The first Xbox Game Studios release of April is debuting today in the form of South of Midnight, which releases in early access for those who are willing to pay an upgrade fee. And so, as a result, the reviews have just landed for it!
Here at Pure Xbox, we gave South of Midnight an "Excellent" 9/10 in our review, praising it as a game that has "so much soul, personality and charm that it's hard not to fall in love with it". You can read our review elsewhere on the website:
But what about everyone else? We've put together a roundup of South of Midnight reviews so you can get an idea of what the critics are saying, so let's take a look at some of these impressions!
Here's what the reviews are saying about Xbox's South of Midnight:
Pure Xbox (9/10)
I was engrossed with the storybook visuals, the well-delivered narrative and the satisfying traversal from start to finish, and I really can't recommend this one enough on Xbox Game Pass. Those of you that are more combat-first may not take a shining to this game quite as much as I have, but if you're looking for an engaging adventure that delivers soulful stories in spades, South of Midnight shouldn't be missed.
Slant (4.5/5)
The latest from Canadian developer Compulsion Games is one of the few games that I’ve played to capture the profound feeling of being granted access to such a cultural history—full of ghosts real and imagined—and making it accessible to all.
Press Start (8.5/10)
With a thoughtful message, soulful world, and beautifully imaginative design to push things along, Compulsion delivers a classic adventure seemingly beyond their weight class with South of Midnight. It’s the exact, elusive story-driven diamond in the rough that Xbox has been in search of for generations now.
IGN (8/10)
South of Midnight is a straightforward but well-executed action-adventure game on the surface, with a simple but satisfying mix of combat and platforming. It’s focused, filling out its 12-hour runtime nicely without ever dragging or relying on unnecessary padding. Beyond those basics, however, is a certain heart and artistry that elevates the whole package, inviting you to peer into the deep American South through its folklore, nature, and culture.
GameSpot (8/10)
It doesn't exactly wow with its combat and platforming, but these parts of the game are mechanically sound, and South of Midnight's memorable characters, incredible visuals, and catchy soundtrack are so strong that it doesn't really matter that the gameplay is just decent.
CGM (7.5/10)
South of Midnight comes out swinging with an incredible story, but the gameplay just isn’t there to back it up. If you love a good story and an awesome soundtrack, it’s still worth a look.
GamesRadar (3.5/5)
Familiarity soon fades into monotony across nine of its 14 chapters, though it's hard to stay bored when South of Midnight's world is such a smooth and effortless joy to explore. The result is a spellbinding tale that struggles to find its rhythm, but once found, absolutely sings.
Eurogamer (3/5)
This is a game of just remarkable craft - we've not even mentioned the stop-motion style of animation! It's lovely - and likewise remarkable attention, thought, and care. If only just a little more of that care had been afforded to the playing of it.
Video Games Chronicle (3/5)
South of Midnight is a gorgeous adventure with wonderful performances, striking visuals and solid platforming gameplay. Its combat, however, is repetitive and reductive in equal measure, letting the overall package down considerably.
It's still early days for the Metacritic average, but South of Midnight seems to be settling around the 75 mark as things stand, while its OpenCritic average is higher at 80. We liked it more than the majority, then!
If you're keen to start playing South of Midnight immediately, you can do so - either with the Premium Edition or the cheap Premium Upgrade that's intended for Xbox Game Pass members. Alternatively, if you're happy to wait until South of Midnight's main release date of April 8th, it'll be available on Game Pass for console, PC and cloud on that day.
Excited for South of Midnight on Xbox Game Pass? Buying the early upgrade? Tell us down below.
Comments 20
I was expecting something about mid-70s to 80s, and I'm quite happy with those scores for the most part. It looks like just my sort of thing so I'm really looking forward to jumping in next week
@LaurenceJ1987 It's currently 76 on Metacritic and 80 on Opencritic so your "mid-70s to 80s" is spot on.
I personally prefer OpenCritic and an 80 sounds perfectly fine. Looking forward to playing it!
We liked it more than the majority, then!
I mean this by no way of commentary on your review on this particular game, @FraserG, but I've often wondered; is there some pressure to review a game a little higher than it perhaps warrants because of either pressure applied to you by the developer or publisher in question, or indeed through fear of review copies being withheld in the future were you to give either a scathing review, give a poor review score, or one that is significantly lower than your peers?
@Fiendish-Beaver Nope.
Nobody's ever pressured us, or offered to pay us, or anything like that to score their games higher. We just score them how we feel.
In terms of the "fear" aspect you mention, about missing out on review copies in the future and stuff like that - it certainly goes through my head when we publish a negative review, but I'd rather we stayed true to our opinions and took the risk. We're never going to artificially inflate a score just to please a publisher.
@FraserG
I do 100% believe you but it is also a little bit awkward that the game is currently plastered across the top of this article in a large paid ad and is the most advertised product across the entire Hookshot range.
@ChrisDeku Sure, I see where you're coming from - but all of that is handled by a different team at Hookshot.
The writing staff (including myself) never know what kind of ads are going to show up, so they're not influenced by those in any way. I'm the one that talks to PR companies to acquire review codes as well, so it's not like they're being passed to us by an advertising team.
So is this the Xbox tax in action or not?
Glad it's reviewing good 🙂😎 looking forward to this when I can play it
Seems like the usual positive to slightly above average mix of review scores. This could be a sleeper hit despite it not really impressing me, personally.
If I can find the time to play it with how hectic life has been recently, I’ll give it a go. Thanks for the review roundup!
@FraserG A bit off topic but is the stadium you are in in your profile pic the Juventus stadium??
Just always wondered ha✌️
@Ricky-Spanish Yes! I was invited to a PES / eFootball press event there a few years ago
Thank you, @FraserG. I never doubted your integrity, and I hope that wasn't what you thought I was getting at. I just wondered whether that fear, or pressure, existed. I am grateful for your response though... 👍😊
@Fiendish-Beaver Not at all! Totally understand 😊
@FraserG In terms of the "fear" aspect you mention, about missing out on review copies in the future and stuff like that - it certainly goes through my head when we publish a negative review, but I'd rather we stayed true to our opinions and took the risk. We're never going to artificially inflate a score just to please a publisher.
I had those same thoughts when I was reviewing / journo, and those exact same convictions too. It does happen too - being blacklisted for less favourable scores (in three years of doing it - we only got blacklisted twice). A lot of people overlook the stress that comes with this sort of thing, but like you say, and correct you are, integrity is paramount - the rest works itself out.
@themightyant Yep. I'm happy with that and if it plays as I hope then I think my personal score could be higher. I have high hopes for this from what I like.
@Fiendish-Beaver I often wonder this about all the platform specific reviews as they always tend to land a point or two higher than the average. For SoM it mentions how the combat is fine but not great and doesn't gel with the rest of the game, to the point that it feels like two seperate games. Then closes with the game is not perfect but its got an almost perfect score.
It reads as a 7 or 8 game based on preference which are both good scores, but everything needs to be 9 or 10 to pass muster these days which just makes reviews kind of pointless.
@FraserG Sounds like a good time perks of the job ain't bad it's a lovely looking stadium!
I'd love to eventually visit Italy I'd come home about 2 stone heavier I wouldn't be able to control myself with the food over there ha! ✌️
It’s so weird how opinions and scores on games are so over the map these days. It used to all be a little more objective
I feel for whoever reviews a game here.
The poor guy who reviewed Indiana Jones was slated for a low score.
Now it's being implied that this game is being over scored.
People make laugh.
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