If you played the developer’s other games, including We Happy Few and Contrast, then South of Midnight is a more traditional action-adventure game. You control Hazel, who’s searching for her mother, Lacey, after a sudden flash flood tears through their house and home town. Unbeknownst to her, she possesses the abilities of a Weaver who must harness the Strands and repair the Grand Tapestry.

This journey spans the American Deep South, offering stunning stop-motion cinematics as Hazel meets folklore creatures like Huggin’ Molly, Two-Toed Tom, and many more (with several serving as bosses). Combat is fairly straightforward, with players possessing dual hooks to execute melee attacks and spells for various effects. But as action-packed as it can be, South of Midnight is as much about healing and helping people move on.

Check out our review for more details. We gave it an eight out of ten, praising the setting, storytelling, characters, music and art direction.

Of course, that brings us to the second point of confusion – the Nintendo Switch 2 version. The development team didn’t confirm whether it would launch later or on the same day, so there’s little else to do but wait for more details.

Regardless, South of Midnight should make a strong addition to any action-adventure fan’s library. Currently available for Xbox Series X/S and PC, the story follows Hazel, who loses her mother and home in a flash flood. Seeking a way to find her, she learns about the Strands and her heritage as a Weaver.

What follows is a Southern Gothic fantasy where Hazel battles the Haints using enchanted weaponry. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the presentation, aside from the incredible soundtrack, is the stop-motion cutscenes, which further add to the feeling of an animated adventure.

For more details, check out our review of the Xbox version. South of Midnight crossed more than a million players within its first month, so its PS5 reception should be interesting.

But what are they up to, and are their offerings going to be enough to either go toe to toe with the PS5, or, at the very least, gather enough momentum to attempt reversing the two consoles’ fading fortunes? We’re here to help answer those questions.

Join us as we take a look at what Xbox Game Studios is cooking up for a year that’s shaping up to be just as good as the one before it on the gaming front. It’s also a big year as the Xbox turns 25, and as such, there’s going to be a lot to be excited about if you’ve been a fan over the years. Let’s get started.

The Coalition

The studio behind the Gears of War franchise is all set to take the meta-narrative it has established over the years back to its roots, bringing back Marcus and Dom to the stage for a prequel that has fans excited to learn more about the gruff soldier’s turbulent relationship with his superiors and the events that led to the Locusts rising as a threat to his world in Gears of War: E-Day.

In a look back at the year it had at 2025, which featured studio heads discussing future projects, Mike Crump (who heads The Coalition) was pretty excited to assert that E-Day is the franchise’s “most ambitious title yet”, and confirmed that it was on track to release later this year with Polish studio People Can Fly joining the studio to lend a helping hand.

We’re going to be watching out with very sharp eyes for a release date announcement, and we’re sure that those among you who love Gears of War share our enthusiasm.

Compulsion Games

The South of Midnight developer has been basking in the success of the title, expressing gratitude for its excellent reception and confirming that a new project is already in the works. It has been stated that the lessons it picked up from developing South of Midnight have allowed it to grow and mature as a studio, and that this new project is going to reflect those learnings to be a game that is made to impress.

However, the studio is likely to focus on the multiplatform release for South of Midnight over this year, and its new project is likely not going to surface in 2026.

Double Fine

The studio has been relatively silent since the release of Keeper last year, and with little to no news about its next project surfacing in the months that followed, we can only guess that the team behind a very unique game is getting some well-deserved rest while they put down ideas for their next big thing on the drawing board.

That’s not to say we may not hear from the studio over the course of the year, though, and we’re hoping for more unique ideas, given its last project was a game with no dialogue that still managed to keep us glued to our screens.

Halo Studios

It looks like Halo is taking the Gears of War route this year, with Halo Studios all set to release Halo: Campaign Evolved sometime this year for the PS5, PC, and Xbox. A remake of a timeless classic, the new game is slated to bring several improvements to the original’s gameplay loop, such as the ability to hijack vehicles, weapon zooming, a redesign for the Warthog, up to 4-player online coop and 2-player couch coop, and so much more.

