Shane
Strained family relationships, a small community that looks out for eachother, an absentee Grandma and a hurricane.
All of this right up front in the first few moments of Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight.
The wild weather causes severe flooding in the Southern American town of Prospero and our main protagonist Hazel sees her family home and her mother swept away.
Trying to save her mum, Hazel has no choice but to seek her distant and wealthy Grandmother’s help.
But what she gets is an adventure like no other as the weaves and strands of both time and matter reveal themselves and place Hazel in a world that only she can see, a world where alligators are as big as houses, catfish can talk and a childs toy comes alive.
Think of Alice in Wonderland, fused with Wizard of Oz with a good ole’ southern American flavour, the story of South of Midnight is an original mix of dark and sad emotions, fused with humor and one epic play through.
Hazel soon becomes atuned within the Grand Tapestry. An ethereal weave that binds the Universe together.
Unbeknownst to her she is a natural Weaver and has the ability to control the strands of the Universe.
While she is on a path to find her mother Hazel comes across Knots and Stigma. These are essentially emotional or physical traumas and memories left behind within the Grand Tapestry and manifest as dark and foreboding enemies in various forms.
Taking these out by weaving restores the tear they cause and assists you to eventually upgrade your abilities… while you also bottle forgotten emotions.
Floofs are a near to transparent object found hidden away throughout this mystical swampy land and these can be spent on the said upgrades to your skills.
Speaking of skills Hazel picks up new abilities at game specific intervals, from wall running to hurling herself over vast distances, grappling and more.
South of Midnight plays out in chapters. Each new chapter reveals more about the wider story as well as what had gone on before and how all of this is going to eventually make sense. It’s a dark narrative.
Graphically South of Midnight is beautiful. The cutscenes are stop motion and in-game visuals are based on that stop motion.
The environmental details are beyond anything, spectacularly detailed and while South of Midnight is a third person play, total free roam can be limited. So to find Floofs you need to be observant for hidden areas or alternative paths.
South of Midnight is full of southern American lore, mixed with family dynamics and of course a fantastical story.
A game that pulled me in when I was able to do an early preview play months ago. A game that I had been needing to play through since that first taste, and a game you need to sink yourself into.
So far in 2025 South of Midnight, an Xbox / PC exclusive, is my pick for the best title this year.
Released: April 2025
Rating: M
Platform reviewed: Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Adventure
Developer: Compulsion Games
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios