ApexReaper Reviews

The key art features title of game South of Midnight on the left side of the image. On the right a dark-skinned woman with braided hair is shown from the shoulders up, glancing over her right shoulder. She wears a light-colored high-collared blouse. Behind her is detailed and somewhat ominous, including a vintage antenna, a marshy landscape with an alligator, snakes, bare trees, a snake, a church steeple. Silhouetted birds are flying around the church steeple. The overall tone is mysterious and fantastical.
,

South of Midnight: A Captivating Journey Through the Bayou

South of Midnight follows Hazel on her quest to find her mother after a hurricane strikes the Bayou. The game is praised for its engaging story, unique characters, and top-notch music. While the combat is simplistic and occasionally repetitive, the gameplay and exploration are standout elements, earning the game a solid 9 out of 10.

ApexReaper

Latest Reviews

Released on: April 8, 2025
Devolved by: Compulsion Games
Published by: Xbox Game Studios
Available on:
Steam
Xbox (It’s on game pass)

Story

With out spoilers the story of South of Midnight is the story of Hazel. The game takes place in a Bayou and the game opens up with a hurricane. Tragedy strikes and you must adventure to find your mother. As you search for your mother you will learn that you’re a weaver and what that means. You will come across interesting characters along your journey.

That is a very spoiler free run down of the story. Overall I really liked the story, and it held my attention. I will happily give the story a 10 out of 10.

Rating: 10 out of 10.
  • A tense moment from South of Midnight shows a character with braided hair crouched on the ground in a dimly lit room. They wear a white shirt with arm wraps. Looming over them is a large, eerie creature with glowing yellow eyes and a red, feathered head, its face inches away from the character’s. The dramatic lighting and close proximity create a sense of danger and suspense.
  • In a shadowy, cavern-like setting, a massive spider-like creature with flowing hair and multiple legs looms overhead. Below it, a character with braided hair stands ready, gripping a weapon. Nearby, another figure sits on the ground wrapped in vibrant, multicolored fabric. The eerie lighting and surreal creature design evoke a tense, fantastical atmosphere typical of South of Midnight’s Southern Gothic style.

Characters

The characters of South of Midnight are very interesting. The game has a great cast of characters. From a talking catfish who helps you along your journey. To all the characters you will help as you search for your mother like a giant tree boy. I will warn you that some of these stories are very very sad. I don’t want to say how there sad that would be spoilers. As for the looks of the character this game does a great job at making the characters look good.

The characters of this game are designed very well. Each looking different and unique. the characters are full of life and are not dull at all to listen to talk.

I really like the character of this game. I will give the characters a solid 10 out of 10.

Rating: 10 out of 10.
  • An older person with gray hair styled in an updo wears a teal blazer with floral patterns and a black top underneath. They accessorize with a pearl necklace and a tree-shaped brooch on the left side of the blazer. The background shows a dimly lit room with a window and furniture. At the bottom of the image, text reads: “Bunny: You just can't get enough of my hospitality.” A “B” button prompt appears on the right side, suggesting an option to skip.
  • A fantasy-style character stands outdoors in a lush, flower-filled setting. They wear a dark, intricately patterned outfit with gold accents and a matching armband. The background is softly blurred, emphasizing the greenery and floral elements, while the character’s ornate clothing and accessories evoke a historical or fantasy theme.

Combat

The combat of South of Midnight is not complicated. You have a basic attack and a dodge to begin with. As the game goes on you will get new attacks like a pull and push. You will also get a mind control attack and an attack that makes them vulnerable. There is an ultimate attack you will also get that is an AOE (area of effect) charge attack.

Once you have all the attacks the combat becomes more fun. With that being said the combat does get boring after a while. Good thing about that is there is not a lot of battles to do. All the battles go the same you attack defeat the enemy that unravel it to get health back. Then once all enemies are defeated you unravel the knot. And that it you rinse and repeat for all battles.

The boss fights on the other hand are a lot better and way more fun to play. I will not tell you about them I want you to experience them not knowing anything about them. All though the final boss fight was disappointing but not terrible.

Each of the skills can be upgraded to make stronger. You will use fluffs to upgrade them. For example, if you upgrade the mind control ability, it will improve the first attack. This improvement will make the enemy vulnerable for a short time.

I will give the combat of this game a respectable 8 out of 10. It’s not amazing but not terrible.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
Gameplay scene from South of Midnight featuring a player character confronting a massive, decaying crocodile-like monster with vegetation growing from its back. The creature lies in a swampy environment with misty mountains and trees in the background. On-screen UI displays health bars and ability prompts, highlighting action-adventure mechanics and Southern Gothic atmosphere.

Graphics

The graphics are great. But there is this stop motion animation effect that this game has. Now you can disable it for the gameplay part of the game this does not disable it for the cutscenes. I highly recommend turning off the stop motion for gameplay. It just looks so much better with it off. I am not a fan of the stop motion in this game it just looks the cutscenes are lagging. I think this game would be better if they did not have the stop motion effect.

One more negative thing about the graphics is that at the beginning of the game, you are in a hurricane. The character model looks dry. There is a part of the game where a character says, “Look at you, you are soaking wet.” However, you do not look wet. There is no dripping water effect at all. Later on, for story reasons you get all muddy and the character does look all muddy.

With that being said, the graphics do look really good. The character models are beautifully designed. The locations you get to explore are amazing to look at. There are also a lot of wildlife in this game and they look great as well.

