I was drawn to South of Midnight by its masterful audio and visual presentation but fell in love with its incredible exploration and combat

In a year packed with big-budget blockbusters and standout indie gems, South of Midnight carves out its own space by delivering the polish of a AAA title while embracing the bold, stylized vision often found in smaller-budget games. Since being acquired by Microsoft Game Studios some years ago, Montreal-based developer Compulsion Games has refined its knack for high-concept mid-tiered AA release through a mythic adventure of the American South. Simply put, there are games released at twice the price point of South of Midnight ($39.99) that don’t provide this well-rounded experience.

Players step into the role of Hazel, a young woman caught in the middle of a magical conspiracy as she searches for her mother following a hurricane while uncovering her family’s legacy. A captivating story filled with rich characters alongside fascinating world-building, South of Midnight stands out thanks to vivid stop-motion-inspired visuals, outstanding music, and heartfelt voice acting stand out in presentation alone. Most importantly, the Game Pass exclusive feels authentic and honest about its point of view.

Thankfully, there’s also an incredibly solid game beneath the audio/visual package and a charming story. South of Midnight doesn’t radically innovate in the gameplay department, nor does it even try to. What matters most in the action adventure is the execution which is led by tight controls during traversal and combat.

Across the 10-15 hours of the single-player game, players will guide Hazel through the Southern town of Prospero as she searches for her mother. Earlier on in the story, our heroine learns of her destiny as a Weaver, magical individuals who battle evil creatures called Haints with enchanted crochet hooks. As Hazel embarks on her hero’s journey, she’ll also find her way by learning about the past of many past and present residents of Prospero besides her own family history. Along the way, she'll befriend a talking catfish(who also serves as the narrator), fight her mother’s bartending ex-boyfriend, who transforms into a monstrous flying creature, understand the mysterious disappearance of a pleasure boat in a swampland occupied by a giant mermaid looking for her lost son and much more.

Tight Combat and traversal

During exploration, controlling Hazel is fairly simple with the left stick used for movement, the left stick used for camera control, A button for jump. As the story goes along, there are layers added to that through double jumps, dashes, wall-running, and the like. Like many of its inspirations like Prince of Persia or Uncharted, there’s plenty of climbing, wall shimming, and balancing as well. All of these feel fantastic when used, even if the core mechanics aren’t necessarily new. However, the way it's used to push the story keeps things moving along without getting boring. For example, the early moments of Hazel learning about her powers in the earlier chapters (there are 14 chapters in total) is through the last Weaver who helped Black slaves escape captivity.

Once the third chapter comes along, this is where the main gameplay loop comes into play where players collect spirits in blue glass bottles that relate to a local legend within a specific location. This is done through combat sections that have players enter an arena and fight the Haints. Destroying the dark creatures wreaking havoc on the land of Prospero is a fluid, accessible, and visually rewarding experience. Using those magical crochet hooks, players attack and initiate combo-based attacks via the X button and dodge with the B button which if done at the right time can turn into a parry. Later on, players can also manipulate enemies using trigger and bumper inputs to push and pull them, adding depth to encounters. Many of those powers have cooldown moments in order to avoid exploitation while also serving as a tool for fairly simple puzzles.

Once enemies are weakened, purifying them with the Y button finishes them off while also restoring a bit of health. A lock-on system enhances targeting precision too by clicking on the left thumb stick. Defeating all enemies in a combat scenario transforms thorn-covered corrupted areas into vibrant, flower-filled landscapes—an eye-catching reward that enhances the game’s visual appeal. Combat is relatively simple and doesn’t necessarily get complex until the narrative’s midway point where Hazel can face six or seven enemies at once. During the later combat scenarios, it does get a bit difficult for the camera to keep up with Hazel which can lead to some light moments of frustration. Even in death, checkpoints are generous with a really silly respawn animation.

The stand-out moments of combat does come in the form of big boss fights that will challenge players' understanding of Hazel’s powers with some offering some light puzzle elements. One surprising boss battle even features a clever twist during its conclusion and defines the real antagonist of South of Midnight even if that character is fairly obvious during the first couple of chapters. That final confrontation with the antagonist definitely goes left into a finale that does somewhat come off as anti-climactic yet well-meaning.

