South of Midnight looks absolutely stunning, and it's now got an official release date

• A new South of Midnight trailer was shown at the recent Xbox Developer Direct
• It introduced us to the game's story and showed off its art direction
• It also confirmed an official release date later this year

Xbox has revealed new details about the upcoming console exclusive South of Midnight in the latest Xbox Developer Direct. In addition to a stunning new trailer that showed off some of the game’s intriguing story, we finally have an official release date - and it’s probably sooner than you think.

Developed by Compulsion Games, South of Midnight is an action-adventure game that presents a gothic take on the American South. Filled with folklore creatures, you play as Hazel as she tries to rescue her mother and begins to uncover her family’s mysterious past.

In the new roughly three and a half minute trailer, we see plenty of our protagonist and the game’s absolutely gorgeous art direction. It has a very distinct style, where character animation is presented at a lower frame rate than the rest of the picture to create an almost hand-drawn look. If you watched the similarly attractive Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie, you will likely already be familiar with the effect and know how good it can look in motion.

This trailer was easily my personal highlight of the show and, while I was a little sceptical when it was first announced, I’m now fully on board with this game. The trailer ends with our first official confirmation of a release date, April 8 2025 so we don’t have that long to wait. It’s set to come to Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. Pre-orders are open now and the game will also be available as part of Xbox Game Pass day one.

Could South of Midnight be one of the best Xbox Series X games this year? It’s definitely possible and I for one can’t wait to see how it turns out.

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