Unraveling The Pain: South of Midnight Review

Trauma lives in the soul, it spreads and causes each breath and part of a person to be strained, and pulled in different directions. South of Midnight showcases trauma and personifies it, making it a monster to defeat.  From fixing the broken to experiencing hers and everyone else’s trauma, Hazel takes her pain and weaves it into something beautiful, into something that helps others. Bottling up pain:             The rippling effect of pain is a common theme in South of Midnight, affecting Hazel and each person she helps along the way. This is a story of love, trauma, childhood abuse, and putting someone back together so they can start to heal again. During my time with South of Midnight there was a definitive heaviness surrounding the game that made the story incredibly powerful to witness.  This game won’t be for everyone based on the fact of just how much trauma surrounds the characters and how the story is presented to the player. With heavy themes of child abuse and adult trauma in general you need to have a conversation with yourself if this is the right game for you in the present moment.             I loved how the story approached the empathy that Hazel shows to everyone she helps.  Hazel’s goal is to find her mother, along the way she has to heal those in need of it.  As a driving factor of the game, she needs to help people before finally helping herself, going through and aiding characters like Benjy, Two-Toed-Tom, and Huggin' Molly. “Stigma’s what happens when the pain turns rotten,” necrosis of the heart, mind, and soul start to form when pain is the only thing present, and South of Midnight does an excellent job conveying how healing is a necessity for growth to occur and take over the stigma preventing a wound from healing.  Taking Flight:             The mechanics of South of Midnight are whimsical and fun, from using your needles to unravel the pain in Haints, to platforming, and taking flight far above the setting sun.   The mechanics aren’t anything new but they are utilized in such a way that brought the story to life. The platforming in this game is so much fun, and flying from point to point was exhilarating because I know how clumsy I am and just making it to the other side is an accomplishment in itself. The thing I found to be rather annoying was the camera when flying from point to point or in the wind tunnels. I found myself re-adjusting the camera to avoid the barbs or falling.              Haints, like trauma, come in different varieties giving the player something interesting to battle. These are the common enemies in the game that are fought in order to clear stigma. What’s fascinating is that Haints aren’t around along the way or when Hazel is randomly walking around, they are there for a specific purpose to guide the story along. Whether it’s using Crouton to possess one of the Haints to make battling a group of them easier, or utilizing your tools in the many ways to fight them know that the story of Haints runs much deeper than a common enemy you fight in South of  Midnight. History is this game’s strength:             From Haints to Two-Toed-Tom this game is based on mythical creatures from the South, which adds to the richness of story this game exudes. Utilizing folklore from the deep South to paint a story-rich picture is why South of Midnight is my personal game of the year. It takes mythology from the lives of real people and implements it within a game, giving it substance. Haints are a part of the cultural traditions of the Deep South, particularly the Gullah Geechee community. A Haint is a ghost or malevolent spirit that seeks to steal or harm naughty children, Two-Toed-Tom originated in the 1920s when a 14-foot alligator would regularly eat farmers' livestock, men, and women. There are so many more bits and stories from the South that coat the world of South of Midnight making the history of the South this game’s greatest asset. A very human game:             The way South of Midnight presented itself was raw and honest; this game while short exists in the world as a stunning reminder of empathy and just how powerful helping another person is. I loved every moment of this game, from the Jazz that played when I was fighting the Haints at the very end of the game, to the unfiltered humanity that was present throughout the story. Every character we meet is dealing with something traumatic something they have to come to terms with. The music in this game encapsulates the feelings and emotions of the characters in each area, sometimes it's happy-go-lucky, sometimes it’s bitter and sad. Music has a way of showcases emotions better than words ever could, which is why South of Midnight also does extremely well in telling a story through the score that is heard in the game.

           With the balance of the music, the psychology, Southern folklore, and a deeply emotional story Compulsion Games created a title that is filled with love and care. Each thing, each moment in this game is meticulously done, nothing was an afterthought. Weaving the strands of a broken soul is no easy task, especially when one of the souls that are broken is causing the most problems. South of Midnight is a lesson to the gaming industry that, sometimes you don’t need a 100+ hour game or an adventure that ends in guns a blazing, and chaos. Sometimes the best games and the ones with the heaviest messages and meanings are the shortest ones.