The visuals are also getting a leg up with Unreal Engine 5 powering the experience. The game’s iconic multiplayer being given a pass is a bummer, though. However, getting to see the campaign in a whole new light is something we’re definitely excited about. The bonus missions that act as a prequel are another nice touch that we’re curious about.

InXile Entertainment

We’ve been looking forward to Clockwork Revolution ever since this title was announced by inXile back in 2023. With a solid look into how the game works last year, and rumors that it could be slated for release this year, which must be taken with a pinch of salt, this is definitely one to watch out for.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, it brings a very interesting premise with some time-travel shenanigans that pits you against a manipulative antagonist and her quest to consolidate power with a customizable protagonist. It’s quite impressive, and we hope the rumors that it’s making its way to our screens later this year are true, although we’re only carefully optimistic on that front.

Mojang Studios

There’s a lot to be excited about if you’re into Minecraft, as Mojang is bringing eight new baby farm mobs to the game, replete with visual changes that make them quite adorable indeed. However, the drop is still in its testing phase, and you might have to wait a while for an official release announcement, depending on how things progress.

However, that’s still good news, and we’ll be sure to have an update for you as soon as we can confirm any changes to the status quo.

Ninja Theory

The studio behind Hellblade is reportedly working on a new title that’s focused on being more interactive and action-oriented than its past offerings while sustaining the cinematic quality that it is now known for, as per Windows Central’s Jez Corden.

While there is speculation that the new title could be Hellblade 3, it could very well be a new IP. Either way, it’s likely that 2026 might be a quiet year for Ninja Theory, but that could very well change in the coming months.

Obsidian Entertainment

There are reportedly four new projects in development, along with speculations that a remake of Fallout: New Vegas in the vein of last year’s Oblivion is likely coming this year. However, that remains currently unconfirmed, so hopefully this month’s Xbox Direct may bring news on that front.

But if you happen to miss it, fret not, since we’re definitely going to have your back on that one!

Playground Games

The long-standing staple of Xbox Game Studios is going to be front and center at the Developer_Direct event, with both Fable and Forza Horizon 6 slated to make an appearance in what is shaping up to be a big year for the studio.

With no gameplay currently available for both titles, we’re quite certain that we’ll be getting quite a close look at what each of them is bringing to the table. While Fable is poised to be a reboot of the franchise, aimed at modernizing it for a new generation of players, Forza Horizon 6 is going to take you to Japan this time around, with a map that’s touted to be the biggest one yet in the franchise and a lot to look forward to in it.

We expect a release date announcement later this month, although that could take a little longer. Both games are currently slated for a 2026 release, though.

Rare

While the cancellation of Everwild is sure to have been a blow to the Sea of Thieves developer, the appointment of Lousie O’ Connor as the Chief of Staff for Xbox Game Studios might help with dealing with that loss and the layoffs that affected the studio.

It’s looking like a quiet year that’s going to be spent figuring out a way forward for the studio; however, we’re hopeful that we at least get a hint at what it aims to do next.

Turn 10 Studios

The studio behind Forza Motorsport is going to stop updates to its flagship title in order to help Playground Games with Forza Horizon 6. While that news is bittersweet, we’re still happy that the studio has managed to survive the turbulence of last year and come out on top.

Who knows, we might even get news of a new project a little later down the line. But for now, it’s looking like a relatively quiet year for this one.

Undead Labs

We’re still waiting on news about State of Decay 3 after Undead Labs posted that very cryptic teaser ahead of the 2025 edition of Summer Games Fest. However, things have been very quiet on that front, and the studio’s layoffs from last year have us a tad worried about the title’s current status.

We’re still holding out hope, however, and would be delighted to hear some good news at Developer_Direct later this month. Fingers crossed, we’d say.

World’s Edge

The studio’s job postings from last year fuelled a lot of speculation that it was taking a more hands-on approach to Age of Empires, and that an Unreal Engine-powered new addition to the franchise was in the works. And while nothing is confirmed at this moment, that could very well change later this year.

