South of Midnight Review – Soulful Healing

South of Midnight on Xbox Series X

Relationships can be complicated, and that extends to not just between friends and acquaintances, but also family and loved ones. The vulnerability involved can often lead to extreme behaviours and actions, and that is abundantly clear as players journey through the world of South of Midnight, a storytelling tour de force that doesn’t quite stick the landing when it comes to the accompanying gameplay.

Having released the likes of Contrast and We Happy Few, Compulsion Games has built on the two different games and created a concoction of puzzle-platforming and horror in South of Midnight with Xbox Game Studios. Casting players as Hazel Flood, we join the young woman as a biblical flood and hurricane sweep across the town she calls home. It marks the start of her discovery of an ancient lineage of weaving power, against the backdrop of gothic folklore in the American Deep South, and untangle the traumas of the Flood family and the people of Prospero.

Stepping into this supernatural dimension is an enthralling experience, and the game’s stylised take on the visuals is an inspired move to bring to life an otherworldly plane. The stop-motion animation approach isn’t for everyone, but it sure helps make the game stand out in all sorts of ways. It has an inherent charm that draws you in, especially in many cutscenes. While it might not suit some of the action required, the animators’ work is something I have come to deeply appreciate beneath the surface of an otherwise modern game.

Similarly, with her newfound powers and tools, Hazel is now capable of seeing beyond the material world. Strands and echoes of the past now surround her, together with an ever-encroaching corruption that walks side by side as Hazel attempts to locate her lost mother. This dark corruption breeds fertile grounds for the puzzles, platforming, and combat of South of Midnight.

Exploring the bayou constantly springs up surprises, as platforming puzzles and secret paths materialise regularly. You can enjoy the game linearly, but going off the beaten path rewards players with new sights, lore, and upgrade currency that will improve combat. The way each chapter is laid out maintains a consistent pacing in unlocking new powers for Hazel, and in turn, refreshes the gameplay loop just as I am about to get slightly bored of climbing the same ledges or jumping over dangerous waters.

This is where the first unintended horror of the game rears its head. There is simply something slightly off about the platforming, where that intuitiveness doesn’t necessarily kick in as you try to navigate the environment. It always seems like a platform is slightly too far, or you don’t have enough space for a running start, and getting stuck on geometry during this trek never feels good. This might be a placebo effect, but even turning off the stop-motion animation didn’t clear away all the issues, as I find myself falling off logs way too often for my liking.

Some mechanics are also relatively underutilised, such as using Hazel’s cuddly companion Crouton. Aside from a handful of key progression gates that require its intervention, the patched-up doll doesn’t appear as much as I would like it to. The burrows that it can explore are also quite linear, which stands in contrast to what the overworld tends to offer, especially towards the end, where more challenging sequences are thrown your way.

This flawed execution also extends to the combat, where Hazel has to contend with the grotesque beings known as the Haints. Coming in all shapes and sizes, these disgusting creatures have no qualms in clawing and spitting you to death, but a Weaver has her ways of levelling the playing field. Aside from melee attacks, players can count on additional powers to hurt and manipulate the enemies, with further enhancements giving players more of a choice when dealing with the threats.

The enemy variety here is quite decent, putting together a rogue’s gallery of melee grunts, tanky bruisers, as well as ranged and support enemies that require players to prioritise their targets and add a tactical slant to things. What doesn’t help is the camera, which sometimes can be slow to keep up with the action, especially when trying to lock on to the right target.

Using Unravelling, which is the execution move that grants a little health and reduces cooldown on powers, can be pretty essential to staying alive. Yet, how the camera tightens up and retracts can leave you struggling to find your bearings again. Dodging can be quite hit and miss too, particularly if you are trying to pull off a perfect dodge for bonus damage. It isn’t easy to deal with fast-moving Haints already, and all of these have a negative impact on a key pillar of the experience.

Thankfully, combat is not the main driving force behind the majesty of South of Midnight. That honour falls to the storytelling, and how everything works together to weave a grand tapestry of a tale. Every step Hazel takes towards her ultimate goal is an opportunity to learn more about the past and decide the future, with strange stories and myths getting their time to shine in their unique ways.

Be it resolving the misunderstanding between brothers or the unwanted consequences of a child complaining about their parents, the painful memories relived through Hazel’s eyes are immediately relatable and poignant. Having the chance to set it right is a cathartic release, not only for the affected people, but also for our heroine as she comes to terms with her new reality.

It wouldn’t be possible to immerse players in such a world without the beautifully put-together locations and the supporting cast. Crowded forests open up to sprawling pig farms and swamps, giant mansions sit foreboding beside dilapidated houses that have seen better days, and there’s even time for a romp through a giant creature’s inner workings. The possibility of finding new records of the past that fill out the lore kept me looking high and low throughout this gorgeous journey, and it is a shame to think that some will miss out on the excellent worldbuilding if they are not being attentive.

The melding of textures, environments, and objects creates a fantastical playground that is ideal for the colourful and often rueful characters to take centre stage. The catfish that takes the role of narrator will always be a highlight, but so are many of the other creatures and critters that join Hazel on her journey.

How the characters move and sound helps to sell this narrative even more strongly, evoking emotions that I wouldn’t usually associate with an action adventure. The sense of loss, regret, and redemption is an arc that is hard to disparage, and the use of music in this game is on another level. Each time a bespoke song that sings to the current predicament comes on, it just hammers home how emotionally charged people’s past and future can be. Instead of pushing forward, I find myself stopping most of the time to hear the amazing vocals and musical arrangements play out.

There is no denying that South of Midnight has some room for refinements when it comes to gameplay, but in this case, it does a good enough job in serving as the vehicle for delivering the impressive narrative at the heart of the experience. Intrigue and mystery permeate throughout Prospero, and every step you can take as Hazel in helping others and yourself is impactful and emotional in all the right ways. Framing events like a storybook is perfectly apt, and despite its gameplay, I have never felt more inclined to turn the pages until the very end.

South of Midnight will launch on April 8 on Xbox Series X|S and PC.