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At the very start of my gaming career—and I can proudly say I've been part of this world for well over three decades—the genre that made me fall in love with gaming in the first place was action-adventure. To this day, no games hold a dearer place in my heart than the Prince of Persia: Sands of Time trilogy, precisely because of its unforgettable gameplay style.
Working in this profession, I’ve had the chance to play a wide range of titles and genres—many of which don’t always align with my personal preferences. But every now and then, when I get to dive into a good, classic, straightforward action-adventure, I can’t help but light up with joy.
The exact same feeling hit me when I got the chance to play South of Midnight, but I must be honest that at the very start I didn't know what kind of game it would be. I knew it was an action game, but the trailers and the game's official descriptions didn't actually show much—it could have become anything at the end, but I'm more than glad that it came out to be like this.
However, nothing in the world could have prepared me for the sights I was about to experience once I started my journey through the town of Prospero. Seriously, South of Midnight is a sight to behold and, hands down, one of the most beautiful games I ever played in my entire life.
Story
This is the story about Hazel, a girl born and raised in the American South by a Black mother and a White father, and the family who didn't accept her mother for the well-known reasons. During a devastating hurricane, her house, with her mother inside, is taken by the storm, and the rest of the game Hazel will spend searching for her mother.
At first look, the story might seem simple, with an even simpler plot—but that changes quickly when Hazel, following a tragic event, uncovers her inherited magical abilities that have been passed down through her family for generations. Hazel is a Weaver, gifted with a natural talent for channelling and controlling magic.
From that moment on, Hazel’s life is turned completely upside down. The world she once knew begins to change in front of her very eyes, revealing a realm filled with mythical creatures, talking animals, and dangerous foes—ones that only she and others like her, the Weavers, have the power to confront and overcome.
Naturally, there’s much more to Hazel’s story than what’s been revealed so far. Along the way, she’ll meet her neighbours in a new light and uncover difficult truths about her family and those around her. Through her newly awakened powers, she’ll begin to piece together a larger mystery—and despite the challenges, she’ll strive to use her abilities to help as many people as she can. After all, the fate of her small town and the enigma surrounding her mother’s mysterious disappearance are puzzles only she has the power to solve.
Apart from Hazel's story, each chapter will feature its own storyline that will deepen the lore of the game. Those substories are super interesting, and they interconnect in such a way that you simply cannot put the game down, wanting to find out what the next story will reveal and how all of them fit together.
Even though the story takes inspiration from the Southern American folklore tales, featuring the same creatures and otherworldly beings, when you see the bigger picture, you can draw your own conclusion and understand it however you want—will you see it as a pure fairytale or the story that sends a powerful message and can be related to real-life events? It is entirely up to you.
One thing’s for sure: South of Midnight is a story that will keep you engaged to the very end and will make you question your life decisions as well. In a landscape often dominated by shallow and simplistic narratives, this tale cuts through with a sharpness that feels like a breath of fresh air.
As I’ve already mentioned, the story unfolds in the fictional town of Prospero, set in the American South—so you can definitely expect a distinct Southern accent in the voice acting. And honestly, nothing but praise goes to the cast behind the voices. From Hazel, who is portrayed to absolute perfection, to even the most minor characters, the voice work across the board is truly outstanding.
Gameplay
In essence, South of Midnight is an action-adventure game with a gameplay that leans to the platformer style, mixed with light exploration and combat sequences that are added just to fill the empty space in between cutscenes and platforming sections. That said, the gameplay section can be divided into three categories: combat, exploration, and platforming, and I will try to explain each of them as best as possible.
Combat
The combat in South of Midnight is some sort of hack-and-slash with the regular attack, special magic attacks you unlock as you progress through the game, and dodge as a defensive solution, without blocking or parrying attacks. Hazel uses her hooks as the main and only weapons, with a couple of more tools for weaving magic during the combat encounters.
Essentially, the combat is quite deep and requires precise movements, use of strategy, and execution of certain moves in certain moments and scenarios. The problem with combat isn't its superficiality or lack of challenge. The biggest issue with combat is where it takes place. Let me explain. There are predetermined places where you fight Haints (enemies in this game), and once you enter this area, you cannot exit until they're all dealt with.
Some areas require cleaning several of these encounters as part of the quest, so fighting in such an environment soon becomes super boring. The game tries to spice up things by adding new enemies every now and then, but still, after several combat encounters, you'll roll your eyes every time you see the designated area where the enemies are waiting for you.
I don't know why, but this system simply doesn't feel smooth and natural, and if the developers decided to make the combat more casual and more natural, like in almost every other game, it would benefit from it significantly, I'm sure.
Exploration
The second gameplay segment that feels a bit underdeveloped is exploration. The game has 14 levels, and each level has several things that can be found if you care to explore and deviate from the beaten path, so to say. All that looks great on paper, but sadly the exploration in South of Midnight is deprived of any mystery or puzzle-solving mechanics, which is quite strange in my humble opinion.
