South of Midnightdid a lot of things right, with a nuanced and well-written story that features an extremely original concept and delves into Southern Gothic themes in novel ways. The story itself is very compelling, and was one of the only things that kept me truly engaged throughout the entirety of the experience. Unfortunately, the narrative alone is not enough to make this game truly excellent, and I think many players would agree that the combat and gameplay elements simply don’t live up to the same standard as the storytelling inSouth of Midnight.
It’s not just about theabundance of collectiblesor the basiccombat inSouth of Midnight- there was a majorly missed opportunity. HadSouth of Midnightleaned more heavily into the horror elements that are already built into its narrative,it could have been Xbox’s version ofThe Last Of Us.South of Midnighthas tons of horror elements built into its core themes, with Haints, stigma, bosses like Huggin' Molly and characters like Roux and Honey, the list goes on. Unfortunately, the stakes feel very low when it comes to in-game interactions with these horror elements, and the game suffers because of it.
South Of Midnight Should Have Leaned Into Its Horror Elements Full-Throttle
Horror Gameplay Would Connect Players With The World More Effectively
There’s a lot of dissonance between some of the heavy themes and overall mood inSouth of Midnightand the gameplay itself. Thestory is largely about trauma, loss, grief, and pain, not only for the protagonist, Hazel, but for an entire community of neighbors and friends. Hazel and the other characters tend to bring a sense of levity and gallows humor into the mix, even though there is an eerie sense of impending doom looming throughout the entire narrative. The narrative is whimsical and heavily fantastical, butit isn’t at all childish or cheap.
The same cannot be said for the gameplay itself. In my view, the stale and simple combat mechanics and somewhat basic platforming style were the wrong choice, as they ultimatelyfail to connect the player with the story in a meaningful way. Flying and jumping around with strand powers and using special abilities is fun for a few minutes, but wears off quickly, even asSouth of Midnighttries to space out when you learn these abilities across multiple chapters.
How To Get All Achievements & Trophies In South Of Midnight
Many achievements/trophies exist in South of Midnight, but to get them all, you’ll have to make story progress, find collectibles, and master combat.
What this comes down to is that there are no real stakes inSouth of Midnight.The repetitive combat and basic platforming combined withan overabundance of fetch and find collectiblesmakes for a completely underwhelming (and tedious) gameplay experience that doesn’t do the story justice in any way, shape, or form. Ultimately, Xbox’sSouth of Midnighthad the potential to be as good as the PlayStation hit exclusive,The Last of Us,but ended up falling short because of its failure to embrace survival-horror gameplay elements.
I Wish South Of Midnight Was More Like The Last Of Us
Last Of Us Connects Story And Gameplay In Ways South Of Midnight Doesn’t
The comparison toThe Last of Usdoes not mean I thinkSouth of Midnightneeds to emulate the realism inLast of Usper se. Realism is not necessarily what givesLast of Usgameplay its sense of consequence. Instead, it forces you to get up close and personal with the infected enemies, and does not make the experience trivial.You experience the horror of the moment with the character,making it more powerful. I wish I could have this same experience with the Haints inSouth of Midnight.
South of Midnighthas over 2,000 collectible items across all 14 chapters, including over 100 readable collectibles that often add context to the story.
Instead, Hazel’s interactions with the mystical elements of the world are abrupt and repetitive, and it never feels like I have anything to lose or that any specific encounter could have ended any differently. Collectibles exist inLast of Ustoo, but finding them doesn’t constitute 80% of the game’s playtime. Also,The Last of Uscollectibles tend to add to the protagonists' character developmentin small but meaningful ways, such as Ellie’s comic book collectibles inThe Last Of Us Part 1.
Stealth and survival mechanics are the most successful core features ofThe Last of Us, andSouth of Midnightwould have benefited from thesesubstantially. I think players would have enjoyed sneaking around Prospero and having intense,non-identical encounters with different types of Haintsmore than they do platforming around like Mario on carnivorous flowers or grappling around town like Spiderman. While these platforming features are fun for a moment, they simply don’t complement the narrative as deeply as other styles of gameplay might.
South Of Midnight Is One Huge Missed Opportunity
When I first picked upSouth of Midnight,I was hoping it wouldbe a Southern Gothic folktale version ofThe Last of Us, with gritty, intense gameplay and a moving and dramatic narrative. On the surface, it has all the ingredients to be as great or better thanTheLast of Us,and the two games even share many similar gameplay features and mechanics. While the art, tone, and style of the games are vastly different, they both explore heavy themes relating to the human condition.
For a game that delves so deeply into themes related to trauma and loss, it doesn’t feel like I have anything to lose inSouth of Midnight.
The Last of Uswas successful because the stakes were incredibly high for both the player and the characters, something thatSouth of Midnightsimply fails to accomplish. For a game that delves so deeply into themes related to trauma and loss,it doesn’t feel like I have anything to loseinSouth of Midnight,aside from maybe hours of my time spent tracking down thousands of collectible items.
All Readable Collectible Locations In South Of Midnight
There are tons of readable collectible items to track down in South of Midnight, located across all twelve chapters, each adding depth to the story.
Ultimately,South of Midnightwas a huge missed opportunity in my eyes, as it had everything it needed to be as great and successful asThe Last of Us.The soundtrack, voice acting, animation style, Southern Gothic themes and mood, Haints, giant alligators - all of this is ripe for a horror-survival style of gameplay and combat.South of Midnight’sstory could be so much more impactful if it had richer gameplay that directly connects the player’s experience more meaningfully to Hazel’s. While I would love to feel more connected to Hazel’s experience, the gameplay makes that next to impossible.
