South of Midnight is like a bowl of served at a chain restaurant. It looks incredible. Furthermore, it smells great. It has clearly been plated with love, featuring gorgeous presentation and loads of style.
However, the moment you dig in, something is off. The flavor is flat. It is missing that soul, that secret ingredient passed down through generations. It is not bad—it is simply bland. Ultimately, that describes : a game with phenomenal art direction and a banging soundtrack, but gameplay that feels heavily undercooked.
A Southern Gothic Fever Dream
Hazel Flood, our protagonist, is immediately compelling. She is frustrated with her mother, who always prioritized helping others over her own daughter. However, what Hazel cannot initially see is the emotional weight and quiet sacrifices her mother carries.
Then, the storm hits. Consequently, Hazel’s home is swept away by floodwaters, taking her mother with it. Hazel sprints after her drifting house, launching herself into a fever dream. The game dives headfirst into folklore and fairytale. You will encounter a world of magic, trauma, and talking catfish.
Hazel is a “Weaver,” a magical being that can see the strands that make up our universe. Using these powers, she must heal broken souls by unraveling their “Stigmas”—psychic trauma knots. It is a clever concept that lets the game explore deep themes of generational pain and forgiveness.
Phenomenal Art and a Killer Soundtrack
Graphically, the game slaps hard. South of Midnight looks beautiful and employs an interesting stop-motion animation style. This visual quirk might remind you of animated films like or .
As a result, it looks like Southern folklore brought to life through muddy bayou magic. It is a little bit and a smidgen . At first, I wondered if my ancient was finally dying, but it is just the stop-motion doing its thing. Fortunately, you can opt to turn off the stop-motion during gameplay if it bothers your eyes.
If the visual presentation is killer, then the soundtrack is glorious murder. Composer deserves numerous awards. His soulful, catchy tunes abound, from quiet background tracks to jazzy numbers unique to individual levels. Some tracks even have lyrics tied to specific characters. Therefore, the soundtrack alone is worth the price of admission.
The Gameplay: Aggressively Mid
Diving into the gameplay, though? It is mid. Sometimes, it is even less than that.
This is a purely linear, guided game developed by and published by . That structure is honestly refreshing in an era of massive open worlds. However, the combat is aggressively average. Hazel charges into battle with exactly one attack button and zero remorse. You will spam it repeatedly like a “Buy Now” button on a . While you can unlock some extra powers, they feel like seasoning sprinkled on stale meat.
Furthermore, the game tries to ramp up difficulty by throwing more enemies at you. Unfortunately, the combat system clearly was not built for crowd control. Toward the end, the identical arena layouts become entirely predictable. On the plus side, I did learn that are an actual old South form of ghost, so that is cool.
Platforming fares no better. It relies on the same basic climb-and-jump setup we’ve had since the early days of . Exploration is mostly window dressing, allowing you to collect “Floofs” for a lackluster upgrade system.
The Verdict: 3/5
South of Midnight left a mark. Not because it plays flawlessly, but because it actually tries to say something about grief, legacy, and soul. Every boss fight sounds like a number staged in Hell, even if the mechanics are insultingly simple.
It is a shame the gameplay could not keep up with the immaculate vibe. It simply needed a bit more time put into the mechanics. Nevertheless, if Compulsion Games ever makes an animated film, I will be first in line.
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