Oh! We finished South of Midnight last night! Some short notes:
Story is 10/10! Looked up the writer, it's a Black person, figured! I really enjoyed the way it explored stress, mourning, trauma, expression of pain, and growth. That nothing is ever so cut and dry, black and white, and able to be judged as such. Beautiful, enthralling writing. It's still fuck Bunny Flood, though. Hazel better than me 😭
The character and world design? 10/10! BEAUTIFULLY done. Dare I say it, it's up there on the list in terms of games I've played. I loved how this world looked. So many small details full of information. I can't stand a large, open world that's full of nothing, and this was the polar opposite of that. It shows that the people on the team really researched the culture and history they were depicting and treated it with such respect. Adored it. And Hazel's designs? It's so nice.
It's a side note, but I loved how Hazel was an example of a Black biracial child that actually looked... Unambiguously Black. So often when Black biracial people are cast in things, they choose the lightest skinned, thinnest textured, lightest eyed person they can find. Meanwhile, biracial folks can look like anything. Because human genes aren't as predictable as pea pod genes. It's nice to see that there's the range of looks and not just the Same Desired Look.
The music, and particularly how it was used to tell the story? 10/10!!!!!!! Oh that was so unique. Especially because it's implied she can sort of hear it, in game. The hooks singing the proper melodies as you use them. A literal Greek chorus used to tell a Southern Gothic story. Altamaha-Ha was my favorite one, though Roux was also a joy. Yeah, this was something that now I'll probably find myself thinking about when I play other games.
Gameplay itself I'd say is a 8/10. That's not a bad thing! I do think the story was far more important to the game and prioritized. Tbh, I think that's always the better choice. And the way one could use the weapons and tools is SO very cool. But the battles could be a little redundant, and not necessarily threatening at any point even through the end 😅 it felt beat-em-up.
That said, if you're like me and that's all you wanna do anyway, if you're not trying to think that hard and you just wanna swing at haints so you can get back to the plot, then that's perfectly fine 👍🏾 But I'm sure some people would find it a little mid.
Overall, South of Midnight is a 9.5/10 for me!!! 2025 was the year of the Blues, it seems!!
