When I finished South of Midnight, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about it. I will echo the same sentiments you will see here, absolutely stunning visuals, a rocking soundtrack, and honestly, a very fun movement system and boss fights. It is a game that is ripe with potential. The things I didn't find very engaging came down my experience with the narrative and combat.
I found Hazel to be a very clueless protagonist, who had far too many ambient voice lines about being confused and verbalizations about obvious hints for the player to follow. I found this aspect to be quite annoying and discouraged exploration of the honestly quite large zones. I often had to remind myself that Hazel is in high school and this would usually subside my annoyance for a time.
As for the narrative, I found parts to have easily identifiable twists in which I would figure out the next story beat full zones before Hazel came to the same conclusion, which made her dialogue hard to listen to at times.
The hit box around Hazel is larger than her model, which often results in you being hit unfairly, or you completely missing attacks. It makes some of the combat feel really frustrating to get through, and there are a LOT of these fights. You can simply cheese all of these fights with the ground pound attack (thank me later) or by enabling fight skips in settings.
Now, you might read this part of the review and think "well obviously this person is saying it isn't worth my time." woah woah woah. Not at all. I think South of Midnight has its places of frustration, but what it lacks in these areas, it MORE than makes up for in voice acting, thoughtful and accurate historical folklore, and out of this world soundtrack.
It's been months since I've finished this game, and I keep thinking about it. It is a masterclass in humble storytelling. Sure, some of the beats are predictable, but it's world is fun to live in and interact with, and it's message is heartwarming. It's movement system is fluid and super fun, and it's attention to detail is par to none. I encourage you to treat this game like you would a good book or a movie you've watched a thousand times. It is best enjoyed as someone along for this ride with Hazel. Let South of Midnight transport you. Enjoy every zone, appreciate just how much detail the developers have put into this world. This is a game made with immense love, and it shows.
South of Midnight is a movie you can play and have fun doing it. If you have a weekend, I would absolutely recommend this for your consideration. The team put their hearts and souls into this game, and while it has it's flaws, it manages to be interesting, thought provoking, and best of all, fun.