It would make sense for the studio to bring out a new title in its flagship franchise, and you can bet that we’d be very happy to hear about it over the course of this year. Once again, we’re going to advise cautious optimism, but one can always hope, right?

And that’s a wrap on all of the big releases and potential announcements from Xbox Game Studios as it gears up for a year that’s quite the landmark for the iconic console. We can’t wait to get our hands on all of the titles that are coming our way, and hope to join you as we enjoy a year of great games from these talented studios.

Released earlier this year for Xbox Series X/S and PC (it’s also playable on Game Pass), the action-adventure title is a fantastical journey through the American Deep South as Hazel. After losing her home in Prospero, she embraces her destiny as a Weaver and ventures through the region, encountering strange and mystical creatures.

That also means fighting enemies known as Haints, mending the Grand Tapestry and finding her mother. Throughout it all, she’ll come to embrace her family’s lineage. For more details on South of Midnight, check out our review. Despite the straightforward combat, it’s a fantastic Gothic South odyssey with stop-motion visuals and incredible music. It crossed one million players in less than a month of its release.

With The Game Awards starting in a few minutes, what could Microsoft announce on the big stage? Perhaps Starfield for PS5? Stay tuned for more updates.

After cutting three percent of its workforce worldwide in May this year, a new wave of layoffs has hit the company. The Seattle Times reported roughly 9,100 employees affected across all of Microsoft, with the overall impact on its Gaming Division unknown. Bloomberg did note that King, based in Stockholm, and ZeniMax Media’s European offices were affected (with the former losing about 200 employees). However, at the time, the full scale of the cuts was unknown in the United States.

As time passed, it became clear that this wasn’t just a series of layoffs but an all-out bloodbath. Everwild, Perfect Dark and ZeniMax Online Studios’ next MMO, codenamed Blackbird, have reportedly been cancelled. The Initiative has been closed. Rare will allegedly undergo restructuring and see layoffs. Undead Labs, currently working on State of Decay 3, has reportedly faced layoffs (though how extensive is unknown). Turn 10 Studios saw over 70 layoffs, according to The Verge, effectively reducing its staff by almost 50 percent (which is apparently enough to keep Forza Motorsport going).

At the time of writing, it’s unknown whether ZeniMax Online Studios will see layoffs because the overall handling of the process has been, to put it simply, embarrassing. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier noted that staff who worked on Blackbird were locked out of their Slack accounts without any warning from HR. Leadership and HR have also yet to confirm their job statuses, though they can still use their official work emails and Microsoft Teams (and no, I won’t make the joke).

The way it’s been handled is unequivocally horrendous, but it’s not just in the United States. King’s London and Berlin offices, alongside their remote workers, have also allegedly been hit, according to MobileGamer.biz. Though they noted how it wasn’t very surprising, the process has still “been handled very poorly.”

Back in the US, not even those working on the Call of Duty franchise are safe. Insider Gaming reported layoffs to Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software, with the actual number yet to be known. And yes, Raven is working on Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 alongside Treyarch. High Moon Studios, which serves as a support studio on Call of Duty: Warzone, has also seen layoffs. Halo Studios is also reportedly seeing layoffs – one alleged employee worked on Halo Infinite for the past four years to turn around, quote, “that burning dumpster of a live service.” There aren’t any reports about South of Midnight developer Compulsion Games, but one former employee recently posted on LinkedIn about seeking a new role, having worked at the studio since June 2024.

You’re probably wondering at this point, “Is that all?” Well, no. According to The Verge, the Xbox user research team has also been “hit hard.” For those unaware, it’s a team that “focuses on ensuring quality across Xbox games, the platform, and developer tools.” Windows Central reports that QA in Activision and Blizzard have also been affected, alongside marketing and sales teams. If that isn’t enough, Xbox’s head of family and child safety is also gone.

