The games industry has seen a lot of strife in recent years, namely in the form of mass lay-offs, unfathomable studio shutterings and the seemingly unwillingness (at least by out-of-touch higher-ups) to seriously invest in any project that isn’t a dull, predictable sequel or a live service money-printing monstrosity.
However! There’s some light at the end of this dark digital tunnel—possibly. Lately, driven by some promising reveals and updates, I feel like the industry is starting to experience a bit of a renaissance in terms of creativity and risk. Maybe we’re witnessing a cautious return to the days of yore when the pure, joyful wackiness and unbridled riskiness of video games sat front and center, unchallenged, before the gaming public.
PlayStation’s upcoming Astro Bot is a great example, a brand new 3D platformer that feels like a direct conduit to the more carefree days at Sony when the ridiculousness of stuff like PaRappa the Rapper, Jersey Devil, Tiny Tank, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon and Blasto ruled the roost. Games weren’t only about profit, at least to use laymen and mortals; they were about making something inspiring, too. Something that made an artistic and emotional impact.
Compulsion Games’ (We Happy Few, Contrast) in-development Southern Gothic folklore swamp adventure South of Midnight—the initial unveiling of which I somehow completely missed at last year’s Xbox Games Showcase— appears to fall right in line with the aforementioned resurgence in exciting software that wants to, well, move people. Games are back, baby!
“It springs from the concept that monsters are real – you just need to jump over the backyard fence,” said the game’s creative director David Sears in a June 2023 interview. “The farther you get away from the influences of civilization, the more magical the world becomes.” Judging from the gameplay trailer shown at the Xbox Games Showcase yesterday, the magical realism the team is aiming to harness shines through, bright and clear.
In it, we see our heroine Hazel riding a giant catfish through a flooded landscape, on the hunt for Two-Toed Tom, a gargantuan blind bayou alligator that isn’t very, uh, happy? Sears reiterated in a newer interview that so much of what Hazel does with her special Weaver powers in the game is about healing and repairing rather than the traditional action title-esque killing, vanquishing and destroying.
Trauma is a big theme in South of Midnight, and it seems Two-Toed Tom, much like the other ‘baddies’ in Compulsion’s Deep South experience, have been warped by it and just need help. I love this, as it reflects the real-life struggles of so many actual people, who have been damaged by pain, and the pain eats away at their diminishing light. What a nice change of pace, to be aiding the damned instead of destroying them.
And on such a note, it’s extra cool how all the creatures in South of Midnight are derived from actual Southern folklore. Mysterious, nefarious, towering beasts? Uh, yes, yes to all of it. I’m huge into cryptozoology, so my anticipation for discovering each of these living myths is downright frothing. Or as Reggie would say, my body is ready.
Back to that recent trailer, the game looks great so far. I’m especially enamored with the mimicked stop-motion animation, which gives the whole thing a Coraline/The Nightmare Before Christmas flavor. The in-game world is rich and stunning, and while the actual gameplay borrows a lot from the third-person action genre at large, I think the general spooky vibe and insane attention to detail are what will set South of Midnight apart.
From everything I’ve read about the development process so far, it’s apparent that Story (capitalized for effect) is soaked into everything, which strikes me as a very Disney-like approach to game-making. Everything means something, everything serves the tale being told, right down to the cancerous, negative energy walls and curious, onlooking critters that simultaneously materialize during combat sequences.
The already incredible original voiced soundtrack is also suffused with narrative, and Compulsion has allegedly gone to great overall (and in the field) lengths to ensure their percolating creation accurately portrays Hazel’s authentic Black experience, the region’s rich multi-cultural roots, as well as our notoriously troubled American history. A lot of the game’s foundation is inspired by Sears’ time growing up in the South, by the way, which I’m sure will lend it yet another level of genuine place-ness.
So far, I adore everything about the brilliantly titled South of Midnight, due for a vague 2025 launch on Xbox Series S|X (Xbox Game Pass day one!), PC and Steam. It’s a little Kena: Bridge of Spirits, a little Horizon Zero Dawn and a little Shadow of the Colossus, but rolled up into a possibly fresh Cajun package that has tons of potential. We’ll see if the team can deliver on all its lofty artistic promises, and lofty they are, as they could easily derail and become too heavy-handed, too on-the-nose or perhaps unsubtle in an off-putting way.
But going off the available footage, I’ve got to say, I’m all in. Games are making me excited again, and for that, I’m thankful. Vidja gamez, ya’ll.
To the kind people at Compulsion studio, though: Just please ship the game with a giant light-up Two-Toed Tom collectible statue, who (preferably) roars with unchecked rage when provoked. And also when not provoked.
Please.
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