Compulsion Games have a deep understanding and execution of narrative elements that keep you hooked. South of Midnight is yet another entry that allows you to invest into its characters and world; though the combat leaves something to be desired, I was compelled to see the game to its end. South of Midnight is southern tapestry full of folktales, heart, earnestness, and it has been worth the wait.
The game introduces you to Hazel Flood, our curiously named protagonist who’s trying to pack ahead of a hurricane threatening the town of Prospero. After Hazel and her mom get separated by mother nature, Hazel gets swept away into a fantasy world that’s not unlike the world she already knows. You see, in her blood lies the power of a Weaver, someone who can heal people and manipulate the strands of the world around them. Told in a storybook setting, Hazel sets off an adventure to save her mother and so many more she didn’t know that needed to be saved.
Comparisons can be made to “Wizard of Oz”, but in a lot of ways this is a little closer to “Return to Oz” with its darker tone. Though those comparisons quickly fall away when you see Hazel use her powers. The town of Prospero houses those small town lies, rumors, tall tales, and family secrets. The way the game forms fairy tales of their own based on what people have said, and learning their truths are what propels this game forward beyond anything else.
South of Midnight is a linear game, with very few places to branch off and get lost in the wrong direction. You’ll always be brought back to the main path one way or another. You’ll roll credits anywhere from ten to twelve hours, but along the way it’ll be heartfelt, funny, and overall very clever time spent.
The game wants to keep you moving, which is why traversal and tools are unlocked early and often. Instead of it being in the color yellow, there’s blue paint that helps inform you of climbable surfaces. There are interesting and convenient characters to teach you things about the world and give you direction. One such character is Catfish, one of the first characters you meet once the world has changed for Hazel, and he’s not only a delight but
This is an action platformer, so you’ll climb, dodge, wall run, glide, and fly through wind tunnels to get places. Not only are these abilities for just getting around, you’ll use them in fights and especially boss encounters. Hazel will gain powers like the ability to push, pull, and even stun. All these powers are on a cooldown, and can be used outside combat to solve environmental puzzles. So you get a lot of time to learn their intestacies.
Combat is serviceable, but often falls victim to repetitiveness ad nasueum. The bads you fight are called haints, and you’ll need to fight them until their health depletes. Which opens them up to being unraveled, in which you’ll pull them apart to finish them, and regain some health. While combat and your abilities expand, and new enemies are introduced, the combat doesn’t feel different encounter to encounter. So this sameness just permeates throughout, and it isn’t until the end when things shake up. Now, death doesn’t come often on the default difficulty, but you can often retry in or out of combat.
While I don’t balk at its inclusion, there is a stuffed animal of Hazel’s she discovers midway through the game. This stuffed animal named “Croissant” gets anthropomorphized and becomes a tool that can navigate small and tight spaces to solve puzzles or problems. I don’t mind his inclusion and use, it does feel a bit forced and unnecessary compared to everything else you can do. Hazel’s abilities can be upgraded as you collect the goofy named ‘floofs’, allowing you to focus in on your play style.
As you are getting into combat encounters, you’ll collect memories in a bottle that fill in tidbits of an overall story. Then when the bottle has been filled, you’ll have to run from a monster to a bottle tree to take care of the individual’s memories. This is where a final reveal happens, and flips the tale on its head for a deeper understanding.
The game’s music is the backbone to everything going on, and during boss battles is when it all comes to a crescendo. This is achieved where the song being sung is about the antagonist you’re fighting, with really smart lyrical deliveries that can fly under the radar. Not every level has a boss fight, but there is a boss for each location you visit, and they are such a highlight. You’ll visits swamps, abandoned houses, and even a pig factory, each with their own back story and history.
There are many quiet moments not in combat or solving puzzles to simply explore houses, buildings, and areas at your leisure. It really allows you to take in the atmosphere and see how much care Compulsion Games put into its believability.
The most striking thing is the game’s art, and in motion you’ll notice the stop-motion animation. The game has a decidedly unique art style. I’m someone who’s susceptible to motion sickness, and didn’t find it to be an issue. I do think the stop-motion is integral to the experience, but it can be turned off if it becomes a problem or bothersome.
I played the game with all settings set to ‘Ultra’, and DLSS was not enabled. With that I was able to achieve anywhere from 130 to 165fps consistently. Aside from the shader compilation at the start of the game, the game had no performance issues or gameplay interruptions. It’s an incredibly smooth and polished experience.
My PC Specs:
– Microsoft Windows 11 Pro
– Intel Core i9 13900K @ 5.8GHz
– ASUS ROG RYUJIN II 360 ARGB AIO Liquid CPU Cooler
– G.SKILL TRIDENT Z5 6000MHZ 64GB (32×2) DDR5 RAM
– ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 16GB GDDR6X
– WD_BLACK SN850X M.2 (4 TB)
– LG UltraGear 34GP950B-G (21:9 Ultrawide @ 3440×1440)
South of Midnight has so many characters I want to see more of because of their natural dialogue and strong relationships, both built and pre-existing. It does feel like it tries to do a lot in a single game, in the event that a sequel can’t be made. But there’s so much to like here, that Compulsion Games should get to make another game set in this world, for it’s so lived in. South of Midnight is bona fide storybook classic full of character and culture, and a game to be remembered and treasured.
A Steam code was by Xbox and Compulsion Games for review purposes