If we’re talking about senior positions, ZeniMax Online Studios president Matt Firor is leaving after over 18 years, while sources told VGC that Gregg Mayles and Louise O’Connor will be leaving Rare. Mayles has spent over 35 years at the studio and is best known for Banjo-Kazooie and Sea of Thieves (and was also directing Everwild after the reported 2021 reboot). O’Connor has also been at the studio for quite some time, having worked on Conker’s Bad Fur Day, and is also gone after the cancellation of Everwild.

And I would say, “That’s it for now,” but no one, not even Microsoft since this is their fourth set of layoffs in about 18 months, could possibly know. It’s been, for all intents and purposes, a bloodbath. But you know who thinks all of this is the best decision and the one that will position the brand for continued success? Why, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, of course!

Before news of all these cancellations and layoffs fully circulated, Spencer sent out a note (obtained by Windows Central), stating, “To position Gaming for enduring success and allow us to focus on strategic growth areas, we will end or decrease work in certain areas of the business and follow Microsoft’s lead in removing layers of management to increase agility and effectiveness.” However, in the next paragraph, he admits that all of this is happening, while, “We have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger.” So what gives?

Spencer continues, “The success we’re seeing currently is based on tough decisions we’ve made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years, and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities. We will protect what is thriving and concentrate efforts on areas with the greatest potential while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.”

He offered the usual spiel for those let go – “We would not be where we are today without the time, energy, and creativity of those whose roles are impacted,” “These decisions are not a reflection of the talent, creativity, and dedication of the people involved” (which is one way of saying, “It’s not you, it’s me”). But perhaps the most notable is, “Our momentum is not accidental—it is the result of years of dedicated effort from our teams.” So naturally, the obvious next step is to lay off those workers to thank them for their work thus far. The worst part about the note is how “the specifics of today’s notifications and any organizational shifts will be shared by your team leaders in the coming days.” This seemingly indicates that more layoffs and cancellations are coming.

As annoying as all this is, Xbox Game Studios’ Matt Booty followed with an internal email confirming the cancellation of Perfect Dark and Everwild and the winding down of “several unannounced projects” (which seemingly includes ZeniMax Online’s Blackbird). “These decisions, along with other changes across our teams, reflect a broader effort to adjust priorities and focus resources to set up our teams for greater success within a changing industry landscape,” said Booty. “We did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment.”

However, he then goes on to note that the overall plan remains “unchanged,” which is to “build games that excite our players, continue to grow our biggest franchises, and create new stories, worlds, and characters.” There are apparently over 40 projects in “active development” and “continued momentum” on games launching this Fall (and no, we don’t know of any new titles outside of The Outer Worlds 2). Furthermore, it has a “strong slate” going into the next year.

What is the point of this section other than to inspire confidence among those left that Microsoft isn’t dying anytime soon or perhaps no further cancellations are on the way? Thinking back to the end of Spencer’s note, now might not be the right time to brag about “continued momentum.” Then again, Booty is the one who looked at rumors about Perfect Dark’s troubled development and said, “It’s quite the opposite.” He also called reports of Everwild’s development rebooting in 2021 as “a little extreme” than what really happened. Do I expect any executive in such a position to be candid and admit fault? Well, no, but then again, I also don’t expect to hear about all the wonderful things Xbox has in the works after my colleagues and co-workers lost their jobs.

So, with all that out of the way, Microsoft’s tally for layoffs in 2025 sits at over 15,000 employees thus far. The real question, at least for the time being, is: What hasn’t been cancelled? Apparently, everything from the recent Xbox Games Showcase (conveniently enough) is safe, according to Windows Central. It’s also been suggested that the company’s next-gen console plans “remain unaffected.” You know, the one part of the Gaming Division’s revenues that have seen constant declines. Then again, I don’t know if you can boast about the revenue from content and services too much since Call of Duty and Minecraft (followed by Game Pass) contributed heavily to the same.

Taking a step back, it’s easy to look at all this and simply blame Microsoft. And make no mistake – it really is that easy, considering Spencer and crew have been at the helm for some of the company’s biggest failings. The closure of Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, and Alpha Dog Studios. Increasing the price of major first-party games to $80. Declining hardware revenue. Multiple years with no games to offer loyal fans. High-profile disappointments, like Halo Infinite at launch and Redfall.

