In a gaming industry dominated by sequels and endless online shooters, South of Midnight looks like a true original.
A magical bildungsroman about a teenage girl navigating an enchanted Southern town submerged by the aftermath of a devastating hurricane, the upcoming game now has a concrete release date as revealed during the latest Xbox Developer Direct show.
You’ll be able to play South of Midnight on April 8 as a console exclusive on Xbox Series X/S, along with Game Pass and PC (via the Microsoft Store and Steam).
The game is available to pre-order now for £39.99, with the option to either buy or upgrade to the premium edition (£49.99) for five days’ early access.
Why the low price for a new title? The entire game only takes 10-12 hours to complete, making it a short and (hopefully) sweet experience.
In that sense, it sounds similar to another recent Xbox exclusive, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, though their themes couldn’t be more different.
Judging by the game’s latest trailer, South of Midnight is like The Jungle Book to Senua’s Heart of Darkness. At one point, South of Midnight's heroine, Hazel, encounters a giant catfish who plops down from a tree just like Kaa, the mesmerising snake from Kipling’s classic tale.
Don’t worry, he won’t eat you. In fact, the catfish, which we first encountered in the game’s gameplay trailer last summer, turns out to be Hazel’s companion-come-surfboard for navigating the flooded streets of her fictional hometown of Prospero.
During her journey, Hazel faces off against creatures pulled straight from Southern folklore. Haints, the game’s main enemy class, take many corrupted forms, while mythical beasts like Two-Toed Tom (a giant alligator) and Huggin’ Molly (a massive spider with the head of a woman) sound like the big bosses.
At its heart, South of Midnight is a story about family and belonging, according to developer Compulsion Games. Hazel’s quest to rescue her mother and restore her hometown is as much about untangling her family’s shared past as it is about confronting the creatures threatening Prospero.
Despite its emotional storyline, it might still appeal to those who enjoy their fantasies quirky and whimsical while we wait for the new Fable.
