South of Midnightis a haunting new action-adventure game from Compulsion Games, the studio behindWe Happy FewandContrast, and like these games, there are a few things you should know as you journey through the bayou in search of your mama. The game has a unique art style that will pull you into this fantastical version of the American Deep South, where you’ll encounter creatures stemming from folklore and legend. With14 chapters to play,South of Midnightis a well-contained adventure that, despite its linear nature, provides plenty of opportunities for discovery and exploration.
South of Midnightfeatures third-person combat, and multiple skill trees which you can use to determine how you will approach each fight. Hazel, our protagonist, begins the game with little knowledge of her family’s past, but as you explore and defeat the foes that stand in your way, she’ll learn more about the legacy that runs in her veins. While not especially hard on the normal (Weaver) difficulty, it’s still important to keep a few things in mind when beginning your adventure.
10Chapters Are Linear, Explore Before Finishing
You Won’t Be Back, So Get What You Can
Unlike many modern games,South of Midnightis a linear, chapter-based game. That means your progression through an area should be thorough, asyou don’t come back to that level during the story once you’ve beaten it.Games likeDragon Age: The VeilguardandFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirthare much more open, offering you the chance to return to most locations as many times as you’d like to fully explore them.South of Midnightdoesn’t offer that luxury, though many would argue that games likeFF7 Remake Part 3shouldn’t be open-worldat all.
Despite not naturally returning to a level/area, you can replay chapters to grab stuff you missed.
No matter your opinion about open-world versus not open-world, it’s nice thatSouth of Midnight’s chapters are relatively contained. You’re not really going to be blindsided by suddenly being barred from an area because you have progressed a side quest too far, and what you see is generally what you get. That being said, it’s unfortunate to miss something you might have wanted, so make sure to thoroughly scope out the bayou’s nooks and crannies before pushing ahead.
9If You Can See It, You Can Get It
Watch Out For Water, Though
BecauseSouth of Midnight’s levels are mostly linear, this also means that nothing is going to be barred from you while you explore. There’s not going to be any “come back later after you’ve gotten X upgrade to unlock this section,” which can be super annoying and tedious in other games. For the most part,anything you can see—and some things you can’t—within a chapter is yours for the taking, as long as you can figure out how to get to it.
One Easily Missed South Of Midnight Trick Makes Combat Much Easier
You will have to keep an eye on your health to proceed in South of Midnight, and remembering one simple trick can keep you alive more easily.
The only exception to this rule is when water is involved.There’s no swimming inSouth of Midnight, as any Southerner knows the dangers of entering the dark waters of the swamp. This means that most of the small islands and peninsulas in the game are just set decorations, save the few that have anchors nearby that you can use to swing across the water.
8Replay Chapters For More Resources
Or Gather Things You Missed The First Time
There are things like Health Filaments, Floofs, and collectibles scattered acrossSouth of Midnight’s 14 chapters, and if you’re not an explorer by nature, it can be tricky to find them all.Thankfully, you can go back and replay chapters after completing themfor the first time, which can allow you to go back and pick up any resources that you missed on your initial exploration.
If you’re not sure if you’ve got everything, you can check on the Chapter Select screen, where it will list the collectibles available in each chapter and how many you’ve gotten. While in a level, the pause screen will also tell you how many total Floofs and Health Filaments there are.
To replay a chapter, you shouldselect “Load Game” on the Main Menu,which will send you to the chapter selection screen. From here, you can replay the chapter without worrying about losing any progress you made after the selected chapter, though you won’t have any of your upgrades while you play the chapter again. You’ll only have the skills and abilities that were available to you when you initially began the chapter, but your progress in the following chapters will be saved and not affected by your replaying.
7Increase Your Airtime
If You’re Struggling With Platforming, Try This Combo
Many chapters inSouth of Midnightfeature platforming and jumping sections, and these can be difficult for those who aren’t used to them. While the average player likely won’t struggle too much with most of the jumps, there are a few upgrades that make them much easier.For the most distance possible, players should utilize their double jumps and glide ability, which allow you to remain in the air for quite a bit before landing.
South Of Midnight Review: A Gorgeous Southern Gothic Adventure That Can Be A Little Tedious
South of Midnight is visually striking, and its narrative pulls at your emotions with an incredible cast, but its mechanics don’t necessarily impress.
