South of Midnightis a huge left-turn from the primarily “safe” choices of games to debut on Xbox Games Pass. In a lineup of titles with names likeIndiana Jones,DoomandCall of Duty, launching a brand-new IP set in the folklore of the deep south featuring an intense and rugged new graphics style is a gamble for a big company like Microsoft. Thankfully this gamble has (mostly) paid off, with Compulsion Games delivering a deeply unique and memorable new experience unlike any seen in a game before.
An Adventure Down South
South of Midnightfollows Hazel, a biracial young woman from the American Deep South town of Prospero, who is living with her widowed mother when a hurricane rolls through town. Hazel’s mother is swept away with the house, leading Hazel on a supernatural and strange adventure as she tries to track down her home as it floats through a world of southern folklore and monsters.
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Hazel is very much embarking on a Hero’s Journey, discovering her innate power as a Weaver, humans with specially granted tools and abilities that allow them to bend and shift the threads of reality. In terms of gameplay, these tools allow her to perform a number of platforming moves, as well as engage in combat with strange mythical enemies. These new powers also allow her to see remnants of the past play out in front of her, whether it be echoes of past Weavers or the troubled memories of the NPCs.
Deep Roots
Hazel encounters numerous locals along her journey, her powers revealing their internal conflict and traumatic backstories as she begins to realize her new role as a Weaver, collecting memories to heal the world around her. These stories are all deeply moving, keeping the player wondering what happens next and how they can help the people involved.
Thankfully, this gamble has (mostly) paid off, with Compulsion Games delivering a deeply unique and memorable new experience unlike any seen in a game before.
Compulsion Games is not afraid to address the topic of race and bigotry, which is a refreshing and captivating attitude not seen in very many games before this. Hazel witnesses a past Weaver guide a group of slaves to freedom, and the echoes of the vicious racism that plagued the Deep South in the past can still be seen everywhere. Generational plantation houses are pristine and monotone compared to the colorful chaos of the world outside, causing turmoil for Hazel as she grapples with the actions of her ancestors on the white side of her family.
Weaving a New Tale
Combat is inconsequential at best and there’s even an option in the Settings menu to add a “skip” button to combat encounters (which has no impact on the progression or story of the game). The same enemies are thrown at you in the same way, serving as stopping points between platforming sections instead of actual story beats. The combat gameplay primarily serves no purpose and there was a temptation to hit the skip button as the same combination of enemies was thrown at me for the tenth time.
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Each encounter plays out exactly the same, with Hazel being locked into a small patch guarded by barriers and being forced to eliminate all the monsters inside. The actual fighting mechanics are slow and floaty, and are just there to get the job done without innovating or specializing in any way. Dodges are slow and feel delayed. There’s one form of melee attack with one combo and the special moves you can use take a long time to regenerate.
These stories are all deeply moving and keep the player wondering what happens next and how they can help the people involved.
Thankfully, platforming is a different story. Hazel is equipped with a variety of abilities that allow her to traverse the post-hurricane landscape with ease, launching herself across gaps and blasting through weak barriers. This non-combat gameplay gets especially entertaining once you find Hazel’s stuffed-animal companion, Crouton, who acts as a secondary playable character that can fit into tight spaces and be thrown to hard-to-reach spots. The world around you is colorful, but full of traumatic stories, and it’s Crouton’s wordless energy (along with the high spirits of the rest of the characters) that keep everything moving.
Closing Comments:
South of Midnightmay not be a standout in the gameplay department, but the dazzling art style, interesting world building and fearless storytelling more than make up for it. Games Pass continues their recent string of successful launches with another great title, bravely exploring themes of trauma, healing and empathy in a refreshingly unique new setting.
South of Midnight
Version Reviewed: Xbox Series X|S
From the creators of Contrast and We Happy Few, South of Midnight is a spellbinding third person action-adventure game set in the American Deep South.As Hazel, you will explore the mythos and encounter creatures of Southern folklore in a macabre and fantastical world. When disaster strikes her hometown, Hazel is called to become a Weaver: a magical mender of broken bonds and spirits. Imbued with these new abilities, Hazel will confront and subdue dangerous creatures, untangle the webs of her own family’s shared past and -if she’s lucky - find her way to a place that feels like home.A DARK MODERN FOLKTALE: When a hurricane rips through Prospero, Hazel is pulled into a Southern Gothic world where reality and fantasy are interwoven, and ancient creatures from folklore emerge. In this coming-of-age adventure, Hazel journeys forth to rescue her mother and delves into a haunting web of folklore and family secrets, untangling her own identity.CONFRONT MYTHICAL CREATURES: Wield an ancient power to restore creatures and uncover the traumas that consume them. Cast weaving magic to fight destructive Haints, explore the diverse regions of the South, and reweave the tears in the Grand Tapestry.
