South of Midnight reaches over 1 million players less than a month after launch.
![L*][*N*K](/data/avatars/m/842/842515.jpg?1750247637){kind=avatar}
L*][*N*K
Member
And why their affiliation with this game hurt it?
I finished the game today; it was a great experience with way better writing and nuance than I was expecting. Hazel's voice actress and the acting throughout were all stellar and the gameplay was very serviceable for the length and variety it had.
8.5/10
+ The art style and fidelity on Xbox Series X was incredible
+ Solid performance at a very crisp resolution and near locked 60fps
+ Story was laid out organically and naturally with convincing performances all around
+ Gameplay and combat did exactly what it needed to do in the mostly-tightly-designed levels
- But the gameplay variety peaked midway through
- And the game had to be that perfect 12-ish hour length, because it would have outstayed its welcome if it was any longer
I am excited for what Compulsion will build next, but next for me - I cannot fucking wait for Expedition 33. Starting it tomorrow morning!
8.5/10
+ The art style and fidelity on Xbox Series X was incredible
+ Solid performance at a very crisp resolution and near locked 60fps
+ Story was laid out organically and naturally with convincing performances all around
+ Gameplay and combat did exactly what it needed to do in the mostly-tightly-designed levels
- But the gameplay variety peaked midway through
- And the game had to be that perfect 12-ish hour length, because it would have outstayed its welcome if it was any longer
I am excited for what Compulsion will build next, but next for me - I cannot fucking wait for Expedition 33. Starting it tomorrow morning!
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Alan Wake
Member
Just think about that it took them six and a half years from the launch of We Happy Few to the launch of South of Midnight. If Xbox decides to keep the studio as it is we may have to wait a while...
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Ok finished the game myself today.
It was surprising in a number of ways (positive and negative) but overall, about what I'd hoped for in terms of length (I really didn't want anything longer than this) and in more ways than one feeling like a revisiting of PS2 era of adventure platformers (there's more than just surface similarities to the likes of Primal in here), which was nice for a change.
+ Soundtrack was outstanding, one of the best in recent decade IMO.
+ Voice work and general performances are great too.
+ Protagonist that doesn't get in the way - she's a part of the story, and even the 'chosen one' element is underplayed to make way for just having the character stand on her own. Noteable absence of any 'girlboss' elements from the narrative or actor performance as well.
+ No world saving nonsense in the story, personal stakes that actually work.
+ Surprisingly solid performance (on PC, 4080) - neither traversal nor shader stuttering were an issue that I've noticed.
+/- Combat and traversal are basically just filler to tell the story. It's not the worst thing, but it's rather forgettable that way.
- Tech choices that get in the way - a lot. Some if it is just bizarre choices - like who thought it would be a good idea to have a game set mostly in areas with large-bodies of water use SSR - it seriously ruins what would otherwise be a nice looking title.
- Temporal stability is abysmal even outside of screen-space artifacts - LOD management when the game opens up is some of the worst I've seen in a long time. If you remember people complaining about 'Rage' texture pop-in when moving the camera, imagine that, but extend it to all of geometry as well.
- Whenever we're not in a cutscene, it just has that distinct Unreal look (and not in a good way). The promise of claymation look early promos had, is kind of lost for majority of the game, and that opening CG looks nothing like the game either. It's perhaps too ambitious - but still, I was really looking forward to more of that, and less... well whatever we got.
Not rating this as it only matters if you played both games - but SoS does nothing to help itself by straight up copying large parts of Kena (mechanically, and thematically), as it just comes across as worse version of the same thing.
It was surprising in a number of ways (positive and negative) but overall, about what I'd hoped for in terms of length (I really didn't want anything longer than this) and in more ways than one feeling like a revisiting of PS2 era of adventure platformers (there's more than just surface similarities to the likes of Primal in here), which was nice for a change.
+ Soundtrack was outstanding, one of the best in recent decade IMO.
+ Voice work and general performances are great too.
+ Protagonist that doesn't get in the way - she's a part of the story, and even the 'chosen one' element is underplayed to make way for just having the character stand on her own. Noteable absence of any 'girlboss' elements from the narrative or actor performance as well.
+ No world saving nonsense in the story, personal stakes that actually work.
+ Surprisingly solid performance (on PC, 4080) - neither traversal nor shader stuttering were an issue that I've noticed.
+/- Combat and traversal are basically just filler to tell the story. It's not the worst thing, but it's rather forgettable that way.
- Tech choices that get in the way - a lot. Some if it is just bizarre choices - like who thought it would be a good idea to have a game set mostly in areas with large-bodies of water use SSR - it seriously ruins what would otherwise be a nice looking title.
- Temporal stability is abysmal even outside of screen-space artifacts - LOD management when the game opens up is some of the worst I've seen in a long time. If you remember people complaining about 'Rage' texture pop-in when moving the camera, imagine that, but extend it to all of geometry as well.
- Whenever we're not in a cutscene, it just has that distinct Unreal look (and not in a good way). The promise of claymation look early promos had, is kind of lost for majority of the game, and that opening CG looks nothing like the game either. It's perhaps too ambitious - but still, I was really looking forward to more of that, and less... well whatever we got.
Not rating this as it only matters if you played both games - but SoS does nothing to help itself by straight up copying large parts of Kena (mechanically, and thematically), as it just comes across as worse version of the same thing.
