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Early on in my near-12-hour South of Midnight playthrough, I defeated Two-Toed Tom, a gargantuan and legendary alligator thats said to have stalked the swamplands of Florida and Alabama as early as the 1920s. After breathing a sigh of relief upon completing the battle, I was shocked when Two-Toed Tom swallowed my character, Hazel, whole. I was even more surprised upon realizing that I had to escape the gators belly in a platforming section complete with floating planks, ruined houses, and even a lost pig everything that Tom had previously gobbled up.Indeed, South of Midnight is the melding of the weird and the macabre, the magical and the utterly dreadful, a tantalizing offering that delves deeper into its roots in the Deep South. However, it still has some glaring flaws, most notably with its combat system.In South of Midnight, you play as Hazel Flood, a young woman searching for her mother after a hurricane devastates the town of Prospero. After a few twists and turns, you learn that Hazel is a Weaver, someone who wields magic to see through the material plane and into a world thats shrouded in shadow and spiritual essences.What follows is an unforgettable journey where you meet a host of characters and creatures derived from Southern folklore. These include the giant catfish, a staple of old tales in the region; the aforementioned Two-Toed Tom; and even a giant man known as Shakin Bones, whos partly based on Charon, the ferryman of the dead from Greek mythology, and blues legend Robert Johnson, rumored to have sold his soul to the devil to become a master at guitar.There are also terrifying beings whose stories are unique to certain locations, such as Huggin Molly. Molly was believed to be a phantom woman whod find naughty children who were out at night in the quaint town of Abbeville, Alabama. Shed swoop in and squeeze kids tightly before shrieking into their ears. Likewise, theres the Altamaha-ha, a sea monster whose legend is rooted in Muscogee tradition, and with multiple alleged sightings in parts of Georgia.South of Midnight easily pulled me in through its masterful use of engrossing folklore and tall tales, though its the nuanced exploration of dark themes and harsh realities that truly resonated with me. You see, Hazels job as a Weaver is to mend stigmas, wounds caused by heinous acts wounds that fester in the immaterial realm before seeping into reality. The story is filled with emotionally impactful moments, such as with Hazels mother, a social worker whos looking for a way to save impoverished kids who have been failed by the system, and that of the ghosts of plantation slaves finding their way to freedom. Just as well, there are equally disturbing segments of the games story, including fratricide, bullying, animal abuse, and hatefulness against those deemed to be too different.Look, I wont pretend that Im an expert in Southern gothic lore or history I live in the Philippines, which is 9,000 miles away from any state in the Bible Belt. The closest Ive been to the South was when I worked in Virginia for a few months back in 2004, and thats still quite far from Georgia or Alabama.That said, South of Midnight did present stark truths that are relatable all the same. In some ways, my people, too, relied on the power of mysticism, superstition, and folktales to shape our Filipino identity and to become more resilient in the face of adversity. Its not uncommon for people in the provinces to warn you of creatures like tikbalangs, kapres, and duwendes, or to espouse the protective and restorative properties of mystical beliefs (which also clash with traditional Catholic teachings). Moreover, the games narrative draws on the universal themes of hope and determination: that there are people out there who are willing to help, that there are ways to heal the traumatic events of the past, and that children will move heaven and earth for their parents (and vice versa).South of Midnights story is further enhanced by striking visuals and the use of stop-motion animation in cutscenes. While the latter might be hard to get used to at first youll be roaming around the swamps at a blistering pace, then see a stop-motion cutscene at alower frame rate the concept ultimately adds to the gothic-fantasy charm. In the same vein, the soundtrack, made by composer Olivier Derivire (A Plague Tale: Innocence/Requiem and Vampyr), might be one of the best Ive had the joy of listening to in recent memory. Theres a mix of melodic blues and country music, as well as a church hymn at one point. The song lyrics themselves either focus on Hazels plight or pertain to a particular boss, punctuating every significant moment in the campaign, from the somber expressions of grief to the pulse-pounding crescendo of an upcoming battle.The exploration and platforming mechanics, which reminded me somewhat of Ember Labs Kena: Bridge of Spirits, are exceptionally well designed, too. The games 14 levels consisting of (mostly) fetid swamplands and mountainside villages, as well as a short trek to a glitzy New Orleans-esque city, albeit one with landmasses floating over a vast expanse are all fairly linear. That said, exploration is still encouraged, as there are small areas that are off the beaten path. Some of these contain health filaments, which upgrade Hazels HP, or a resource called Floofs, which are used to unlock skills in a very bare-bones skill tree.On top of this, Hazel gains a plethora of powers and abilities in just a few hours, allowing you to make use of various traversal methods, like a magical grapple to cross gaps, wind currents to fly through the air, a spell that solidifies spectral objects, and a Force Pull/Force Push-esque ability reminiscent of a Jedi. Theres even a reanimated doll, Crouton, perhaps a nod to Hoodoo spiritualism, that you control to gain access to small areas and burrows. Additionally, you can make a wispy guiding path appear with the press of a button, showing the way forward complete with disembodied voices calling out to your character.My only complaint with regard to overall level design is that I wish puzzles were trickier and more expansive. There were instances when Hazel would remark about how a contraption might need power or that she had to reach a certain location, yet the solutions to these problems were simple. Sometimes, all I had to do was make Crouton push a switch in a small nook or toss a rock at a breakable object. Having more brain teasers would have enriched the games fantasy and mystery elements.Regrettably, the combat system in South of Midnight is its weakest aspect. As you make your way through each level, you come across larger clusters of stigma that spawn monsters known as haints (a Southern term for ghosts or evil spirits). Enemy variety is fairly limited, as you end up facing shadowy specters that use claws, exploding flies, or gooey spit. To take out these foes, you use Hazels aforementioned traversal abilities, which have their own equivalent effects in combat; you can temporarily stun foes by solidifying them, you can push/pull enemies, and you can make Crouton take control of a hostile to attack its own cohorts.Level progression feels like its structured with combat encounters in mind, and the result is that all the levels feel the same after a while. Essentially, this consists of exploring a section, finding a stigma cluster, defeating a couple of enemy waves to finish the encounter, watching a short cutscene about the past, and then clearing the remaining clusters, before going through a chase sequence where an otherworldly entity is hot on your heels. The last part the chase sequence is exciting, but the rest is mostly just lather, rinse, and repeat until youre done.The battles themselves are very forgiving even on normal difficulty; your dodges cause damaging explosions, and you can heal by unraveling defeated enemies or by interacting with a glowing green orb. However, the structure became too repetitive to a fault that, at the halfway point, I honestly wondered if I should just enable the Skip Combat option so I could get to the good parts faster. Outside of a select few bouts against bosses and mythical creatures, there are no other encounters that offer the same level of excitement. Its a darn shame given how much the game excels when it comes to the adventure aspect, and yet the action part is egregiously boring and uninspired.All in all, even with my qualms about the combat system, South of Midnight still managed to exceed my expectations. It has the 3D platforming goodness that should appeal to fans of the genre, and levels that are a joy to explore from a traversal standpoint. More importantly, its compelling story hooks you with its excellent use of the often underrepresented Deep South as a setting, along with its rich folktales and troubled history. And yes, it comes as no surprise that the game explores dark and unsettling themes, all while reminding us that love, forgiveness, and acceptance help mend old wounds.South of Midnight will have an early access release on April 3 and a wide release on April 8 on Windows PC and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed on PC using a copy provided by Compulsion Games. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygons ethics policy here.
