Games to make games like South of Midnight – shorter experiences that tell new and exciting stories set in immersive worlds, even if the gameplay feels familiar, because nothing beats a good story.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X // Review code provided by the publisher

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