From developer Compulsion Games, South of Midnight takes players on a trip deep into southern American folklore. You play as Hazel Flood — a track star who gets caught in a hurricane and loses her momma Lacey (and their house) to the floodwaters. Naturally, she sets off to rescue her, only to discover she’s actually a Weaver: a magical mender of broken bonds and spirits. It’s like being a supernatural handyman, but with way more ghosts — I mean Haints.

Along the way, Hazel meets a myriad of mythical creatures, solving family mysteries, and sprinting her way across beautifully eerie landscapes. South of Midnight is basically a love child of Coraline, Bayou mythology, and Uncharted. While the premise drew me in, I ultimately felt unsatisfied with its cookie-cutter combat and rushed ending.

Like A Movie, But A Game (with some button mashing)

Voice acting in video games doesn’t tend to catch my attention (except you, Clive Rosfield) — unless it’s amazing or makes my ears bleed, but South of Midnight falls squarely into the amazing category. Adriyan Rae absolutely nails Hazel’s character, making every line of dialogue feel natural and immersive. I could feel her bond with her mother from the first chapter. The game immediately sucks you in with its crazy premise and gripping emotional beats.

Hazel is also a very likely protagonist. I particularly liked how they made her a track athlete, as it makes her endless sprinting and jumping feel totally justified. Also her character design is on point. She has arms to envy, as well as overall cool couture. In fact, all character design is quite lovely, with fitting voice acting to boot. The stop-motion aesthetic adds a unique, cinematic touch, though if it makes you queasy, you can turn it off — a lovely consideration.

*Where’s Steve Irwin when you need him?*

The soundtrack is also a banger. Instead of generic boss fight music (looking at you, Sephiroth), each boss has its own folk song, telling its story as you fight. This is a great point of difference, and it was cool to hear a bit more about the folklore.

Fair warning: some of these stories get dark. It’s definitely not one for the kiddies.

Immersive, Gothic, Wild

*One of my favourite areas in the game.*

Those are a few words I’d use to describe how it felt to explore the American Deep South in South of Midnight. The scenery is gorgeous and draws you in. From the opening hurricane sequence — where you can practically feel the rain on your skin — to the dense, eerie bayous, the game is pure eye candy. I spent a solid five minutes trying to screenshot the perfect lightning strike before realising I should probably continue with the story.

While the scenery really drew you in, what brought it to life was the movement of nature, and also wildlife! I loved seeing all the different animals in the game, particularly the bunnies, foxes, and birds just to name a few. They even run away when you get too close, adding a nice touch of realism. Sadly, you can’t pet them — a missed opportunity in my opinion.

While the world feels alive, it can also feel… weirdly restrictive. Some areas look totally explorable but aren’t, and if you wander too far off the beaten path? The game straight-up kills you and takes a chunk of your health. Immersion level? High. Frustration level? Also high.

*I thought I could glide here, but no go.*

On the bright side exploring does pay off. You’ll find upgrades for combat and weapons, making combat easier. Plus, scattered mementoes flesh out the game’s lore. My gripe with this? The game forces you to listen to every piece of dialogue in these interactions — frustrating for speed readers like myself.

Combat: A Bit Wobbly, But Serviceable

At first, South of Midnight’s gameplay feels fresh, mostly due to Hazel’s Weaving powers. But as time goes on, it starts feeling… samey. The combat is fine, but dodging feels off, and I swear, half my attempts to evade attacks got ignored. In one particular boss battle (no spoilers, don’t worry), I kept getting knocked out of the arena entirely and had to respawn inside. Was it a glitch? Was I just bad? Who’s to say!?

Fighting some Haints.

Locking onto enemies is also a little laggy, and switching between targets sometimes takes longer than it should. Eventually, I gave up and just manually adjusted the camera. That said, the game is merciful with respawning — you’ll always start just before you died, even in boss battles (as long as you get to a checkpoint). No Dark Souls level suffering here.

Enemies themselves? Not the toughest. If you spam an attack combo and dodge, you’re golden. I played on the Balanced (normal) difficulty, so if you’re craving real pain, crank it up. Otherwise, it’s fun but not groundbreaking.

Oh, and then there’s Crouton — Hazel’s raggedy childhood doll who somehow washes up downstream. I personally would not be picking up a soft toy after it marinated in swamp water, but hey, sentimentality and all that. Crouton actually ends up being essential to gameplay, so don’t ignore the lil’ guy. Fellow writer Dan even wrote an entire piece about how crucial Crouton is — check it out here.

Health is equally crucial, especially during intense combat. Alongside Floofs, Hazel can discover green filaments that permanently boost her health bar — a true blessing when dodging alone isn’t enough to overcome the more challenging bosses.

A Spooky, Folklore-Filled Ride That’s (Mostly) Worth It

While South of Midnight’s overall story is beautifully crafted and genuinely gripping, the ending felt a little rushed. It’s an engaging mix of interactive storytelling and action gameplay, but I wish it pushed the combat a bit further. That said, it’s a fantastic narrative-driven experience with gorgeous visuals, compelling characters, and a unique soundtrack. It was also super playable on the Steam Deck.

Quest Daily scores South of Midnight:

7/10

South of Midnight is out on April 9th on Xbox Series X|S, PC via the Xbox App, Steam and cloud, and on Game Pass. Those who purchase The Premium Edition have early access starting today.

Copies of South of Midnight were supplied to Quest Daily for this review.

Review | South of Midnight: ‘Stunning, Spooky, Slightly Stale’ (PC)