[h1] Touching and Unresponsive [/h1]
A small preface: this is not some review bomb from a Microslop hater. You can check my playtime, my achievements, to see that I have went through the game rather thoroughly.
South of Midnight occupies this awkward spot between AAA blockbusters, with thousands of man-hours and millions of green bills poured into it, with a matching price-tag attached to it; where you expect (and frequently fail to receive) the quality fitting the RSP. Games designed by a committee and PR department, with any "friction" sanded off in an attempt to satisfy the widest possible audience. And, on the other side of the spectrum, small indie productions, where jank and imperfect UX might be overlooked, as you feel the love and dedication poured into that game in buckets. South of Midnight carries this passion and vision in its palm - as its glaring problems. Which, under different circumstances, might be forgiven… but then it also has the “Xbox Games Studios” label attached to it, sort of generating a different set of expectations in regards to its execution. It is a perfect “Double A” game.
And, in a parallel universe, I probably would climb and make my stand on the hill of “there is a place for AA titles” stance, praising the vision of smaller studios under the not-so-protective umbrella of huge corporations. Trying to be as objective as possible, I need to admit South of Midnight is at least a 7/10 product; and, thanks to its own uniqueness, should deserve at least a “buy on sale” recommendation. Soooo why the negative review?
First, let me shower some praise. This game has a most charming (and perhaps somewhat peculiar) art direction. The graphics are - for the calling price - quite gorgeous, with the art style not too dissimilar from that of “We Happy Few” (read: lanky human shapes, exaggerated facial features, saturated colours). The soundtrack is pretty spectacular, while sound direction has already received numerous compliments. All this together merges to create a real love letter towards the so-called “Deep South” of the US, blending various different tropes, biomes, legendariums into a one, 10-15h adventure, wrapped in a “we have Horizon Zero Dawn at home” clothes.
If that comment above sounds sassy…it kind of was supposed to be. South of Midnight shares plenty with the modern take on “adventure / exploration” games, more than just its female protagonist that. simply. can’t. shut. up. sometimes. It is in no way an open world though, and the player progression is limited to a rather simple set of 4 spells and one “general” skilltree. The maps are rather linear, with some hidden exploration; there is some climbing (surprisingly - not using the dreaded “yellow paint”), double-jumping, mandatory para-gliding and even a wee companion to do our bidding. All this is undeveloped compared to its better contemporaries, and rather serves as a simple set-piece for the aforementioned love-letter to the setting, to the protagonist’s story and her adventure.
The thing is… this adventure is fraught with plenty of frustration. Somewhat boring level design, rather repetitive combat and uninspired boss fights were mentioned in the reviews before. But for me the biggest sin of them all are [b] the. most. clunky [/b] controls and camera work I have experienced in the last couple of years. Combat is the biggest victim of it all. There are games, where “action” takes the backseat, compared to a given game story, vibe, art. Yet it is still palatable. Here, it is actually a source of friction, where spotting the next combat area makes one sigh “oh no, not again”. The game apparently has some hidden dice throwing mechanism, deciding when it will react to your prompts, and when it will not. “Oh, did you hit E wishing to untangle that enemy? Bad luck, try again. Oh, I am sorry, I cast the spell instead”. “Oh, you wanted to take control over THAT enemy? Heh, no joy, I targeted this one instead. Should have camera-locked on it instead, sucker! What’s that? That fixed camera is janky and half of the time blocks half of the screen with something else? Well, tough luck boyo”. Well, eefff you too game.
Those little splinters get under your skin as the game progresses; and they are not limited to combat alone, affecting exploration as well, or even finding lore tidbits, that sometimes cant be clicked until you stand in precisely THAT one spot. Worst of all, they sour the overall experience. South of Midnight has some pretty beautiful moments; it can hit you right in the feels. But then it all dissipated like a dream in the morning, because I had to again suffer through some combat encounter; or spend 30 seconds wiggling around a crevasse, until the game allowed me to squeeze through it.
The thing is - continuing with that splinter metaphor, at some point they start festering and infecting the space around them. I realized myself after a while that I started being more critical about other parts of the game - like the story, main character, simply because I felt jarred by the other side of this experience. And that is the biggest shame, since the other aspects of this game do deserve praise. Yet, something has failed, failed big-time in the overall game direction. I cannot say whether it is a skill-issue, a budget shortage, unbreakable deadlines; or all things combined. But at the end, someone has looked at this game and decided “its good for release as it is, customer experience be damned”. That someone, I presume, is Xbox Games.
And because of that - I leave a negative review. Its not a vote of no confidence towards Compulsion Games; in all honesty, I would love to see more stories from that setting, be it with Hazel Flood or without her at the helm. And I am aware that this game has underperformed, most likely negating any chances for a sequel, so leaving a “negative” review is rather counter-productive (as if Phil Spen… pardon, Asha Sharma would be reading individual Steam reviews). Yet, there comes a certain expectation towards a game released under a specific brand. But even worse - I cannot forgive having a rather splendid experience in regards to the world-building, art direction etc., getting spoiled by simple, 2000’s era frustrations with controls and camera work. If Steam would allow it, most likely I would leave a “mixed” review. Since it does not - it is a “thumbs down” one, but with a hearty wish, that Compulsion gets better… as do their corporate overlords.