Depending on who you ask, even releasing first-party titles to PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch, which proved financially successful, was viewed as the company admitting defeat in the console wars. Which, going by the numbers, should be a given. You may think that the cancellations of Everwild and Perfect Dark are justified, given years of troubled development.

Yet Microsoft oversaw both studios and dozens of others. When a 2022 report emerged about a toxic work environment at Undead Labs under its new studio head and HR head, leading to numerous departures and stalled development on State of Decay 3, Microsoft was specifically called out for not acting sooner.

In the past, Phil Spencer has admitted that upper management was hands-off, leaving studios to their own machinations – which was the reason (among many) why Redfall shipped in its sorry state. He then claimed that the team did “a better job” helping with Bethesda’s Starfield, but even if you’re a fan of it, there’s no denying the bugs, glitches, crashes, and quality-of-life issues that it shipped with (after delays, at that).

However, if we’re outlining everything that Microsoft has done wrong with the Xbox brand, you could go all the way back to 2013 (and some people have), pointing to Microsoft effectively nailing its own coffin shut with how it presented the Xbox One. Even after backtracking on Kinect, always-online requirements, used-game ownership and a focus on TV media, it was still effectively sent to die against the PS4 later that year. Some may even go back further and blame its focus on Gears of War, Forza, and Halo – the top three, as it were – and the inability to nurture new franchises, which prompted the acquisition of Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Playground Games and many more in the years to come.

Whether that acquisition-fueled mayhem and the less-than-stellar returns are to blame or not, this process of acquiring studios and then shuttering them after however many years isn’t all that surprising. Flashback to 2021, when Sarah Bond, then-head of Game Creator Experiences and Ecosystem at Xbox, reflected on shutting down Lionhead Studios in 2016 after acquiring it in 2006. “What did we learn, and how do we not repeat our same mistakes?” Spencer followed up by stating, “You acquire a studio for what they’re great at now, and your job is to help them accelerate how they do what they do, not them accelerate what you do.” Based on everything that’s happened, it seems that leadership at Microsoft Gaming and Xbox Game Studios has a long way to go.

Many players are still wondering why Spencer – and other leadership figures like Matt Booty – are still in charge, given the brand’s failures over the past several years. We’ve heard Xbox president Sarah Bond talking about a new multi-year partnership with AMD across “a portfolio of devices,” including next-generation Xbox consoles, where one of the stated goals was to deliver “immersive gameplay and player experiences enhanced with the power of AI.”

However, Microsoft signed a deal with OpenAI in 2019, though Business Insider reported tensions between the two companies, casting some doubts on whether their partnership can last until 2030. That being said, Microsoft has still invested a whopping $13 billion into it thus far. All that money has to come from somewhere, and unfortunately, we may be seeing the result of that.

Of course, that still doesn’t excuse the current direction of Xbox – whatever that may currently be. Yes, Forza Horizon 5, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Sea of Thieves are successful on PlayStation 5. And while I was somewhat optimistic about Microsoft taking a multi-centric approach to offering its games on numerous platforms, I still don’t understand the whole “This is an Xbox” marketing campaign.

Or why the company had to tie up with Meta to release a $500 Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition in limited supplies when none of its titles supports VR. As great a deal as Game Pass has been for the company, it hasn’t seen anywhere near the level of growth in the past few years as when it first began. The amount that Microsoft is investing in it continues to grow, however, and even if it’s helping many players discover brand-new titles, the argument that it’s effectively cannibalizing first-party sales will never truly go away.

The industry as a whole has faced unprecedented instability since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, with layoffs regularly happening as early as 2023. As perhaps the biggest games publisher in the world, Microsoft is no stranger to mass cuts – look no further than 2014 when it cut 18,000 employees, though that primarily affected the Nokia division. And while it may have a pretty impressive line-up of titles to come, Laura Fryer, one of the founding members of the original Xbox team, recently said it best.

