First announced at the Xbox Games Showcase last year, Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight thrusted its way into my most anticipated of the year. The stylised, stop-motion art style garnered my attention immediately. Is this the short and focused action-adventure game I’ve had an appetite for after 2024’s RPG-heavy year? It certainly could be.
Set in the US Deep South, the story follows Hazel after a hurricane rips through her hometown, Prospero, pulling her into a world that interweaves reality and fantasy. Separated from her mother, she must navigate this strange world filled with mythical creatures suffering trauma and an ancient magic called Weaving. Hazel quickly learns that the land has chosen her to become a Weaver. Weavers utilise magic objects and their ability to wield Strands to manipulate the world around them.
The preview began at the start of Chapter 3 and promptly introduced me to my first enemy encounter. These enemies are called Haint – harrowing, angry creatures only visible to Weavers. Upon watching the gameplay in previous trailers, I was hesitant about the stop-motion effect clashing with the fluidity of the combat. These reservations were squashed when I experienced how seamless and engaging the combat was.
Hazel’s combat skillset sees her utilising both melee attacks and special abilities, with the latter having cooldowns. Two of these abilities allow Hazel to push and pull her enemies, allowing for crowd control and other tactics to ensure survival. The third ability tangles an enemy for a short period of time, allowing players to get in extra hits or regain their composure in what can often be tense encounters.
I’ll admit, I was getting my ass beat in the first handful of enemy encounters, but as soon as I had a couple of upgrades under my belt and befriended the dodge button, I felt powerful. Not powerful enough to eliminate the difficulty, but powerful enough to feel satisfied after each encounter. The upgrades may seem minuscule at first glance, but the first upgrade I selected increased the damage received by Weaved enemies, which assisted me immensely as the encounters became more challenging.
After this initial encounter, I got to traverse around the humble yet beautifully crafted town of Prospero. The traversal and platforming feel seamless, with the ability to double jump, glide and wall run. Hazel can use her magic powers to move objects in the environment or even create new ones to access new or hidden areas.
Prospero is absolutely gorgeous. I’m not very cultured in American geography, but I hear US Deep South, and I picture boggy swamps. And yes, the environment I got to explore during the preview was very swamp-coded, but somehow, Compulsion managed to pair the stop-motion art style and gorgeous lighting to create such beautiful scenery. There were so many areas I just stopped to take in the environment and explore every nook and cranny, hoping for more lore-filled items I could find.
Meeting Catfish, who also serves as the narrator of the story, was a preview highlight for me. We don’t know a lot about Catfish yet, apart from being Hazel’s companion, but he was just brimming with charm and knowledge.
Mythical creatures are scattered throughout this peculiar world, including the first Mythical Creature of the game, which I met, Benjy. Like all Mythical Creatures, Benjy has trauma. This pain rots and creates Stigma in the environment. To help Benjy, I was tasked to search the environment and locate and clear Stigma Vortexes. Once cleared, these Vortexes hold an Echo Knot, which, once unravelled, contains a core memory of Benjy and the origin of his trauma. I was surprised how heartwrenching Benjy’s story was and how empathetic I was. I’m very keen to see what stories the other Mythical creatures have in their past.
First impressions last, and Compulsion Games have certainly raised my expectations with this South of Midnight preview. If the rest of the game is as eccentric and captivating as the 90 minutes I played, this game is sure to be a talking point in Game of the Year discussions at the tail end of 2025.
South of Midnight comes to Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass on April 8, 2025.
