Review - South of Midnight
"The roots of this trouble go deep"
South of Midnight
April 8, 2025 - Xbox Games Studios / Compulsion Games
Action Adventure - David Sears
Xbox Series Consoles, PC
After losing her mom during a hurricane, Hazel Flood discovers she’s a Weaver and sets out to find her mom and deal with mythical creatures in her way in a Southern Gothic setting in Louisiana.
Characters, World, and Presentation
From a narrative and style standpoint, South of Midnight's world and storytelling are among the best in gaming. I was admittedly already hyped for this one, but even I was surprised by many of the themes and writing I got out of it. South of Midnight has you play as Hazel Flood, a recent High School graduate who’s going off to college and has a background as a track star in school. After a hurricane washes her home and mom away, she discovers she’s a Weaver, an ancient magical user who mends broken spirits and the land. She can also start seeing mythical creatures from authentic American Southern folktales and gothic lore. Teaming up with a giant talking catfish who acts as a narrator throughout the story, she sets out to find her mom and deal with the broken land and creatures.
The characters you meet along the way are well-written and add to the story. This is one of the best ensembles. Each character is somehow connected to the story’s creatures, and you learn about the depth and trauma they went through. Trauma is a big part of South of Midnight’s story and is surprisingly deep with emotional depth. While you hunt down creatures, there’s not really what I would say is a main villain, but there is a surprise later on about a character that you can argue makes them the primary antagonist. You can see the love and care done for the characters as each has different personalities that reflect many of the same people you’ll meet in the South - and it’s done without stereotypes or casting specific ones in a bad light; it feels authentic. Characters like Hazel, Catfish, Crouton, Two-Toed Tom, and Roux are all as memorable as they get, and all are up for the running for personal favorites of the year.
Then, there’s the art style and graphics, and man, this is one of the best-looking games you’ll play on your Xbox. The art direction uses a storybook style with a touch of stop-motion animation (don’t worry, you can turn it off if it bothers you). You’ll advance through chapters, 14 total, and each chapter starts in a storybook narration as Catfish tells the story of Hazel. Nintendo gets a lot of credit for creating timeless art styles that age well for the future, and I think Compulsion Games deserves props for what they’ve done here. This is a game that’s going to look and play well even in the future. It feels and looks like I’ve been transported to a Southern Gothic folktale, and that’s all I wanted from the moment this game was revealed.
Gameplay, Design, and Sound
Many have described the gameplay for South of Midnight as generic and repetitive, and I can’t entirely argue against those impressions. The combat is simple, and you gain a few new abilities as you progress through the story, but nothing earth-shattering. The gameplay loop can also feel repetitive because you’re mostly going to be fighting a group of enemies, healing a knot (which triggers the background stories for a character), and then moving on with some fairly typical platforming before a cutscene. It’s more of a narrative experience over gameplay. That being said, I’ve said a million times before that I’m okay with simple mechanics and gameplay loop if you have a story and setting that I’m sinking my teeth into, and that’s definitely the case here. I also thought the combat could be tricky because if you get too cocky, you can get swarmed pretty quickly and get destroyed fast.
The real winner that ties the entire package together, however, is the sound design, music, and game direction. Game direction gets overlooked too many times these days, but a great director can make a game’s pacing work. There were board signs and buildings that would connect to future events in the game, and I appreciated those small details because they made it feel like a real-world story. It is a linear game, but I never felt confused or lost. The game is perfect for guiding the player without holding your hand too much. I know the whole development deserves credit, but David Sears did a great job on the direction side.
The sound design and music are the MVP of the game, and I would argue that this is why this will be one of those games I’ll be thinking about for decades to come. As you play, you’ll hear folk-country music, with a pick up in tempo as you get closer to the end of the chapter. It all comes to a head with well-done boss fights that feel like spectacles as you hear full musical songs, each with lyrics that explain the story of the mythical creatures. I have several all-time favorite video game soundtracks (Twilight Princess, Persona 5, Final Fantasy VI, Super Mario RPG), and Olivier Derivière has delivered a new addition to that list. I’ve been putting it on when doing chores or to relax. As someone who appreciates video game music, I find this a special one. Two-Toed Tom and Hugging Molly are my two favorites. Lastly, there’s a musical freaking number from Roux, one of the more charismatic characters I’ve seen in recent video games. How does that not sell you on this soundtrack!
Negatives?
So, even with all this love I’m throwing its way, I’ve always said there’s no such thing as a perfect game. The negative I had for this game is that I felt it had a bit of a rushed ending. The final four chapters of the game didn’t have the quality of the first ten, in my opinion, even though I will say there’s a moment in there that, as a father, did hit me in the feels. The final boss was also surprisingly disappointing, considering I liked all the ones that came before it. It’s basically fighting a bunch of enemies while dodging the boss’ attacks now and then. When you get to the final chapter, it's pretty much just a quick cutscene that does wrap up the story nicely but also feels quick and out of nowhere. I believe this rushed ending may have led to some other critics not feeling fulfilled, potentially affecting their scores. That’s the thing, though: this is a reasonably short game compared to today’s long epic wannabe titles, and while I did appreciate that, I did feel like they had set up so much lore and interesting concepts that I wanted more by the end. I'm not sure what Compulsion plans to do after this. I would love a sequel, but I’ll be there for whatever they decide to do.
ESSENTIAL - recommend - okay - don’t recommend
If you’re coming in expecting this to be a game with some amazing gameplay and addicting mechanics, I would caution you. However, if you are willing to give the simple gameplay loop a pass, you will be put inside a narrative unlike I’ve seen in gaming. My biggest gripe with video games is that they tend to recycle the same settings and ideas, and South of Midnight is all original regarding the story and world. This is everything I’ve been asking for a game to do. You don’t usually get a game based on Southern Gothic lore and with folk music playing in the background as you play. The characters are memorable, and Hazel is one of my favorite video game heroines of the decade. Characters like Catfish, Roux, Two-Toed Tom, and others are the type of characters you want to see in a story. The writing and direction are damn near perfect, with a hint of comedy - but hitting the right tone when it gets emotional. It’s a journey through the trauma we all can relate to as Hazel looks for her mother. I will not forget this one for a very long time. It is easily one of the best games I’ve experienced for 2025 and an essential game.
Be Nice to All
This sounds like fun! The trailers look great and the price is very decent...
Great review! Any idea if it will come to PS5, or is it XBox/PC locked?