This past weekend, everyone’s eyes were on Louisiana, specifically New Orleans, as it played host to the Super Bowl. But while all major focus was on the pulverization of Patrick Mahomes and thefurtherpulverization of Drake, the pre-show paid a bit more tribute to the city itself, particularly how the city would endure in the face of recent tragedy. There wasn’t a whole lot about New Orleans/Louisiana culture in it, though in fairness, this writer wasn’t there for all seven or so hours of said pre-show coverage. But it did all have me thinking aboutSouth of Midnightin some ways, as a recent look at Compulsion Games' latest provides an intriguing look into an adventure through a ravaged part of Louisiana with a twist of classic and modern folklore.
South of Midnightcenters around Hazel, a young woman who was preparing their home for a hurricane with her mother, Lacey. Unfortunately, the hurricane claims both her house and mother, sweeping them into the river, and so Hazel sets out to find Lacey. But things take a turn for the bizarre when Hazel discovers a magical power known as Weaving, starts seeing the ghost of a previous Weaver known as Mahalia who guides her along, comes across fantasical discoveries such as a giant talking catfish known as…well, Catfish, and also finds themselves having to deal with vengeful forces known as Haints plaguing the area.
The Dirty South
Of course, the effects of the hurricane have already ravaged the bayou quite a bit already, with floodwaters everywhere, along with various wreckage. And it makes striking visuals, with more fantastical elements such as house-sized peaches standing alongside collapsed billboards, with the colors giving everything this perfectly murky and eerie-yet-beautiful feeling. Then there’s the art style inspired by the likes of stop-motion animation, which really makes all of the cutscenes dazzling and gives everything a unique look and feel with a lot of detail, even if the effect is less pronounced during more regular gameplay sections that involve combat or platforming.
But even without the hurricane and the Haints, it turns out that the area was already privy to monsters well before the game even began. Throughout the area, Hazel can find various abandoned houses, at least a few of which have notices showing that their owners have since been kicked or forced out by a large corporation, hinting at troubles that have been hitting for a while and may hit again later. But then there are the stories and sorrows behind everyone here, which actually contribute to the force known as Stigma that creates Haints. The preview session gave us Rhubarb, a sort of eccentric hermit that introduces Hazel to the Bottle Tree, said bottles being used by Weavers to gather painful moments from previous lives. These are accompanied by Echoes, which provide backstories relevant to the current legends Hazel encounters.
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The Dirtier (Yet Compelling) South
In this case, it turns out Rhubarb had a brother, Benjy, described as being different, and as such, was constantly tormented by the locals. The echoes show us how Rhubarb tried to look out for Benjy, just what kinds of cruelty Benjy faced and their eventual fate, which…well, let’s just say this writer might have audibly gasped over what just happened. Even though this is apparently near the beginning of the game, I honestly don’t want to spoil what happened to Benjy, because even when expecting more darker tales and bits of folklore that come with its setting, I was not prepared for whereSouth of Midnightmay very well go. And this was just their first major chapter, so I dare to imagine just what lies ahead when it comes to the twisted history of this land…
Indeed, it appears as though the story and lore inSouth of Midnightwill be one of its major selling points. The game goes all in on the idea of “Weaving,” not just tying it into Hazel’s combat abilities and traversal, but also the world in general. The idea of strands that connect everyone and everything in the universe makes for a compelling mythology, creating Knots via people’s trauma that Weavers have to unravel, along with deeper Tangles and even Wounds, dealing with the latter being the end goal of the Chapter that was provided. Doing so releases Catfish, who doubles as our narrator, makes for one terrific character with a nicely bombastic personality, and who feels like he fits in with Cajun folklore while also having his own unique twist. If any of the later mythical creatures are even half as good as him, we should be in for a compelling time.
The Haints are also well designed, being nicely creepy, twisted, dark figures that come in various shapes and sizes. This is probably as good a time as any to point out that this preview ofSouth of Midnightdropped us straight into Chapter 3, which did mean skipping tutorials, but it says a lot that the gameplay was well-crafted enough that it was easy to get into the swing of things. Hazel can use her new Weaving skills to stun enemies in place for a short amount of time, pull them towards her or repel them away, all while going at them with a pair of hooks and trying to dodge in time. Not the most groundbreaking combat, but still fast-paced and fun, though a few enemies seemed to have cheap attacks, and I can’t say I’m fully on board yet with arenas having only one stationary healing item.
On that note,South of Midnightdoes seem to have a case of the preview jitters in some areas, which will hopefully be wrinkled out in time for release. This includes a few of the platforming bits, which can feel odd at times, such as having to land on or navigate narrow branches. Still, getting around is enjoyable thanks to the clever use of the Weaving abilities, be it in creating platforms or find Stand-imbued walls to wall run on, which also open the doors to to secrets such as extra stashes of Fluffs,South of Midnight’scurrency for upgrades. Hopefully, things get more complex in the later areas, though.
Of final note is the soundtrack, which so far is a delight of blues-y tunes that acts as the cherry on top of the incredible atmosphere, giving everything a nicely haunting flavor, especially when a full-on ballad kicked in near the end, which made even a relatively-simple climbing session feel like something epic. Heck, all ofSouth of Midnightfeels epic so far, giving us this creative take on Louisiana folklore and the Deep South in general, all while still delivering a fun adventure with a good amount of challenge. We’ll see just how well the grand tale as a whole fares when it comes out in April for XSX and PC.
South of Midnight
