“Trust what folks do, not how they seem.”
Xbox recently asked me to participate in an early preview for Compulsion Games’ (Contrast, We Happy Few) upcoming Deep South swamp romp, South of Midnight. I accepted the invite without an iota of hesitation, and not just because I’ve been craving a good Louisiana-inspired gaming experience since finishing Voodoo Vince Remastered back in 2017.
Given Xbox’s imminent software resurgence and the platform’s ongoing exclusivity transition, I’ve had my hopeful eye on South of Midnight, and finally getting the chance to dive into this surreal and original title has been both eye-opening and, ultimately, reassuring.
The hour-ish long preview allowed me to play through what I understand to be the entirety of Chapter 3, fittingly entitled A Big Fish. An interesting moniker, to say the least, because what immediately struck me about Compulsion’s stylized creation was its overarching similarities to Tim Burton’s 2003 movie of the (mostly) same name.
South of Midnight is a game about big stories and even bigger characters, and in the case of Midnight, it’s especially centered on those individuals who have become warped through intense suffering, and because of this, have taken on monstrous—and sometimes destructive—forms.
Push It, Pull It, Weave It
The demo itself starts with a cool stop-motion intro that stars what I’m assuming to be a sentient voodoo doll, one who’s name is definitely not Vince. What is it with Microsoft games and voodoo, by the way? I dig it, regardless. The music, I think, is superb here, in that it employs something called a Dilla feel, in which the drums play as if they’re slightly behind tempo. I’m a drummer, and I love nerdy music stuff, so the laid-back feel got my percussive attention.
Right after the animated intro clip, I plopped down into South of Midnight’s eerie swamp world, and soon after, encountered some of the game’s main enemies, the Haints. By this point in the story, Hazel is well on her way to becoming a Weaver, which as far as I can tell, is a lauded healer of sorts. And it’s these Weaver powers that you use against the sinister Haints. Strands are your main weapons, which of course, ties into the whole Weaver theme, as does the ability to Unravel your foes once they’ve been weakened.
Combat feels quite strategic, in that you use a combination of push, pull and stun attacks to take down a variety of twisted entities, as well as well-timed dodges and counters. It’s not hack-and-slash monotony by any means, but rather energetic fits of dashing in and out, using Hazel’s glowing Strands for both close-range and long-range engagement. You’re constantly (and quickly) dashing away to avoid oncoming barrages, and returning Haint projectiles with precise timing.
One of my favorite moves is Hazel’s Strand Pull, which acts like Scorpion’s kunai harpoon in Mortal Kombat, wherein you can send it out to grab a distant enemy and pull it back for some opportunistic damage. Even better is when you hit a Haint with a Weave blast first, basically immobilizing it, and then you can harpoon with a Strand Pull. That’s what’s cool about South of Midnight combat—the possibilities for different combos are welcomingly numerous, even if we have seen this kind of stuff before.
Giving Up the Ghost
Much of the preview build is spent following a group of wayward ghosts led by spectral elder Mahalia, ‘the last Weaver of Prospero.’ Prospero being Hazel’s hurricane-ravaged hometown, notably. Mahalia leads you through the debris-strewn swamp while Hazel searches for her swept-away house and her missing mother, Lacey. The ghost teaches Hazel different moves, like a handy double-jump and a useful glide technique, and she also helps to progress the story. So does Catfish, a giant finned mentor of sorts, who Hazel has to help down from a giant tree. Don’t ask, it’s complicated.
Speaking of, South of Midnight’s visuals can often be breathtaking. There’s a moment in the preview in which a giant mythical tree pans into view’; the major set-piece of Chapter 3 stands tall and inspires plenty of foreboding intrigue. The gnarled mystery looms large in the far distance, an imposing shadow set amidst a beautiful, sunset-illuminated swamp. It’s not just the environment that impresses; the game’s characters look great, too, and not just the humans who populate Hazel’s strange world.
Scurrying critters go about their business and bring South of Midnight to buzzing life: Beavers, snapping turtles, rabbits, heron and even crawfish castles (crawfish nests, for those wondering) imbue the bustling swamp with a pulsing vitality. The excellent sound design can’t be ignored here, either, as it compliments the wildlife presence with natural chirps and caws. Whether it’s the droning chorus of bullfrogs or the annoying buzzing of mosquitos, there’s plenty to hear, and you absolutely know you’re in a swamp.