“What is the long-term plan? Where are the new hits? What will make people care about the Xbox 25 years from now?” She noted that with the 25th anniversary of Xbox approaching in 2026, perhaps it’s “the year that the fog will clear and all of us will see the beauty in these latest announcements.” Whether that will be the case or not, the dark cloud currently hanging over Microsoft and its Gaming Division isn’t going away any time soon.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Compulsion Games has confirmed that its recently released action-adventure title South of Midnight has crossed 1 million players since its release a little under a month ago. Speaking to Game Rant, the studio’s CEO Guillaume Provost said, “I can confidently say we’ve had more than a million players on South Midnight since its release.”

Interestingly, Provost went on to add that regardless of how South of Midnight has performed, Compulsion Games’ role within Xbox’s first-party portfolio isn’t to deliver blockbuster success, but instead craft experiences that help make Microsoft’s lineup more diverse.

“[Our role] is not to make blockbusters like Call of Duty, but to provide games that add distinctiveness, where we can either serve audiences that haven’t been served before or create projects that add diversity to the portfolio,” Provost said.

In our review of South of Midnight, we awarded it a score of 8/10, saying, “With an eye catching aesthetic, unique setting, and a refreshing lack of bloat, South of Midnight is an enjoyable narrative driven action-adventure romp of the type we get all too infrequently in the age of live services and open worlds.” Read the full review through here.

South of Midnight is available on Xbox Series X/S and PC, and is also available via Game Pass.

In a post on social media platform BlueSky, Piscatella shared charts showing off the most played games on all platforms across the US, Canada and Mexico: PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam (US), Steam (Canada), and Steam (Mexico). These charts measure active player counts for the week ending on April 12.

For the consoles, Call of Duty dominated the number one spot in terms of active players, followed by Fortnite. Things diverge from there onwards, however; where GTA 5 Remastered sits at number 3 for PlayStation, the spot on Xbox Series X/S is taken up by Minecraft.

Going further down the charts, South of Midnight sits at number 9 on Xbox, between Rainbow Six Siege at number 8 and EA Sports College Football 25 at number 10. When it comes to the top 15 played games on Steam, however, South of Midnight was unable to break through into the charts.

South of Midnight is a single-player action adventure game that takes place in the American Deep South. Players take on the role of Hazel – a young girl that has set out on a journey to become a Weaver. Along the way, Hazel has to deal with encounters based on different myths, as well as take on the forces of the Haints in order to survive and complete her journey.

The studio had previously explained that, with the story in South of Midnight, it didn’t want a “chosen one” narrative. At GDC 2025, writer Zaire Lanier spoke about creating the game’s narrative, saying that Hazel’s state of mind at the start of the game is “in this weird liminal space between [being] a kid and becoming an adult.”

According to Lanier, the game’s narrative works because of the idea that “anyone can be a Weaver, it’s something that the land will choose for you, when you’re in a time of deep need. So Hazel, when she’s chasing after her mom’s trailer in the hurricane, the land chooses her.”

“It’s kind of at random, she blinks and you can see the strands in the sky,” Lanier explained. “Weavers are able to see the fabric of the universe – we call it the grand tapestry – and they’re able to manipulate those strands to do various types of spells. Their mission is that they heal stigma in the land where bad things have happened.”

“[Weavers] are able to see into your traumas. They don’t fix your traumas for you, only you can do that, but they listen to your story, they see your story, they get to see those memories, and I think sometimes that’s what you need.”

South of Midnight is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S. The game is also available through PC and Xbox Game Pass. Check out our review for more details.

Circana Player Engagement Tracker – Top 15 Titles by Total Weekly Active Users (Not Concurrent) – W/E Apr 12, 2025- South of Midnight reaches 9th on Xbox- …not many other big changes at the top of the rankings tbh

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2025-04-21T12:58:40.825Z

Based in the American Deep South, the story sees Hazel on the journey to become a Weaver and fix the Grand Tapestry following the destruction of her hometown. This leads to encounters with various myths, though she must also battle enemies known as the Haints to survive. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the presentation is its visuals, which embrace a stop-motion-like style, though you can turn it off during combat and exploration.

