Roughly two months out from its Xbox Game Pass launch, Compulsion Games' South of Midnight has been in the hands of critics for some early playtime this week - and a bunch of written and video previews have now dropped.
So, we're going to gather some early impressions below for you to take a look at! We'll also use this as an opportunity to give our own early preview a quick plug - and you can catch the video version of this up at the top of the article.
Pure Xbox
"Even in this short preview build, South of Midnight has hugely impressed us already. We knew Compulsion was capable of cooking up something good, but we did not expect to be this enamoured with their latest title after just one chapter of playtime. Sure, combat isn't necessarily the game's strong suit — and we have experienced a few technical hurdles in this preview — but everything else has blown our expectations out of the swampy water."
Eurogamer
"As I have already said, I do have some small concerns about South of Midnight, but I'm also aware I have only played a relatively condensed section of it. If I put those concerns aside for a minute, I believe there's still a carefully curated substance to the rest of the game. The world Compulsion has crafted here is a magical one, and it holds a real spark of promise. I still eagerly await South of Midnight's April release, so I can once again venture back to the mythical Deep South with Hazel, uncover more of this beautiful game's secrets and listen to the stories it still has to tell."
Engadget
"This is Compulsion’s first attempt at building a game with all of the resources and attention that Xbox provides, and the studio has crafted a beautiful, mysterious world with an ambitious mechanical conceit and a badass protagonist. The stop-motion effect is still hit-or-miss, but that doesn’t detract from the game’s other successes. I remain incredibly stoked on South of Midnight."
Windows Central
"From the stop-motion-inspired animation to the droning sounds of the swamp, South of Midnight is one of the most stylish games I've gotten my hands on in a long time, and it speaks to me on a personal level I'd never imagined possible. While I still have some questions, I’m all the more eager to play the full game now. If the rest of the experience keeps the same sense of escalation and creeping macabre mixed with humor, then South of Midnight could be one of this year’s best games. April can’t get here soon enough."
Gamespot
"I hope this love and care extends to the platforming and combat in the rest of South of Midnight, but even if it doesn't, the game feels like it will at least be an exceptional tale that's set in a very real region of the world that video games (especially in the AAA space) have largely ignored."
IGN
"I will say, I did catch a couple of moments with frame rate issues that haven’t been fully ironed out yet, but Compulsion is aiming for 60fps on Series X by launch. And when everything is running smoothly as it ought to, South of Midnight should be a uniquely beautiful game that might even make you cry a little bit, too."
PCGamesN
"Of course, I only played a single, narrative-heavy mission from the first half of what appears to be a fairly lengthy game. I’ve got no doubt that the combat difficulty will ramp up over time, but I also hope to see more involved exploration. As is, South of Midnight’s unique setting and strong characterization are left to do some heavy lifting, but it’s still special enough to be worth defending, just like We Happy Few before it."
Thoughts on these early previews, PXers? Wrestle an alligator and then take a moment to tell us what you think down below.
Comments 15
Sounds like it's definitely worth a go.
Definitely looking forward to trying this, the style looks amazing, but not convinced the gameplay is going to be interesting.
This game has had my interest since I first saw it sometime ago now. I'm really looking forward to its release, though I might allow a month or two to elapse once it is out so as those minor bugs can be sorted... then again, I might not, as this is one of my most anticipated games this year, and my impatience may get the better of me...
Looking forward to this one. Not 100% sold on the stop motion gameplay but cutscenes look lovely with it. It's nice they let you turn it off though and choice is always welcome.
Pretty good to see Xbox 1P getting so much praise and attention these days. We've come a long long way.
Think I will buy this one, week 1. I usually just float on game pass but I really like how this one looks.
Sounds awful.
You know what this reminds me of? Voodoo Vince. I really like what I'm seeing.
Removed - unconstructive
@SaintRasmus I don't understand have they made bad games? I have never heard of them. sounds like a bbq sauce to be honest.
@VisitingComet1 Google them and enjoy the horror show
The previews I saw looked great. The visuals, style and story are definitely compelling. Though when it comes to the game mechanics that's something you have to play to know.
There's several games, Alan Wake for example, that I really love the presentation, but I had to stop playing as the actual gameplay didn't click.
@SaintRasmus I looked up a list of games they worked on. There's a few I've not heard of, but God of War: Ragnarök, Spiderman 2, Crew: Motorfest, Tales of Zenzera, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.. That's a DAMN good resume. Suicide Squad is the only one I see there that's a certified dud.
@PhileasFragg none of those games you listed are good, all mediocre or cater to the marvel movie/redditor demographic, wouldn't play god of war or Spiderman if John Kramer had me in a trap.
I think this game is great but combat needs more. If only 1 attack button besides skills and a execution button.
I'd other weapons sure, or doesn't need to have combos that's fine. But just more to interact with of enemies or environment objects or weapon modules.
Why not an explosive flower or some other environment stuff to stun or effect enemies.
Wall running, climbing is fine.
Platforming is good but scripted or lacking use of items for gqpe. I think more player freedom of thread platforms need to be there not overly scripted gaps it's just boring. More flexible placement in a water gap for example is nice to offer how they want to make platforms that's more fun. Not wow I can see that ghost outline, yeah clearly it's just too simple and boring.
Again nothing wrong with simple and I get it's what Chapter 3 or something but even still it needs a bit more as games that have simple platforming abilities usually stick to them.
Ones that are more flexible of say creating your ice platforms on water but still limited to the area or not powerful enough then yeah.
Mario Galaxy ice flower made me go wow. To offer ice platforms.
Other games can too. Ratchet therminator was ok of ice/after state. But partial platforms are more fun I think.
Otherwise the environments look great, story moments seem great for the people there.
Very Lena or Ratchet. Gives me Ride of the Tomb raider exclusive for a bit but I don't mind.
Microsoft needs a game like south of midnight I think.
Even then state of decay or others I think stand out or hi fi rush but just reach an audience Microsoft wants which is sad.
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