Getting a big new trailer and gameplay reveal during the Xbox Developer_Direct was South of Midnight – the next game from Compulsion Games, the makers of We Happy Few. South of Midnight is coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC and will be day one on Xbox Game Pass when it launches on 8th April 2025.
South of Midnight looks to be something rather different compared to Compulsion’s previous work, whisking us away to the fantasy world of Prospero and confronting our heroine Hazel with giant sea monsters.
Hazel is a 19-year-old with a remarkable set of abilities that emerge through the game as she discovers and becomes a Weaver. These abilities let her see beyond the surface of the world, viewing the strands that tap into a deeper reality and the Grand Tapestry that binds everything together.
As she repairs the world around her, it can and will reveal that mythical creatures are actually real… such as the narrator and companion that is Catfish.
The game features an almost claymation visual style, blending together action adventure exploration with Bayonetta-style combat, using her spindle, weaving hooks and more alongside her magical abilities to push, pull and weave.
The world also blends together vibes of the deep south of America with giant, island-sized alligators and more. That is just one of the huge creatures that she will seek out as she tries to find out what happened to her mother in the natural disaster that befell the region.
She will also be able to peel back the past by viewing echoes of events that happened, reliving them on her adventure. There’s deep scars through the world, whether it’s seeing buildings that have been reclaimed by nature, or people that have stayed behind.
All of this is being brought to life in an intriguing stop motion style, calling back to Compulsion’s roots as a studio.