South of Midnight retails for $39.99, with the story taking roughly 12 hours to complete (per HowLongToBeat). Check out our review – we gave it an eight out of ten, praising the presentation, story-telling and characters while criticizing the overall polish and Hazel’s constant talking.

You play as Hazel, a young woman living with her mother in the American Deep South town of Prospero, which finds itself caught in the middle of a raging hurricane. Disaster strikes early on in the game, and Hazel soon awakens to a mysterious magic known as Weaving, which she must put to use as she embarks on a quest to rescue and reunite with her mother, and heal the decaying land around her with her newfound powers. South of Midnight makes a strong impression with its setting and storytelling right off the bat, and there continue to lie some of its biggest strengths well past those early moments.

"South of Midnight makes a strong impression with its setting and storytelling right off the bat, and there continue to lie some of its biggest strengths well past those early moments."

Most impressive is the incredibly distinctive identity it carves out for itself. Blending its contemporary Deep South setting with local folklore and mythology, it crafts a gothic modern-day fairytale that instantly sets itself apart from anything else out there. From the gorgeous and highly detailed environments that you find yourself on throughout the course of Hazel’s journey to the wonderfully eccentric and quirky cast of characters, each of whom shines thanks to sharply written dialogue and excellent acting performances; from the monsters that you cross paths with to the storybook framing device the game adopts- South of Midnight keeps finding ways to highlight its key strengths, and more often than not, does so in a way that feels very different from most other story-driven action adventure games.

Games inspired by the Deep South that highlight its folklore, culture, and everything about it this constantly and proudly are few and far in between, which means South of Midnight manages to stand out from the crowd in this department. It does still have some flaws of note- Hazel, for instance, clearly got the “I’m an action-adventure protagonist who has to comment on everything in sight” memo. She’s talking to herself constantly and refuses to shut up, which means she got on my nerves more than a few times, even though she is otherwise a fun and charming protagonist. Even so, with its many notable storytelling strengths, it more than makes up for its few writing-related flaws.

Another area where South of Midnight instantly catches the eye is with its visuals. It uses a highly stylized art style that fits perfectly with its modern fairytale framework and folklore-infused setting, and combines it with a stop-motion animation style that helps it stand out even more. Whether you’re moving through its stunningly crafted environments or watching its lovingly directed cutscenes, South of Midnight is wonderful to witness, both in motion and otherwise. Its stop-motion animation style might prove distracting to some in gameplay – personally, I didn’t mind it once I’d gotten used to it – but the game does give you the option to turn that effect off outside of cutscenes.

"South of Midnight uses a highly stylized art style that fits perfectly with its modern fairytale framework and folklore-infused setting, and combines it with a stop-motion animation style that helps it stand out even more."

Where it shows ambition and unbridled creativity in the narrative and visual departments, on the gameplay front, South of Midnight is happy to chart a well-trodden path. Close your eyes and picture a linear, third-person action-adventure game with a mix of melee and magical combat, some light exploration and progression mechanics, and a focus on nimble and parkour-based traversal, and you probably already have a pretty good idea of what you’re signing up for. South of Midnight doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but ends up being anywhere between serviceable and forgettable to legitimately fun and solid in most areas of note.

When the game starts out, the gameplay feels maybe a little bit too simplistic and straightforward, but over the course of its opening a couple of hours, it briskly introduces one simple gameplay mechanic on top of another that are all fairly simplistic tropes by themselves, but are used in combination pretty effectively. Light and heavy attacks in combat, dodges rolls and perfect dodges, telekinetic abilities that let you push and pull enemies and things in the environment- mechanics like these (and others) are the kind that you have seen in a multitude of games in the past, but though South of Midnight doesn’t use them in any way that feels too different or extraordinary, it does get the basics right.

