Montreal-based Compulsion Games has been cooking up South of Midnight since being acquired by Microsoft in 2018. The gothic fantasy set in a fictionalized deep American South town called Prospero stars Hazel, a high school graduate on her way to college when she loses her mother during a rainstorm.
This sets in motion a folktale that provides one of the most unique visual and audio stylings that we might see in gaming this year. It's backed up by gameplay that doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel but offers fine polish in platforming, combat, and exploration. For Compulsion Game’s first outing under the Microsoft umbrella, South of Midnight proves that the house that Windows built made wise bets on its acquisition spree - or at least this particular Xbox Series X game, and PC title.
Although pitched as a mid-tier-budget game with a roughly ten-to-twelve-hour runtime, our hands-on experience with the third chapter delivered the feel of a much larger-scale production. Set-roughly a quarter into the game, Hazel has already received her powers as a magical mender of broken bonds and spirits called a Weaver. On a quest to rescue her mother and understand her family’s relationship with Weavers, she also has to battle evil creations called Haints.
A journey through a corrupted land
The Haints have corrupted the area with evil creatures and thorny vines that cover a large part of the land. This is where Hazel uses magical crochet hooks to defeat enemies and traverse various areas. My preview began in chapter three which opened up with a small platforming section where players can get a feel of movement from running, jumping, double jumping, climbing, balancing, weave extensions (that also doubles as a dodge in combat), and later on wall-running. Right now, those moments feel hyper-responsive and smooth even if it doesn’t bring anything relatively new to the action-adventure genre.
In the chapter, Hazel’s main goal is to free Catfish, a giant bottom feeder, from the hands of an equally giant tree that’s fused with a human. To free him, players have to collect these spirits in blue glass bottles while unlocking a tragic sibling tale of why this large tree man exists.
As moments like this happen, the soundtrack features lyrics moving the story along similar to a Greek Chorus. It adds a musical quality to the experience that feels pretty unique and purposeful.
When Hazel isn’t platforming or engaging with characters, she takes on the Haints using her crochet hooks. Combat is pretty straightforward but fluid and enjoyable. The X button on the Xbox controller serves as the primary attack, enabling combo strings, while B allows for dodging - if timed correctly, it also functions as a parry.
Players can push and pull enemies using the trigger and bumper buttons. Once foes are weakened, they must be purified with the Y button, permanently defeating them and restoring a small amount of health. For added control, players can lock onto enemies by pressing the right stick and switch targets using left or right inputs.
When enemies are defeated, a beautiful visual effect happens where a dark thorny area transforms into a beautiful landscape filled with flowers when a skill is unlocked. It’s one of many things that serve as impressive in terms of visuals.
Southern Fried Gothic Presentation
A major reason for the excellent and impressive visuals is the game's utilization of Unreal Engine 5. South of Midnight’s style features a beautiful stop-motion look with an equally captivating art direction that does have some impressive technical aspects. The animation is fantastic with frame skips that almost make the visuals look like a cross between Coraline and the Spider-verse series of films. South of Midnight really does look like a really cool stop-motion film that also runs a steady 60 frames per second.
The audio is shaping up to be something special as well. Beyond the beautiful soundtrack filled with all sorts of banjos and syncopated drum cadences, there’s something slick about hearing music that describes the current events of the game as players move along. Sound effects are pretty nuanced in approach such as the smoothing swamp waters, buzzing bugs, and impact of the crochet hooks during combat.
However, the most important aspect is the already outstanding voice casting. Actress Adriyan Rae who is known for her time on the television series Vagrant Queen and The Game is perfectly cast as Hazel. The Southern drawl and attitude are mixed well with purposeful dialogue that’s pretty tight from what I've experienced so far. Of course, Catfish’s cajun accent is also a notable highlight as well though the actor is currently unknown.
South of Midnight could be one of the year’s most distinctive releases
My South of Midnight demo ended with Catfish helping Hazel reach the next chapter in her quest to find her mother. I left excited for what’s next for the title, as Compulsion Games seems to have a hit on their hands.
From its visually stunning stop-motion-inspired animation to a soundtrack that brings the world to life, South of Midnight blends style and substance in ways that few action-adventure games attempt nowadays. While its core gameplay mechanics may feel familiar, the tight controls are satisfying. If the rest of the game delivers on this promise, South of Midnight could be one of the year’s most distinctive releases.
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