South of Midnight is an interesting game and experience that is both good and mediocre at the same time. On one side, the game boasts a detailed and carefully crafted world. The emphasis is on providing aesthetically pleasing gameplay that shows us gorgeous colors coming to life. Its strong storytelling helps the game deliver the message it wants and does it quite well. On the flip side, we have the gameplay, and it is pretty much evident that the gameplay experience is generic and standard at best.
It uses the time-tested features to deliver a normal gameplay experience. It results in a game with unique ideas while still having generic ideas that do not offer much diversity. The combination of its gameplay elements gives us the standard experience that was prevalent in the Xbox 360. The game does hope to explain it as a feature and is a major part of the overall experience. It makes you wonder, Is South of Midnight worth it? Let’s find out.
Premise
Players will take control of the character called Hazel Flood in South of Midnight. She is a young woman living with her mother in a town called Prospero, which is a fictional southern town. A hurricane has ravaged the town, and that event occurs early on, setting Hazel on a grand adventure. She soon gets the magic called weaving. She now has to use that magic to heal the eroding lands and rescue her mother.
The story and setting make a solid foundation for the game from the beginning. It is one of the game’s biggest strengths. The identity that it presents as a game is pretty unique. It combines local folklore and mythology with a deep South setting. Such a setting sets it apart from any other game since it’s the first time a game is exploring such a setting and story.
The Narrative
The bright and varied environment combines with engaging and interesting characters, which results in a decent narrative experience. Characters not only have good dialogues, but their acting performance is quite good as well, which elevates the overall narrative. The monsters you fight and the overall story make sure that the strong points of South of Midnight are evident. These elements make it different than other story-driven action-adventure games.
There are very few games that explore the culture and the lore of the Deep South, but South of Midnight is changing that. Such a take on the story and setting makes it different than other games out there. There are some nitpicks with the way the game is shaped. Hazel constantly talks to herself, which can get annoying after some time, despite being a good protagonist. The overall goodness of the story makes flaws in the writing a trivial issue.
A Visual Treat
One of the major elements that grabs the player’s attention is the visuals. Its extensive art design fits perfectly with its modern fairytale-like and folklore-heavy setting. Colors are vibrant, which makes the environment more robust. The stop-motion animation adds another layer of artistry to the way South of Midnight looks.
Watching its intricately designed cut scenes or going through the lush environment is equally good. The stop-motion type gameplay might not suit the needs of some players. However, there is an option to turn off stop-motion, but not in the cut scenes.
Gameplay
Even though South of Midnight presents a lot of new things in terms of setting, story, and visuals, there is not much that it explores gameplay-wise. In one sentence, it is a 3rd person linear game with melee and magical combat that has exploration, a progression system, and some parkour mechanics. This one sentence explains all that the game has to offer in terms of gameplay.
Levels are congested, and the environment is never extensive enough. The exploration is light, so don’t expect much sidestepping. It is a straightforward linear experience, and the game knows it all too well. Progression is pretty generic, but it is enough to make you want to work towards getting upgrades.
Traversal is also pretty generic, such as wall running, ledge climbing, and all the generic parkouring that you would expect from a game. The clunky movements of the game can make the combat and traversal a little rough.
Combat
It does not do anything new and is serviceable at best while presenting some fun gameplay sequences in certain parts. South of Midnight starts off with pretty generic moves, but soon new mechanics are revealed as you progress. On their own, these mechanics are trivial, but the combination of them can make them better.
The core combat is made of light attacks, heavy attacks, a combination of the two, telekinetic abilities that let you pull and push stuff, dodges, perfect dodges, and stuff like that. These are the mechanics that we have seen in a lot of different games, so there is nothing new to see here. It does not creatively use these elements, but it does get the basics right.
Combat is doable, especially when you are fighting different kinds of enemies at the same time. Combining different attacks and then escaping from enemies when needed, that’s when the combat is at its best.
Verdict (Is South of Midnight Worth It?)
The thing that makes the South of Midnight feel fun is the throwback that it offers in terms of design and feel. For a while, the idea of an AA action-adventure game has faded. However, South of Midnight takes up the challenge and manages to provide fun play despite coming from an AAA publisher. In general, South of Midnight provides a good experience. It is an AA game, and it is aware of that fact, so you should approach it as such.
It’s rare to see a story-driven game that avoids all the hustle of a semi-open world, skill tree, multiplayer, and exploration. This is exactly what South of Midnight is: A story-driven linear 3rd person experience. Its strong writing, captivating visuals, amazing setting, and good music help the game create its own identity. Even though its gameplay leaves too much to be desired the aforementioned elements more than make up for it.
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