The rating on the graphics is tough. The game is so beautiful to look at. But the stop motion and the lack of wetness does hurt the game in the graphics department. I will have to give it 8 out of 10. I took 1 star away for each of the negatives.

Rating: 8 out of 10.
  • Gameplay screenshot from South of Midnight featuring a player character standing in front of a large, Victorian-style house surrounded by lush trees, colorful flowers, and hanging laundry. The detailed environment highlights the game’s Southern Gothic aesthetic. On-screen UI elements display ability controls (LB, LT, RT, RB), emphasizing action-adventure mechanics and immersive exploration.
  • Gameplay screenshot from South of Midnight showing a player character standing in shallow water, facing a misty forest with partially submerged ruins. The character, seen from behind, wearing detailed adventure gear. On-screen UI displays ability controls (LB, LT, RT, RB), highlighting action-adventure mechanics and atmospheric exploration in a Southern Gothic setting.
  • Gameplay screenshot from South of Midnight showing a player character standing in a vibrant, mountainous landscape at sunset. The character faces a towering, pointed mountain surrounded by dense trees, rocks, and lush vegetation. On-screen UI displays ability controls (LB, LT, RT, RB), emphasizing the game’s action-adventure mechanics and immersive Southern Gothic world design.
  • Gameplay screenshot from South of Midnight featuring a player character with braided hair standing near a misty riverbank. The character wears a brown outfit and faces a dilapidated white house with a collapsed roof, surrounded by dense trees, red and yellow flowers, and overgrown vegetation. On-screen UI displays ability controls (LB, LT, RT, RB), highlighting action-adventure gameplay and the game’s signature Southern Gothic atmosphere.

Gameplay

The gameplay of South of Midnight is the best part of the game. I love exploring the location of this game and collecting the collectibles. The collectibles you can find are lore to give you more info on what is happening in story. You can find sheets of metal to flip these give you fluffs that are used to upgrade. There is also a fluff knot to unravel to get more fluffs for upgrading. There are also health filaments to find when you collect 3 your heath increases.

As you explore the areas you will need to fill a magic bottle by winning battles. After you fill the bottle a mist monster will chase you. You will have to run to the bottle tree. You will need to use all the traversal skills you get along your journey. These include double jump, wall run, and glide. Use these skills to outrun the mist monster. I found this really fun to do and a nice change of pace to the gameplay loop. Now there was one of these sections that was not well designed. In the section I’m talking about, you get pushed to the left by the game. There is nothing there, so you fall to your death. You have to fight the game and keep pushing right to land on the path to continue. This was the only running section that did this.

You also get a little buddy named Crouton. You control him to explore tunnels and small gaps that you can’t fit into. You also can throw him to get to places you can’t reach.

This game excels at pulling your focus. You won’t miss anything important. It will give you control of your camera after you investigate.

Running around the areas looking for the collectibles using all the traversal skills is so much fun. I will easily give the gameplay a 10 out of 10.

Rating: 10 out of 10.
  • Third-person gameplay screenshot from South of Midnight showing a player character near a swampy riverbank in a post-apocalyptic Southern Gothic setting. The character wears a backpack labeled “PROSPER” and stands amid overgrown vegetation, broken bridges, and abandoned buildings. On-screen UI displays ability controls (LB, LT, RT, RB), highlighting exploration and action mechanics in a richly detailed, atmospheric environment.
  • Gameplay screenshot from South of Midnight showing a player character in a patchwork outfit standing before a grotesque tunnel made of pig carcasses. The scene is set in a dark, enclosed area with a chain-link fence in the background, evoking a grim and surreal Southern Gothic atmosphere. The image highlights the game’s narrative-driven horror elements and unique visual storytelling.
  • Gameplay screenshot from South of Midnight showing a player character standing on a wooden platform beneath a star-filled, mystical sky. A towering, shadowy creature looms in the background, creating a dramatic and ominous atmosphere. On-screen UI displays ability controls (LB, LT, RT, RB), emphasizing the game’s action-adventure mechanics and supernatural Southern Gothic setting.

Music

The music of South of Midnight deserves its own category in this review. The music the top tier. Not only does this game have great music when it comes to exploring the levels. It has songs with lyrics that play in certain parts of the story. The first time I heard the music change and someone started singing, I was blown away. The lyrics tell the story so well. I have never experienced music in a game like this game.

There is nothing more that needs to be said about the music 10 out of 10. Top tier music.

Rating: 10 out of 10.

Should You Play?

YES this game was such a joy to play. I found the story and exploration to be the best parts of this game. The combat while not great is not so bad that you don’t want to do it. The music is amazing. Combine that with the exploration and collecting collectibles, and it makes the gameplay loop very fun. This game is easily a must play.

Honorable mentions are in the options you can turn off combat and boss battles. This is nice for people who have a hard time and just want to explore and enjoy the story. You can also fully customize the difficulty and make the game as easy or as hard as you want. It’s also on game pass both PC and Console.

One final note. The developers Compulsion Games have made 3 games. Contrast, We Happy Few and South of Midnight 3 great games. Compulsion Games is defiantly a game dev team to follow and pay attention to when they announce a new game.

I give South of Midnight a 9 out of 10. The math gives it a 9.3 repeating but I’m going to round down to a 9.

Rating: 9 out of 10.