South of Midnight Review: A Living Fairytale Woven with Magic, Music, and Mystery

South of Midnight is the third release from Canadian developer Compulsion Games, continuing the studio’s tradition of strong narrative themes explored in Contrast and their critically acclaimed We Happy Few. The developers described the game as a "dark modern folktale," the game weaves its story through exceptional music composition, engaging combat mechanics, and themes deeply rooted in the folklore of the American South.

Set in a dark fantasy world tied to the "fabric of the Universe," The Grand Tapestry, South of Midnight, introduces us to the main character, Hazel, who discovers her destiny as the next Weaver (more on that in a bit). From the off, the game had us hooked by its captivating Southern Gothic aesthetics, its brilliantly crafted music that "sings" to us, and the bellowing voice of a colorful catfish that guides Hazel - and the player - through this spellbinding adventure that left us clamoring for more, long after we rolled credits.

A Journey Through Folklore and Family

The game follows recent high school graduate Hazel Flood, who is assisting her mother, Lacey, with packing their belongings in preparation for a hurricane sweeping through their hometown of Prospero. However, in the midst of a falling out between them, the hurricane suddenly sweeps through, lifting their mobile home away with her mother still inside the home.

In the wake of the hurricane’s devastation in Prospero, Hazel finds herself drawn into the magical world told in Southern folktales, where mythical creatures and other magical beings come to life. As luck would have it, this also unlocks Hazel's true powers as a Weaver - a mystical figure who mends spirits and heals broken bonds.

Using the pain and tears of these creatures, she weaves fragments into patterns that heal them and mend the Grand Tapestry while uncovering the tragic secrets of her family's past.

Along Hazel's journey, she'll meet colorful characters that will provide her with moral support on her quest to locate her mother and give her wisdom that may aid her when approaching challenging situations. Hazel will also meet a very wise yet equally charming catfish, who narrates Hazel's storybook adventures with every chapter video and helps her better understand her Weaver abilities, her responsibilities, and the magical world she becomes involved in throughout the game.

Hazel will meet various colorful characters throughout her journey who offer moral support and wisdom to help her find her mother, Lacey, amidst the hurricane’s devastation. Likewise, one interesting character she encounters is a wise yet charming catfish who narrates her storybook-esque adventures, helps her better understand her Weaver abilities, responsibilities, and the magical world she now inhabits.

Enchanting Southern Folklore and Visual Mastery Come Together

South of Midnight marks a complete departure from Compulsion Games' previous titles, Contrast and We Happy Few — the latter being a dystopian adventure set on the brink of societal collapse. As such, the developer sets the tone for the game from the very beginning, with a stop-motion intro, styled as a fairytale, in which mythical creatures bring a book to Hazel's doorstep, teasing the narrative to come.

The stop-motion aesthetic doesn't end with the intro; it extends to the in-game character designs, which can be toggled off, though it remains prominent in cutscenes. The stop-motion effects seamlessly complement the mesmerizing art direction, seen in everything from character and enemy designs to the magical textures in the environment, like foliage, swamps, abandoned homes, wildlife, and expansive sceneries.

This artistic style stations South of Midnight as a strong contender for this year’s best visually-designed game, and it perfectly complements the "dark modern folktale" themes woven throughout the story. This intricate art direction is further enhanced by the game's atmosphere, which is skillfully shaped by clever lighting.

From the somber ambiance of abandoned homes to the dramatic volumetric lighting during Echo events and the tense atmosphere of combat with Haint enemies, the lighting sets the mood for each chapter. However, a slight issue arises with the visibility of the Guiding Strand, the in-game compass that helps guide Hazel to her next objective.

Occasionally, the Guiding Strand blends in with the game’s natural lighting especially during daytime, making it difficult to discern where the next objective, even more so when veering off the beaten path. You’ll undoubtedly find yourself journeying off the beaten path, as every corner of the game's explorable world is filled with intricate detail and vibrant color, making it oh-so rewarding (and encouraging) to go off-route.

The expansive landscapes and breathtaking vistas make South of Midnight feel massive, but the absence of a Photo Mode at launch is a significant missed opportunity. Throughout the playthrough, there were countless moments where the beauty of the world and its magically designed creatures begged to be captured, and it’s a feature we hope will be added post-launch.

The Soul of the South: Music That Breathes Life Into the Magical World

The soundtrack of South of Midnight, which is arranged by Olivier Deriviere, equally plays a central role in the game, intertwining with the player's experience. Described as "singing with the player" in an interview with Xbox Wire, the music offers audio cues that enhance exploration, combat, and the discovery of Echoes - fragments or within the context of the narrative, events of the past, which in turn, creates a deeply immersive atmosphere that's intricately woven into its gameplay.

