South of Midnight

Easily a Game of the Year worthy title; will it get the recognition it deserves?

South of Midnight is an approachable take on the U.S. Southern Mythos, with a sprawling world and amazing art style. Anyone who is even slightly aware of this title can tell you the same. Hazel, our main character, is full of personality. A care for others, care for her family, desire to see good enacted upon the world...Buried under 18 layers of teenage angst. This story mirrors a lot of other fantasy adjacent coming of age tales, so if this is your jam, this game will deliver.

However, my recommendation goes wider than this audience. Anyone who is interested in folk music, sound design, and game development should take notice of this title. Many games, movies, media have a soundtrack that is written for the piece - this can range from instrumental, ambient tracks to full musical numbers. This game is my first experience with a musical theater style video game, and it delivered.

I was infatuated with this game.

I am also someone who enjoys a challenge. I think that out of all possible criticism that could be applied to South of Midnight, the most fitting would be that the combat gets repetitive. That's definitely true, when you consider the current trends in games these days. However, in my opinion, having a tight knit ability system that provides incremental upgrades is exactly what a game of this length needs. Combating evil can look like a lot of things, but this story is a one and done scenario. For my money, it's worth a single play through, and maybe a second one in the future once the details fade. Inserting replayability by spending development dollars on more variance in combat abilities is a waste of the developer's - and the player's - time.

Playing this on hard was enough of a challenge for me. Buildcrafting has its place in other games. However, on the subject of relative difficulty, this game really shines in its accessibility settings. Simple, easy ways to make the game appropriate for your skill level or disabilities. You can easily make Hazel invincible, you can skip boss segments, you can make it a game that you enjoy playing.

I've spoke in fragments here, I feel as if I'm not really sticking to one main point, maybe it's the ADHD or the rushed nature of this post. If I were to leave you with one statement about this game: play it.

You won't regret it.