To maximize your time off the ground, you should Double Jump and then Glide across any gaps. The Double Jump will get you into the air, and the Glider will allow you to cover much more distance than you would when falling normally. Not every platforming section will require this much distance, but it can be useful if you’re not sure whether you can make a jump.
6Heal Wisely
If You’re Close To Full, Save It For Later
The fights inSouth of Midnightoften contain Healing Coils that allow you to regain some health in the middle of battle, butthese Coils are single-use (except on Story and Easy difficulties) and don’t heal you all the way. This means you have to be smart about when you heal, as there are no actual healing consumables that you can stock up on and then pop on a whim. Wait until you’re low, then go for the large burst of healing that the Healing Coil offers.
5Unravel Defeated Enemies For A Small Heal
Pay Attention And Act Quickly To Get Some Health Back
While healing is extremely limited inSouth of Midnight, Unraveling provides a pretty consistent way to get healed without too much difficulty.After a foe has been defeated,you may Unravel the Stigma they leave behind, which will give you just a small burst of health.
Stigmas will only hang around for a short time after an enemy is defeated, so make sure to Unravel them before they disappear if you need to heal.
This can be pretty useful, as that small bit of health can be the difference between life and death, and thankfully, time stops once you enter the Unraveling animation mid-fight, so you don’t have to worry about getting interrupted or taking damage.
4Follow The Guiding Strand
Or Ignore It For Secrets And Collectibles
If you want to follow the main story quest, the Guiding Strand will take you from one objective to the next. This is nice if you’re not really on the lookout for Floofs or other collectibles, and is the most effective way to get through the game’s story. However, if you’re looking for the game’s hidden secrets and treasures, diverging from the Guiding Strand’s path is one of the best ways to find them.
3You Can Turn Off Stop Motion
If The Style Bothers You, There’s A Setting For That
South of Midnightfeatures a unique, stop-motion style of animation, and while I, personally, think it looks incredible, this sort of unique look can bother some people. If this is you, there’s a toggle in the “Gameplay” tab in the settings menu.Turning stop-motion off can also be helpful if you’re struggling in combat, as the stuttering effect that stop-motion causes can be disruptive to combat timings.
This setting does not affect cutscenes, which are prerendered with the stop-motion effect.
While I didn’t have too much trouble with stop-motion turned on, I also only played on Weaver difficulty. For those who want a more challenging experience, the harder difficulties might necessitate you to toggle stop-motion off. There’s no noticeable change in the actual performance of the game, but characters move more smoothly without the classic stop-motion movement.
2Prioritize Weave Skills
Stigma Bane Can Be Your Best Friend
Of the various skill upgrades thatSouth of Midnightprovides, the Weaver skills are by far some of the most useful. There are three Weave abilities, and their details are as follows:
Weave is a status condition that essentially stuns an enemy, preventing them from moving, and with the various upgrades available, it can make fights much simpler by allowing you to focus on one enemy at a time rather than having to fend them off all at once. Stuns are super powerful in most games, andSouth of Midnightis no exception.
1You Don’t Need Every Floof To Max Out Your Upgrade Trees
Spend Judiciously, And Explore Fully
There are hundreds of Floofs in some of the chapters ofSouth of Midnight, but thankfully, you don’t need them all in order to fully upgrade all of Hazel’s skills. As long as you’re grabbing the Floofs you see, you should be okay by the end of the game. If not, it’s always possible to replay chapters and grab some of the ones that you missed, as these will be added to your total when you pick up the chapter you left off on.
ThoughSouth of Midnightpicked a rough release windowthanks to the recent Nintendo Direct, it’s still a gorgeous game that will stand on its own merits.
Additionally, you should spend your Floofs as you get them. The upgrade trees aren’t limited;when you buy one branch of a tree, the other remains available to you. In order to make Hazel as strong as possible, grab every upgrade as they become available.
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to combat in any game, but it’s also true that there are general tricks that can make every game more pleasant to play. InSouth of Midnight’s case, most of these tips relate to staying alive as well as exploring the environment as best you’re able to. With such a charming experience packed into only 10–12 hours, there’s no way you won’t enjoy this haunting and beautiful game.
South of Midnight
In “South of Midnight,” players follow Hazel, a young woman navigating a surreal, Southern Gothic landscape in search of her mother after a devastating hurricane. As a newly awakened “Weaver,” Hazel confronts creatures from Southern folklore, such as Two-Toed Tom and Huggin’ Molly, using her magical abilities to mend spiritual wounds.