Themes and motifs evolve throughout the game, foreshadowing events and building towards a crescendo that often best captures the story's and characters' emotional weight. Compulsion Games' audio team did extensive research on the regional music from the American South, and it shows (and can be heard) that these influences were successfully reimagined to fit the game’s dark folktale setting and narrative while also preserving the region’s musical essence.

Beyond the music itself, the game also features robust audio accessibility options, which includes customizable menu narrations, adjusting the pitch, and volume of the game audio, plus additional cues for in-game interactions, spellcasting, and combat. A dynamic range (DNR) setting ensures the best audio experience across various setups, from home entertainment systems to headphones, or even a more relaxed experience with the DNR Night setting.

Gameplay Mechanics: A Smooth Blend of Combat and Exploration

Mechanically, South of Midnight is built on some fairly robust game mechanics, which include fluid combat systems and dynamic movement skills such as climbing, jumping, sprinting, gliding, wall running, and dodging. The game's progression system is well-balanced, with players searching for collectibles like readables (letters), Floof (more on this later), and Health Filaments, which permanently increase Hazel's health bar for every three filaments collected.

Hazel’s combat abilities are central to the game. She uses her weaving powers to fight mystical enemies, including the Haints and other powerful creatures. As players progress, they acquire Objects of Station, magical tools passed down from past Weavers.

The first of these, Hooks, are introduced in Chapter 2 and can be used to damage, pull, push, and stun enemies. These Hooks are vital in combat and can be upgraded with Floof, found through exploration and they can also be chained when jumping and dodging enemy attacks.

Movement skills are introduced gradually and feel natural within the narrative. Hazel can jump, double jump, glide, and wall-run, making exploration and combat feel fluid and seamless for her to perform.

These skills are crucial for surviving tougher fights against Haint enemies and area bosses later on, especially since combat zones often require battling multiple enemies in waves. South of Midnight's combat is about mastering and perfecting dodges, learning enemy patterns, and managing health effectively, with Health Coils and Health Filaments helping Hazel replenish her life bar.

Once a Haint is defeated, Hazel can unravel it to heal, and once all enemies are cleared from a zone, a Knot forms around a Stigma mass, which can be unraveled to lift the Stigma from the area, granting better access to previously blocked paths. The game’s exploration also features various Echo Objects and Throwable Objects that Hazel uses to unlock new areas or destroy obstacles to clear her intended path to reach the next objective.

Exploration isn’t without its challenges, however.

Traversing onto tricky and condensed platforms or navigating difficult jumps can sometimes lead to frustrating (and hilarious) falls, especially when trying to avoid hazards like thorny plants and roots, exploding mushrooms, or toxic water. Hazel's new skills, combined with her magical companion, help her overcome these challenges, but careful planning is still required for certain platforming sections, so approach with great caution.

Running Like a Dream (Mostly): The Tech Behind the Magic

On the technical side, South of Midnight runs smoothly on its default settings, maintaining consistent framerates on PC between 50 and 55 FPS; however, visually impaired players can turn off the game's stop-motion effects if they experience issues with it as its found under the Gameplay Settings. The game’s "lock-on camera" can feel incredibly imprecise, as it occasionally spins out of control when targeting enemies, but the combat indicator glows red when an attack is incoming, and can help players stay on track.

While the game is generally stable, we encountered a significant bug during Chapter 5's Haint boss fight, where we were couldn't progress after entering an Echo Knot until we replayed the boss encounter and eventually defeated it. Contrasting this technical glitch, Compulsion Games worked extensively to spotlight a bevy of accessibility features, providing options to adjust stop-motion effects, tutorials, navigation aids, subtitles, color profiles for visually impaired players, and countless more to guarantee the best immersive experience possible for everyone.

Weaving It All Together: The Magic of South of Midnight

Whilst the gameplay is largely solid, the only major drawback was arguably the combat mechanics, which sometimes felt like a mixed bag the further we progressed with the story. Often, you’re leading to use the same attack patterns and button combinations, often mashing your way to defeat the Haint enemies and challenging bosses.

In fairness, Compulsion Games does offer a range of upgrades and abilities to keep things fresh, but a bit more variety in combat would have made it feel more dynamic and engaging from start to finish.

Despite this, the game is overall a triumph.

At first glance, South of Midnight may appear to be a traditional dark fantasy adventure game. Once your in-game adventures begin, it certainly ticks all the right boxes with a compelling narrative, deep character development, and an immersive world brimming with opportunities for exploration that is encouraged.

But the more time we spent with South of Midnight, the more apparent it became that this game was significantly more than the sum of its parts. Hazel’s journey is beyond just a young woman thrown into an unfamiliar world – it's also a deeply personal study of her family’s history, her trauma from the death of her father, and the healing as well as growth that comes with both.

South of Midnight is an outstanding testament to the craftsmanship and vision of developer Compulsion Games. With its rich lore, evocative world, and intricately designed mechanics, it’s a journey that will stay with players long after they’ve unraveled its final threads.