A game of this kind simply has to feature puzzles because that would enrich the overall gameplay enormously. Instead of puzzles or hidden paths, the exploration is totally simplified—with the press of a single button, you'll see the path you must follow to progress through the level, and all other paths will lead either to the upgrade materials, health upgrades, or some documents.
Each level will feature those three types of collectibles, and you'll be able to track their progression through the main menu. The blockers, which are a mandatory mechanic in those kinds of games, are not present as well, so revisiting levels isn't an option at all, meaning if you miss some of the documents, you'll have to play the game again from the beginning. I won't consider this a minus, since it is the way developers wanted their game to be. I only say that if they decided to make it more conventional, the game would definitely benefit from it.
platforming
Unlike the first two segments of the gameplay, platforming is fantastic. The movements of Hazel are very smooth and responsive, and jumping and gliding throughout the levels feel natural and very much satisfying. South of Midnight features all classic platforming mechanics, like jump, double jump, glide, and grapple, and some characteristic to this game, like floating through the air using magical wind, pushing and pulling objects, taking control of Hazel's small toy to access some small spaces, and more.
Each level is designed in almost the same way—following a certain level's quest and storyline will require you to fill the bottle with memories, and after doing that, the chasing segment commences. In this sequence you'll use all the platforming you've learnt up to that moment. Those sequences are very tense and will require a lot of hard work not to fall to death and fail them.
Graphics and performance
Now for the best part. I need to take a deep breath before trying to at least closely explain how gorgeous this game is. Imagine the most stunning, vibrant fairy tale filled with mesmerising magical landscapes, and you’ll only begin to grasp the visual beauty of South of Midnight. To truly appreciate how breathtaking the game looks, you have to experience it firsthand. The visuals are so incredibly gorgeous that I couldn’t stop taking screenshots—by the time I reached the end, my hard drive was packed, and I was still in awe of the game's remarkable design.
Right from the very first level—when you're escaping through a city ravaged by a hurricane—you get a glimpse of just how visually stunning South of Midnight truly is. The swirling debris, collapsing buildings, and overall chaos are all rendered with jaw-dropping beauty and impact. But it’s only as you venture deeper into the game—through the swamps and thick forests of the American South, past enchanted waterfalls and landscapes shimmering with magic—that you’ll realise: you’ve never seen anything quite like this in a video game. I guarantee it.
Whether you're exploring indoor environments or wandering through the open areas, the level of detail is absolutely mesmerising. The lighting effects, reflections, and the way sunlight filters through the towering treetops are all breathtakingly beautiful.
In contrast to the game's realistic environmental design, the character design leans more into a fairy tale aesthetic. All the characters move and behave like clay figures, with animations that intentionally appear to stutter—as if the game is hiccuping. But that’s entirely by design, and in my opinion, it’s fantastic. The contrast it creates between the lifelike world and the stylised characters is nothing short of brilliant.
When it comes to performance, the game runs flawlessly on Xbox Series X—though I’ll admit, I only played about one level there, just to test it out. The majority of my playthrough was on PC via the Xbox App, and I have to say, the optimization is excellent. On my RTX 3080 ti, with all graphics settings maxed out and DLSS set to Quality, the game maintained a stable 60+ FPS throughout.
Sounds
I usually don’t dedicate much space to discussing sound in games—typically just a sentence or two—but South of Midnight absolutely demands special mention when it comes to its audio. The sound design and overall audio presentation are such an integral part of the experience that they deserve their own spotlight.
After each mini-story—which I’ve previously mentioned—a unique song begins to play, capturing the essence of the newly unfolding situation. Each one feels like a small musical masterpiece. Early on, the songs carry a distinctly Southern flavor, but as the game progresses, other genres like pop and rock and roll start to blend in. Regardless of the style, every track is absolutely fantastic.
Alongside the excellent soundtrack, the previously mentioned outstanding voice acting also deserves praise. The sound effects—whether it’s the use of magic, combat sequences, or ambient noises—are equally impressive and never fall short in quality. Paired with the game’s stunning visual presentation, the overall audio experience is so well-crafted that it’s almost certain to earn multiple awards in this category by year’s end.
Conclusion
In our reviews, every game is rated by four main segments: story, gameplay, graphics, and sounds, and if a game excels in all of them, it can be considered a masterpiece in our books. South of Midnight is hands down one of the best games in its genre, period, but some minor gameplay flaws prevent it from reaching the highest possible rating and securing its place among the legends.
However, the story and the presentation, in general, are so good that you’ll easily overlook all other shortcomings, and if you’re, like me, a fan of a good action-adventure game, I beg you, do not miss this one—it will restore the faith in good old games where fun and simplicity were the gamers’ only concern.
The Good
Engaging and emotionally powerful story- Deep connection to Southern American folklore
- Outstanding voice acting
- Gorgeous, vibrant visual design
- Smooth and satisfying platforming mechanics
- Excellent soundtrack
- Strong optimization and stable performance on both Xbox Series X and PC
The Bad
Repetitive and restricted combat encounters- Underdeveloped exploration mechanics
