Hands-On with South of Midnight: A Stunning and Uncompromising Fairytale

When you first encounter South of Midnight, it might seem like your typical action-adventure game. You know the kind—where an ordinary protagonist gets pulled into an extraordinary saga, armed with magical abilities and skill trees. But spend some time with Hazel’s adventure, and you’ll quickly realize this game is anything but ordinary. Every aspect, from its setting and story to the music, offers a fresh take, blending tough combat and delightful exploration into an experience that consistently feels new.

The journey kicks off with Hazel already on her quest to rescue her mother, swept away by a flood. As she embarks, she discovers her gifts as a Weaver, a magic that lets her manipulate the once-hidden stitches of reality. But the world around her is changing too, twisting into an unfamiliar Southern landscape filled with hostility.

Trailers might have spoiled some glimpses of South of Midnight, but playing it is a whole other story. The game buzzes with action and strategy right beneath its surface. As Hazel explores, she encounters energy spheres that, when activated, summon Haints—mythical beasts from Southern folklore—each demanding a different combat strategy. Whether you’re facing aggressive melee fighters or pesky ranged attackers, figuring out the best approach becomes a complex game of strategy.

Combat in South of Midnight is as challenging as it is engaging. The game pits you against multiple Haints simultaneously, each capable of delivering powerful blows. In these battles, swift reflexes are your best friend. Hazel’s melee combos make quick work of foes but leave her vulnerable to counterattacks. However, she can also wield magic, using it to push, pull, and even hurl smaller enemies at others or incapacitate them with magical strands.

Upgrades in South of Midnight allow players to refine their combat style. I quickly chose a passive upgrade amplifying damage to immobilized enemies, helping me take down significant threats efficiently. The game emphasizes aggression—even dodging transforms into a magical counterattack, exploding in magic where Hazel stood moments before. It’s a tantalizing glimpse into a combat system richer and more intricate than you might initially expect.

Not only is the combat innovative, but the game’s movement is a marvel as well. Characters move with the charm of handcrafted stop-motion figurines in the cutscenes but transform into flawlessly smooth avatars when you take control. The developers, Compulsion Games, nailed the transition between these two states, maintaining the game’s dynamic immediacy.

Much of Hazel’s journey is set against a backdrop of vibrant but decaying Southern landscapes. She travels through stunning mangrove swamps, past abandoned shanties, and overgrown paths, all under the siege of nature. These environments are breathtaking, crafted with intricate level design that invites exploration beyond what you initially perceive as accessible. It’s a fresh and invigorating locale that feels alive, rendered beautifully with remarkable lighting effects that capture the eerie beauty of this world.

Navigating this world is where Hazel’s Weaving powers come into their own. They’re not just for combat. Hazel can bring back remnants of the past to navigate the terrain, glide over tricky areas, and manipulate the environment to discover hidden paths. There’s a central path to follow, which the game can guide you along, but the world is peppered with secret spots offering valuable upgrades and story insights. Mastering these powers enriches both combat and exploration, ensuring you’ll veer off the beaten path just as often as you stick to it.

As you delve deeper into the official storyline, Hazel meets Catfish, the game’s narrator and strange companion, currently trapped by a tree creature. Freeing him involves collecting a magic bottle from another tree, a task requiring you to absorb and heal the area’s haunting psychic pain.

While it sounds whimsical, the truths you uncover are strikingly dark. Without giving too much away, this quest reveals a backstory of torment, hinting at how a regular man became a looming tree through a painful lifetime of grief.

South of Midnight is refreshingly bold in its storytelling, confident enough to avoid sugarcoating or pulling punches. The narrative is unapologetically Southern Gothic, weaving eerie tales of family and legacy that resonate with weight beyond any familiar fantasy. Hazel isn’t portrayed as a fragile hero; she’s a magical mender in a world marred by suffering, lifting the veil on poignant horrors that are as broken as the reality she’s trying to mend.

Just as you start feeling comfortable with the rhythm of the game, South of Midnight surprises you again. In the final stretch of the preview, players face an unstoppable force in hot pursuit, shifting the focus from combat to escape. What were once serene stretches of platforming suddenly demand agility and quick thinking, transforming into a fast-paced race for survival.

This isn’t the only surprise. A standout feature of the preview is a sequence where things shift yet again: instead of battling a formidable Mythical Creature—the imposing tree Hazel’s trying to heal—the goal is not destruction, but care. You climb up this wounded giant, not to strike it down but to fix what’s broken, with a bird’s-eye view celebrating your journey so far.

Throughout this sequence, the music comes alive; a song drifts through the level, evolving with your ascent, adding another layer of depth to the story you’ve pieced together. This harmonious blend of gameplay, narrative, and music creates an unparalleled moment, where everything clicks perfectly into place.

This game is truly something special. Playing just one level makes it clear: the developers at Compulsion Games are crafting a unique experience packed with mysteries likely to maze and thrill deeper into the game.

Fans will be pleased to know South of Midnight will hit shelves on April 8, 2025, available for Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam, and Xbox Game Pass. For those eager to dive in early, the Premium Edition offers a chance to explore five days ahead of the official release, complete with a suite of digital extras.