On that note, I know certain critics voiced concern about the game’s stop-motion aesthetic interfering with general gameplay, but I can honestly say that, while it is noticeable, it’s not necessarily distracting. I actually think it gives the game a perfectly unique Laika-esque visual style, one we haven’t seen before. I have heard you’ll be able to turn it off in the final retail build, so regardless, I guess it’s a bit of a non-issue.
Continuing with performance review, I did experience some significant screen-tearing in this preview build, which is to be expected, as the game has a few more months to cook before release. We’re dealing with non-final code here, after all. An exact framerate was hard to pin down, as I was playing on my Xbox Series X and couldn’t overlay any kind of benchmark software, though it felt mostly smooth. I did experience a bit of slowdown in certain areas, but because of the stop-motion aesthetic, it’s difficult to say what was a real performance issue and what was simply part of the art. Everything looks like it moves at a purposely choppy 30 FPS, but that could be an illusion. Compulsion is targeting 60 FPS on Series X|S at launch.
“Bad people always prey on those who stand out.”
South of Midnight is a good-looking game, no doubt, and it plays well, too, even at this pre-release stage. But what stood out to me most in this preview was the development team’s loving attention to detail. Still, the action-adventure foundation of Compulsion’s upcoming title isn’t groundbreaking by any means, admittedly.
In terms of gameplay and design, it retreads familiar linear video game ground, replete with upgrade paths, lore entries, collectibles and way more platforming and wall-running than you might expect. But where it truly excels, at least from what I’ve played so far, is in its narration, and in its deep sense of place. Hazel is a likeable character, and her voice-acting is understated and top-notch. The same can be said of the entire character roster, including Catfish. I’ll also say it’s refreshing and interesting to play as a Black female lead—loud, angry, political detractors be damned.
Lacey, Hazel’s mom, is a social worker, which I thought grounded the story in a believable, legitimate reality. I immediately could relate, because years ago, I worked in a high-intensity residential group home and saw exactly what social work does to (and for) people. The ‘not being able to help enough’ is an evergreen sentiment, and alongside serious emotional drain, it’s a potent recipe for career burnout. Which leads us into Stigma, a serious concept the entire game feels built around.
Stigma, or as Hazel puts it, “the sorrow folks leave behind long after they’re gone,” is a really cool concept on which to build a video game, and I don’t think it’s been done before. Not in this way, at least, even if it’s a bit, well, on the nose for my liking? Essentially, throughout the preview, you’re running from contaminated place to contaminated place and healing areas infested with Stigma, which is where vicious Haints spawn. In a way, it reminds me of Kena: Bridge of Spirits, but Hazel is clearing trauma instead of forest corruption.
You’re also gathering ghostly remnants of what happened in a particular area, what caused the trauma, what solidified it. The preview showcases the story of two strange siblings who find themselves in a rather upsetting situation, and I won’t spoil that for you here. But know that the breadcrumb trail ends in a Shadow of the Colossus-style segment, wherein Hazel has to climb a giant tree man to save him from the past. Dynamic original music is used to great effect here, even if it does sometimes sound like lost material from the Crash Test Dummies.
Later, Gator
I think what sets South of Midnight’s apart from other games is its focus on helping and understanding, rather than conquering or defeating. That said, underneath all the high-concept trauma writing and polished production, this feels like a lot of other games, and I’d be lying if I said otherwise. But if you don’t mind a rehash of game mechanics that you’ve seen a thousand times before, I think there’s enough narrative substance here to keep gamers hooked. I know I didn’t want the preview to end, so I’m taking that as a good sign.
“The roots of this trouble go deep,” says swamp hermit Rhubarb a ways into the demo, and truthfully, I’m looking forward to seeing just how deep South of Midnight’s surreal swamp story goes. We’ll see if it’s enough to compel innovation-hungry gamers, who might ignore South of Midnight’s fresh take on place and narration, to possibly turn their noses up at its been-there-done-that gameplay. Gameplay that’s good, but not new. Personally, I think Xbox has a winner on its hands, even if it doesn’t break the design mold.
South of Midnight releases on April 8, 2025, and Spring can’t come soon enough.
Disclosure: Microsoft provided early preview access for coverage purposes.
