South of Midnight Review. One of the most stylish and cozy games of 2025

It so happened that South of Midnight was disliked by the public even at the announcement stage. The game was immediately dubbed «Forspoken 2» and a «woke misunderstanding». Insiders added fuel to the fire by revealing the active involvement of Sweet Baby Inc in the development, which led the creators to rewrite the script and change the race of the main character. As a result, until the release, South of Midnight interested very few, and even we did not expect anything outstanding from it. However, after playing it, our opinion radically changed, and now we can confidently say: this project deserves your attention! Why — in this review.

Compulsion Games, founded by a former member of Arkane Studios, is known for the project We Happy Few — an ambiguous adventure game with a convoluted game design, derivative mechanics, but a stunning storyline and unique atmosphere. This clearly demonstrates where the developers are truly strong and where they are not. South of Midnight only confirms this arrangement. We have a bright and memorable journey through the folklore of the American South, with a lively story and innovative artistic presentation, but lacking a spark in game mechanics and with controversial decisions that prevent the project from rising to the level of the best games in the industry. Although South of Midnight will likely pass by most players, it is the most memorable Xbox exclusive to date (at least until the new Doom is released).

The game is set in the fictional town of Prospero, located in the Deep South of the USA — a region reminiscent of Louisiana with its swamps, old plantations, and rich folklore. The main character, Hazel, is preparing to evacuate due to an approaching flood, but when she steps away to help her neighbors, the storm carries away her house along with her mother. The chase proves unsuccessful, and the girl is forced to turn to her grandmother — a powerful and mysterious woman who promises to help, but only after the storm subsides.

Once in her grandmother's mansion, Hazel experiences a strange dream, after which she begins to see the world differently: reality appears to her as the «Great Tapestry» — a fabric woven from destinies, torn or distorted in places. Soon she discovers that she belongs to an ancient lineage of Weavers — people capable of mending these tears and protecting the world from Haints, dark entities that penetrate through the damage in the Tapestry.

Armed with magical tools — huge hooks capable of weaving the threads of reality — Hazel sets off in search of her mother. Her journey takes her through mystical swamps and abandoned settlements, where she encounters creatures from Southern folklore, each embodying some human tragedy.

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The storytelling in South of Midnight is reminiscent of Alice: Madness Returns by American McGee—a rich set of myths and mini-stories interwoven with the main storyline. However, instead of English folklore, it features Southern Gothic, which has been scarcely explored in games (with the exception of Alone in the Dark) and only briefly mentioned in series like True Detective.

Mythical creatures in the game personify the vices and problems of modern people. Each chapter is an interpretation of urban legends passed down from generation to generation. For example, the boss of one of the chapters, a man-eating crocodile named «Two-Toed Tom», is taken from the scary tales of Florida and Alabama residents. The Loup-Garou, often depicted in Louisiana folklore as a man with a wolf's head, appears here as a terrifying hybrid of a human and an owl. Closer to the finale, players will encounter «Hugging Molly»—a legendary creature that, in reality, grabbed people and screamed in their ears, but in the game has turned into a child-snatching monster. The developers made each story accessible and understandable, without forcing players to Google who Benji and Rhubarb are and what their conflict is about. Meanwhile, the original legend of the two brothers is much more complex and dark.

Traveling through the swamps and godforsaken corners of the game’s Louisiana, you will see the true Deep South: old, eerie, gothic, yet incredibly alluring. Although initially, the developers wanted to focus on folklore, consultants from SBI added real historical references to the game. Exploring abandoned houses along the bay, you will find notices of eviction of the black population by white invaders. The theme of slavery is raised repeatedly, and statements about economic inequality appear in almost every scene. Instead of organically weaving these issues into the narrative, the consultants put them at the forefront, overshadowing the authors' more interesting ideas. After a couple of hours, we stopped perceiving this «writing» as something significant, focusing instead on the mini-stories from the Compulsion Games writers.