What that means is that gameplay, though it’s never breathtaking by any means, can often be more engaging than you might expect if all you had played of the game was its first hour or so. Levels are pretty condensed and the environments you find yourself in are never too sprawling, but South of Midnight’s light exploration elements remain fairly compelling throughout. Progression is pretty standard and, if I’m being blunt, unimaginative, but it does just enough to make you care at least a little bit about the next upgrade you’ll unlock, if not the one after that.

"More than a few times in recent years, we’ve collectively lamented the death of the so-called AA action-adventure game, so to see one as distinct as South of Midnight is heartening."

Combat can be surprisingly fun when you’re taking on multiple enemies of different types at once, weaving together different abilities while dishing out your own attacks. Particularly enjoyable is the traversal. Once again, it brings together familiar elements like ledge climbing, wall running, and what have you, and that moveset remains largely fun to use across the game’s runtime. Both combat and traversal can sometimes feel a bit rough around the edges at times due to the occasional instance of clunky movement, unresponsive inputs, or iffy hit detection, but by and large, South of Midnight is a fun and well-functioning gameplay experience.

In the gameplay department, what stands out most about South of Midnight is how much it feels like a throwback game, specifically where its design style and sensibilities are concerned. More than a few times in recent years, we’ve collectively lamented the death of the so-called AA action-adventure game, so to see one as distinct as South of Midnight is heartening, to say the very least- not least because it’s coming from a major AAA first-party publisher. It’s not often that we get a dozen-hour-long single-player story-driven game that wastes no time with semi-open world maps, skill trees, multiplayer elements or what have you, and South of Midnight deserves recognition not just for being just that, but being a really good version of that.

With strong writing, memorable characters, stylish visuals, great music, and an excellent setting, South of Midnight pumps itself full of personality and carves out a unique identity for itself, while with its combat mechanics, progression system, traversal, and light exploration, it sticks largely to the status quo, perhaps even to the point of being unambitious. In the end, when those two halves combine, what we get is a brisk and enjoyable game that leaves a stamp on you one way or another. South of Midnight is the sort of game that feels like a victory for the medium simply by existing in exactly the form that it does.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X. 

According to Lanier, Hazel’s state of mind is “in this weird liminal space between [being] a kid and becoming an adult.” Lanier also says that Hazel is a normal kid focused on finding her mother, and that she is “not a superhero.”

Lanier said that the revolving the game’s story about Hazel being a weaver worked better than having a “chosen one” narrative because the studio liked the idea that “anyone can be a Weaver, it’s something that the land will choose for you, when you’re in a time of deep need. So Hazel, when she’s chasing after her mom’s trailer in the hurricane, the land chooses her.”

“It’s kind of at random, she blinks and you can see the strands in the sky,” Lanier explained. “Weavers are able to see the fabric of the universe – we call it the grand tapestry – and they’re able to manipulate those strands to do various types of spells. Their mission is that they heal stigma in the land where bad things have happened.”

“[Weavers] are able to see into your traumas. They don’t fix your traumas for you, only you can do that, but they listen to your story, they see your story, they get to see those memories, and I think sometimes that’s what you need.”

South of Midnight is coming to PC and Xbox Series X/S on April 8. The title is seemingly on track for this release date, since the studio announced earlier today that it has gone gold. This essentially means that the primary development on South of Midnight has been completed, and that a copy of its build has been sent to platform owners for all the certification that is typically required for a game launch on consoles.

While the majority of the development work on South of Midnight might be done, the studio is likely still working on the game behind the scenes. This work will then be released in the form of day one and post-launch updates that likely fix any major bugs that made it through the QA process.

PC players looking forward to play South of Midnight can check out the hardware requirements revealed back in January. The title’s hardware requirements are relatively reasonable, with the recommended settings needing either an Intel i5-7600K or an AMD Ryzen 5 1600X CPU, either an Nvidia GeForce GTX 2060, an Intel Arc A580, or an AMD Radeon RX 6600 GPU, and 16 GB of RAM.

Players interested in getting their hands on South of Midnight before its release date can pre-order the Premium Edition of the game, which comes with 5 days of early access, along with the game’s soundtrack, a digital art book, and a digital comic book.