South of Midnight: release window, trailer, gameplay, and more

There are plenty of upcoming Xbox Series X games to look forward to, but none as unique as South of Midnight. Set in the Deep South with a focus on authentic folklore and a stylized presentation rarely seen has put Compulsion Games’ new project up there with the likes of Perfect Dark and Fable in terms of hype. Unlike those two, we have a better idea of when this upcoming video game will launch, plus trailers to dissect and gameplay to study. Here’s the full story on everything we know about South of Midnight.

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Release window

As of now, South of Midnight doesn’t have a specific release date. Instead, we only know that our adventures in the Deep South are expected to begin in 2025. Looking at the Xbox lineup, it would make sense for it to come in the second half of the year, but it is anyone’s guess at this point.

Platforms

Compulsion Games is an Xbox first-party studio so South of Midnight will be launching exclusively on Xbox Series X/S and PC with no last-gen versions. However, given the likes of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Doom: The Dark Ages have already been announced for PS5 as well, we can never be too sure if an Xbox exclusive will stay that way.

Trailers

The Announce Trailer for South of Midnight sets the Southern tone of the game with swampy visuals and a bluesy tune. What really stood out was the stop-motion-esque animation style and almost cel-shaded art style that gives the game an almost claymation look. It introduces us to our protagonist Hazel who is on the hunt for a large beast only for it to tower over her from behind. She begins weaving a strange magic before the trailer ends.

What we know the story will revolve around thus far is Hazel’s adventures in a strange gothic land where legends and folklore have become real after a hurricane hits her hometown of Prospero. It is said to be a coming-of-age tale where Hazel will need to uncover dark secrets about her family and wrestle with her own identity. Along the way, she will learn the ways of a Weaver that can help heal the spirits she encounters.

The next time we saw South of Midnight was with its Gameplay Reveal. This gave us a small chunk of actual gameplay where Hazel and her giant talking catfish friend have struck a deal to find Hazel’s mother. They’re forced to go on a detour thanks to a giant alligator blocking the way and need to find a way to get rid of it.

Technically this isn’t a trailer, but if you’re itching to know all the deep details about the making of South of Midnight, its inspirations, and the team, this documentary is worth a watch.

Gameplay

South of Midnight is a third-person action adventure game with platforming and puzzle elements. Hazel’s moveset all revolves around her Weaver abilities. We see her wield twin blades that she enhances with Weaver magic for melee attacks, can dash, and charge attacks. When an enemy’s health drops to zero, she can hit a button to Unravel them and finish them off. This also appears to restore her health. We have only seen one-on-one combat so far, so it isn’t clear if we will face multiple enemies at once or not.

We won’t be simply defeating these creatures, though. Hazel’s powers revolve around understanding what traumas they represent and finding a way to heal them.

Traversing the world is done through running, jumping, double jumping, climbing, gliding, and grappling to set points. There are also gusts that allow you to glide farther and higher than normal, a bit like Spider-Man 2.

All the footage and gameplay shown has utilized that stop-motion animation style, but Compulsion Games has clarified that players will have the option to turn this feature off (except in cutscenes) if they find it unpleasant.

Preorder

Until South of Midnight gets a more firm release date than sometime in 2025, we won’t be able to preorder it. Being an Xbox first-party game, you can count on it coming to PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate on day one.