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.