The mini-stories in South of Midnight are presented as separate episodes of a series, with the heroine drawing a conclusion at the end of each. Despite their brilliance, the main story feels bland and predictable. It's evident that the main heroine and her mother were replaced during development and completely re-voiced. You'll notice inconsistencies, and clear hints at plot twists that seemed logical are left unrealized due to the rewritten script. As a result, the main narrative feels disjointed and underdeveloped. Many moments remain unexplored, and the ending abruptly cuts off mid-sentence.

Yet, despite the contentious plot, South of Midnight makes a strong impression. The game authentically portrays the American South—a region with a rich culture and complex history. Essentially, it's a kind of guidebook, showcasing famous swamps, abandoned river villages, industrial sites, Bourbon Street—the heart of New Orleans—and, of course, the legendary steamboat, a hallmark of Louisiana. Although the Deep South is dangerous for tourists for many reasons, it attracts with its mystique and spiritual charm. Compulsion Games managed to convey the region's atmosphere and highlight the best aspects of the gothic hinterland, complemented by an original interpretation of local folklore.

From a gameplay perspective, South of Midnight is quite simple—it's a linear adventure that combines platforming sections and arena battles. The locations are straightforward with minimal branches, usually hiding resources for upgrades. Structurally, the game most closely resembles Uncharted and the aforementioned Alice: Madness Returns, which is a bit disappointing, as a semi-open world in the spirit of the latest Tomb Raider would have been perfect. Especially since the Deep South is a unique setting for games, and the locations here are picturesque and detailed.

Hazel's arsenal includes various weaving abilities that help her quickly navigate expansive levels. The developers introduce them gradually to surprise players with new capabilities. Initially, you'll learn double jumping and gliding, like in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, then wall running, like in Prince of Persia, eventually allowing you to latch onto special points and glide through the air, like in Prototype, and so on. However, South of Midnight doesn't overwhelm players with complex platforming challenges or force them to calculate every move.

Unexpectedly, Compulsion Games has created a platformer with responsive controls. Hazel instantly reacts to commands, and throughout the entire playthrough, we encountered no issues with overcoming obstacles. Only occasionally did the heroine fail to grab ledges, but this usually happened due to an unfortunate angle. Overall, the platforming is comfortable and stress-free. Only towards the end, when the developers started combining abilities without introducing new mechanics, did it become slightly tedious to run along walls and glide on the glider.

After the fourth chapter, Hazel acquires an animated toy named Crouton, which can be thrown over obstacles and controlled remotely. This opens up additional challenges—mini-dungeons where you need to reach a lever or resource while avoiding traps and dangerous ants. Each dungeon is unique in terms of difficulty and concept.

However, the combat sections are a weak point of South of Midnight. Battles occur in isolated arenas where waves of Haunts—demonic incarnations of human pain and sorrow—attack, gradually taking over the heroine's hometown. Initially, it seems there are only three types of enemies, but their variety increases as you progress. Some engage in melee, others infect the area with corruption, launch explosive flies, or empower their kin.

Hazel has several combat moves: «Weaving» stuns enemies, while «Thread Grab» and «Thread Push» allow her to pull and push opponents. Crouton also assists in combat: if you throw him at an enemy, he will possess it and start attacking the others.

The game features a simple upgrade system: you can enhance abilities and unlock new skills, such as a double dash or area attack. To do this, you need to collect «cotton» by exploring locations. Unfortunately, there are few skills, and there's no opportunity to experiment with builds. As a result, combat scenes feel sterile and quickly become tiresome due to their monotony.

At the same time, the combat system itself is engaging and responsive. The animations for strikes, special moves, and finishers look impressive. You constantly need to maneuver to avoid getting hit from behind. It's a pity that the developers didn't expand the system's potential, limiting themselves to template arenas.

The game offers several boss battles that differ significantly from standard combat arenas. For example, the confrontation with an alligator requires precise dodges from attacks and timely use of a bell to temporarily stun the enemy. The fight with Loup-Garou is executed in the best traditions of FromSoftware—requiring precise dodges and reactions to unexpected attacks. Although the bosses' behavior is based on predictable patterns, reducing the overall difficulty, these encounters bring much-needed variety to the rather monotonous gameplay.

