South of Midnight

South of Midnight pares a refreshingly different narrative and setting with artistic visuals that bring to life folklore from the American Deep South. It’s captivating, and there’s almost nothing like it. Unfortunately, South of Midnight is saddled with frustrating, unpolished combat and action sequences that become repetitive long before the game’s midpoint. Even with its glaring faults, South of Midnight is mostly worth playing just for the orc-free story and uniquely American characters.

South of Midnight offers a unique lens into Southern Gothic culture, with strong atmosphere, engaging folklore, and compelling storytelling that successfully highlights the charm of a niche cultural space. However, as a game, even its excellent music and presentation can't fully compensate for the underwhelming gameplay experience.

This is a vision of immense craft and feeling. Should there be more behind the curtain? [Issue#410, p.110]

South of Midnight is a game full of potential, with stunning aesthetics, a memorable soundtrack, and a deeply engaging protagonist. However, its technical issues, flawed localization, limited combat, and disappointing ending prevent it from becoming the memorable experience it promised to be.

It’s got tons of style, but doesn’t really know how to turn that style into something that feels uniquely its own when you play it - still, it’s got heart.

South of Midnight is Compulsion Games' strongest production yet. This enchanting tale through America's Deep South convokes rich popular imagery between wonderful musical sequences and colorful characters. While the writing is sometimes a little too plain and obvious, this adventure offers a deep and nuanced view of historical counter-cultures and remains interesting until credits roll. However, the gameplay remains plain as white bread ; nourishing to a certain degree, but lacking taste and spice. Your enjoyment will hinge on your ability to get paste stale combat mechanics to immerse yourself in a fantastic folklore-based world.

The painted style and animations of South of Midnight are undeniably the most striking aspects of the game. Unfortunately, it suffers from the developers' clear focus on visuals and music. Well-designed boss fights can't save the game from repetitive arena encounters and a lack of a real sense of progression. The vibrant and melodic soundtrack slightly enhances some repetitive elements but doesn't fix them.

South of Midnight is a game with a very strong identity of its own, which prioritizes its artistic and narrative vision above all else. Its moderate length (around 10-12 hours) prevents the repetitive elements of combat from becoming tiresome. Although the narrative doesn't reach the emotional depths that its themes suggest, it makes up for it with a stunning world, a magnificent soundtrack and enjoyable movement mechanics. It's like an illustrated storybook: maybe the story isn't revolutionary, but the pages are visual delights and a window into a fascinating world. For fans of adventure games with a strong narrative and visual component, South of Midnight offers an enchanting experience through a journey full of magic. Its distinct and coherent identity makes it a good addition to any gamer's library.

South of Midnight is a beautiful tale, with truly charming artistic direction and a neat gothic universe. It offers effective gameplay but unfortunately remains stuck in classic and repetitive mechanics, especially during combat, even if the boss encounters stand out. Its story nevertheless manages to keep you on the edge of your seat and we have a very good time, accompanied by the sublime music of Olivier Derivière.

South of Midnight can certainly be called an artistically accomplished project. The beautiful stop-motion stylized animation, combined with the legendarium and music of the southern United States strongly distinguish this title from other action adventure games. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the gameplay itself.

South of Midnight fails to make anything out of its fantastic setting, but its atmosphere alone makes it special.

South of Midnight features a striking setting with excellent music, and explores a world that is rarely visited. But its dull gameplay, uneven writing and repetitive structure don't exactly create a fairy tale ending.

South of Midnight is a melancholic action-adventure set in the American South, where Hazel embarks on a journey through a sorrowful magical world filled with monsters and dark family secrets. The game blends platforming and combat, but both feel unrefined—movement is stiff, fights are repetitive, and level design lacks depth. While the narrative and Southern folklore elements are compelling, the gameplay struggles to keep up, making it a title best experienced through Game Pass rather than a full-price purchase.

South of Midnight is in many ways a small masterpiece—at least visually. The unique art style is truly stunning and could easily win awards for its art direction. Compulsion Games brings to life a world rarely seen in games, full of atmosphere and folklore. Unfortunately, the game falls short in terms of gameplay. The combat is too basic and repetitive, the level structure is predictable, and traversal lacks challenge. It’s never truly bad, but rarely engaging. If you have Game Pass, it’s definitely worth checking out to experience its unique vibe. But if you decide to skip it, you’re not missing all that much either. Hopefully, Compulsion will deliver a sequel in the future that pairs its visual magic with gameplay that matches that same level.

South of Midnight offers you a modern, fun fairy tale characterized by strong audio and fine combat. In that context, a nice adventure, were it not for the fact that the game falls a bit short in level design and predictable arenas, making it a repetition of moves in the long run. Fortunately, the visual presentation makes up for it, but in the end it is a solid game, with the necessary caveats.

I appreciated South of Midnight for its world, characters, and story. It's just a shame that its outdated and formulaic action-adventure ideas can't keep up with its powerful audiovisual and narrative imagination.