Following combat, players also begin to learn more about the mystery of a particular area they’re trying to get through such as how a boy transformed into a tree or how a mysterious giant spider got attached to several missing children among others. After Hazel collects enough spirits for the bottle and begins to discover the mystery of a particular area, this leads to a chase sequence from a mysterious creature as she makes her way to the bottle tree.

The flow of the game usually consists of traversal looking for spirit bottles and other collectibles later down the line, combat scenarios, and the big chase sequence after all the required spirits are collected. Though the game is incredibly linear, players can get a guide on where to go next with the press of a button. Interestingly enough, there are some beaten paths where players can upgrade an incredibly light combat skill tree or enhance their life bar.

A nice switch-up roughly halfway through the game comes in the form of an overwhelmingly cute stuffed crochet doll named “Crouton.” The cuddly individual serves as a companion one can control during exploration by hitting the right bumper. Crouton can also be thrown into other areas to explore where it can be controlled directly by the player. It can also get through spaces Hazel is too large to crawl through to activate different switches and can even be used in combat. When fighting the Haints, Hazel can use the doll to possess enemies to attack others. This later addition does a better job of keeping combat and traversal somewhat fresh.

Art and audio that doesn’t miss

With an incredibly cool story and lore alongside solid gameplay, holding all of those elements together is the presentation. Visually, South of Midnight is one of the best-looking games of the year so far when it comes to art direction. The first introductory stop-motion animation before the start screen sets a fantastic tone that transitions well into the real-time gameplay and cut scenes.

The game embraces a distinctive stop-motion aesthetic, enhanced by rich art direction and clever technical choices. Its animation style features intentional frame skips, giving it a handcrafted, cinematic feel reminiscent of Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas the Spider-Verse films. This unique approach blends artistic flair with modern performance, running smoothly at a consistent 60 frames per second. Other more technical highlights of the visuals include great lighting, texture work without any noticeable pop-in, and shadow work. The result is a game that looks like a beautifully animated film coming to life, setting it apart visually from a lot of games released this year.

South of Midnight’s audio is just as captivating as its visuals, delivering a rich, immersive soundscape that elevates the entire experience. The soundtrack, already praised for its deep-fried charm, consistently maintains a high standard of quality from start to finish. Drawing from American roots genres like blues, jazz, and country, the music is layered with a sweeping orchestral touch that adds emotional depth.

This sonic blend is the result of recordings done in both Nashville and London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios, merging Southern soul with cinematic grandeur to create a sound that’s both grounded and transcendent. That doesn’t even count moments during gameplay and most boss fights where music features lyrics that move the narrative along in a major way. Then there’s fantastic voice acting that truly brings these characters to life. In addition to the magnificent script writing, every single character from lead to supporting cast is perfectly cast including Adriyan Rae as Hazel. The Southern accents can get really thick too.

South of Midnight is a rare gem that seamlessly blends imaginative storytelling, satisfying gameplay, and top-tier presentation. Compulsion Games delivers a title that feels as if it punches above its weight, offering a visually stunning, emotionally rich journey through a myth-laced Southern gothic world. From the moment Hazel begins her search for her mother to the last climactic battles against haunting enemies both big and small, the game constantly surprises with its heart rooted in deep respect for American Southern culture. While it may not reinvent the wheel, South of Midnight executes its vision with precision and flair, proving that a thoughtfully crafted experience can rival—and even surpass—many of its higher-priced contemporaries.

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Accessibility

South of Midnight offers a robust suite of accessibility features. Players can expect customizable menu narration, detailed subtitle and caption options, and adjustable fonts to support those with audio or visual needs. This even extends to removing the animation frame skip in favor of smoother animation. While the game is relatively approachable on its default difficulty, it also includes a variety of gameplay tweaks designed to accommodate players with different disabilities. Some of these include help from in-game navigation and combat tweaks to exploration help.

How I reviewed South of Midnight

I played a finished build of South of Midnight on Xbox Series X and my playtime lasted nearly 15 hours. After completing the game on normal difficulty, I spent additional time exploring its harder modes and diving into the rich lore woven throughout the experience.

The game was played on a Gigabyte M32UC 4K monitor with an Xbox Wireless Controller. Sound came through FiiO FT1 Pro Open-Back Planar Headphones.

First reviewed April 2025