‘South Of Midnight’ Sends Players Monster Hunting In The Deep South
by Sage Ashford
During the Xbox Games Showcase, Compulsion Games (We Happy Few) has announced their latest game, South of Midnight. The game is described as a third-person action-adventure game, where players will take on the role of Hazel, a woman battling against supernatural creatures appearing in the real world. Hazel is a Weaver, someone with the ability to see and repair tears in reality that allow monsters to come through.
While the trailer doesn’t delve into much gameplay, Xbox has released an extensive interview with South of Midnight‘s creative director David Sears and narrative producer/creative specialist James Lewis. The interview discusses the game’s inspirations and setting:
South of Midnight’s trailer gives a sense of its world and story, but there’s more to learn. The game world will stretch across a fictionalized swathe of the U.S. – as Sears puts it, it’s inspired by “the more interesting geological, topographical, cultural, societal, historical areas of the South.”
While the game’s set in a version of the modern world, the settings you travel through will be almost exclusively rural, reflecting the places in between major urban areas, and the sense of wonder and danger they can hold. “It springs from the concept that monsters are real – you just need to jump over the backyard fence,” says Sears. “The farther you get away from the influences of civilization, the more magical the world becomes.”
The lead protagonist:
“Hazel’s trailer appearance makes clear that she’s our lead – outwardly confident, wisecracking, and actively on the hunt. Setting off from the fictional town of Prospero – a town left behind by wider society – she’s taken up the mantle of protector.”
How magic works:
“It’s full of fractal geometry expressed as knitting and doilies – everything is themed after textiles,” explains Sears. “Essentially, you take the strands that make up the universe and weave or spin them into useful forms for the player to use.
And much more. Unfortunately, there’s no hint of a release date just yet. However, we do know that this was originally known as Project Midnight, and it was first mentioned in late 2021. At that time, Windows Central correctly discussed many of the details Xbox has officially revealed here. Hopefully the release isn’t too much further off.