South of Midnight's gameplay follows a clearly set cycle throughout the playthrough: a platforming section is followed by a battle, then comes an exploration phase with collecting notes and diaries of local residents, after which the cycle repeats—platforming again, another battle, and at the end of the chapter, a tense chase sequence through a linear location. Likely, after the unsuccessful experience with the experimental gameplay of We Happy Few, the developers decided not to take risks and based the game on a proven formula. Paradoxically, despite having an excellent foundation — a well-thought-out combat system, interesting mechanics, and detailed locations — Compulsion Games consciously limited themselves to a template approach, fearing failure. This is especially unfortunate because with a bolder design decision, South of Midnight could have aspired to be akin to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

From a visual standpoint, South of Midnight is a full-fledged interactive cartoon. The graphic style combines the expressiveness of the animated series Arcane: League of Legends with the distinctive frame-by-frame animation reminiscent of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. By opting out of trendy photorealism in favor of a handcrafted, drawn aesthetic, the developers made an absolutely correct choice. The visual presentation is truly impeccable.

Each location is a meticulously crafted picturesque canvas, encouraging thorough exploration of the world. The swamp marshes shimmer with watercolor streaks in the light of sunset. The stylized Bourbon Street, transported into a dream world, combines the architectural motifs of historical New Orleans with psychedelic neon signs. Even the storm here looks like a living engraving—lightning doesn't just flash, but seems to be etched into the sky.

The technique of mimicking oil painting not only embellishes the visuals but fundamentally distinguishes South of Midnight from other projects created on Unreal Engine 4. The characters are crafted in a unique style, blending the traditions of Southern Impressionism with intentionally «rough» animation, creating the impression of handmade work. Even the game animations showcase the highest level of detail: character movements are natural and fluid, with no noticeable seams between transitions. This approach makes being in the game world genuinely comfortable.

The signature stylization gives the project a recognizable auteur touch, allowing South of Midnight to stand out among many other games. The artists at Compulsion Games have managed to create one of the most visually original projects of recent times, where artistic presentation harmoniously combines with a wealth of aesthetic solutions inspired by the legends of the American South.

The visual component is perfectly complemented by the soundtrack, which organically unites the story, gameplay, and graphics into a single artistic whole. Each location and side storyline is accompanied by individual musical compositions and vocal parts that masterfully enhance the emotional impact. The game's sound palette includes all the necessary elements to create an authentic Southern Gothic atmosphere: from melancholic blues and dark jazz to folk bluegrass, traditional American melodies, choral singing, solemn church organ, soulful banjo, and poignant violin. Special attention should be paid to the song lyrics, carefully adapted to specific plot moments.

As for the technical execution, South of Midnight demonstrates excellent optimization. The game consistently maintains 60 FPS even on mid-range computers with high graphics settings. During testing, we encountered only a single instance of crashing to the desktop without an error message. No other significant issues were found. It can be said that the developers at Compulsion Games have managed to create a technically almost flawless product.

South of Midnight is the most stylish and cozy game in the Xbox lineup. Initially met with skepticism, the project exceeded all expectations by presenting a unique interpretation of Southern American folklore — no other media product has demonstrated such depth in revealing this theme. The game combines stunning visuals with one of the best soundtracks in the modern gaming industry. The side storylines touch the soul and evoke vivid emotions, while the main plot, despite noticeable intervention from Sweet Baby Inc, maintains a quality production and a scale worthy of an expensive animated film.

From a game design perspective, things are less rosy. The game offers engaging, albeit quite simple, platforming gameplay where diverse movement methods are always constrained by the linear structure of locations. The combat system is polished to perfection but suffers from a lack of variety — most battles follow the same scenario, not utilizing the full potential of the embedded possibilities.

Despite having all the components of a true masterpiece, the developers at Compulsion Games, having learned from the bitter experience of We Happy Few, chose not to take risks. Instead of bold experiments, they enclosed their ideas within the safe confines of a traditional adventure — albeit executed with impeccable attention to visual detail and storytelling. This conscious conservatism evokes some regret, as with a bolder approach, the project could have aspired to much more. Nevertheless, South of Midnight convincingly demonstrates the studio's craftsmanship, leaving us eagerly anticipating their next work, where hopefully the full potential will be fully realized.