South of Midnight’s Exploration is Simple But Effective

As its name suggests, combat is only one half of the action-adventure genre’s identity. It’s not enough to have punchy melee mechanics or responsive shooting controls, an action-adventure game needs to feature an engaging world to explore, and it needs to make sure that players are given plenty of fun tools to traverse that world. Thankfully, South of Midnight knows this well.

The latest title from Compulsion Games – and the first one under the Xbox Game Studios banner – South of Midnight is a folklore-inspired action-adventure game that sees players take control of Hazel, a young woman who’s just discovered she has supernatural Weaving abilities. Along with using these newly discovered powers to combat ghostly Haints, Hazel uses her Weaving magic to help her traverse South of Midnight‘s dreamlike world. And though those exploration mechanics won’t blow anyone away, they’re exactly what the game needs them to be.

South of Midnight Southern Folklore Inspirations Mythological Creatures Huggin Molly 1

8 Monsters In South of Midnight That Were Inspired By Real Folklore

South of Midnight is inspired by traditional Southern folklore, especially in the backstories and designs of these eight mythological creatures.

South of Midnight’s Exploration Isn’t Groundbreaking, And That’s Okay

South of Midnight’s Exploration Doesn’t Get in the Way

In many open-ended action-adventure games, exploration will often have players venturing far beyond the beaten path in order to find resources, secret areas, and an assortment of other hidden goodies. This quest for optional loot can be a fairly long and even arduous one if the game’s map is too large.

South of Midnight avoids this issue entirely, keeping its exploration confined and concise. Though there are a handful of slightly larger areas, most of South of Midnight‘s runtime sees players making their way through quite narrow spaces, often only having one or two branching paths that end after just a few meters. As such, it doesn’t take long for players to explore these condensed areas fully.

South of Midnight‘s level design also clearly highlights these optional paths by placing them on the way to the main objective. While traveling on the golden path, players will be able to spot Floof Clusters or other upgrade materials in the distance, and will be naturally encouraged to go off the beaten path and acquire them. One of South of Midnight‘s best qualities is its snappy pacing, and the game’s exploration does its very best to not get in the way of that.

South of Midnight’s Exploration Is Consistently Rewarding

Along with feeling like a natural part of the game’s pacing, South of Midnight‘s exploration also feels consistently rewarding. Almost every time the player leaves the golden path they’re rewarded with genuinely useful upgrade materials, and given the short length of each optional route, these upgrade materials are found within quick succession of one another, fueling a constant sense of progression.

The journey to get South of Midnight‘s optional rewards is also often a fun one, requiring players to use a handful of the game’s vibrantly-animated traversal abilities to reach them. These platforming challenges are never too difficult, and the platforming mechanics themselves aren’t overly innovative, but it’s still an enjoyable and brief change of pace from the game’s combat and cutscenes.

Exploration sequences also allow players to summon Crouton, South of Midnight‘s adorable little patchwork doll sidekick. Brought to life by magic, Hazel’s childhood companion now serves as the player’s way to access underground caverns and to reach distant areas, and it’s always a highlight to see his cute animations and hear his silly mumbles.