South of Midnight (PS5) Review: Deep South Action Game Is Gorgeous

March has been a busy month for PS5 owners, and it ends with the arrival of another first-party Xbox game. The latest PlayStation 5 title from Xbox Game Studios is Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight. A winner at The Game Awards 2025 and at the 29th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, which features an intriguing fictional version of the Deep South, PS5 owners will want to check out the action-adventure game.

The first thing that players will notice about South of Midnight is its fantastic animation. Compulsion, which previously did Contrast and We Happy Few, is no stranger to making a striking game visually, but this is the studio’s most ambitious to date. It features a unique look that emulates stop-motion animation during cutscenes, and it is an incredible sight. The gameplay itself is also gorgeous, featuring great art design for its world and its demon-like “Haint” enemies. It’s really a visual delight from start to finish.

Combat is also quite fun, as you use a pair of hooks to damage foes and string together combo attacks. Gameplay is fast-paced, forcing you to pay full attention as you’ll have to dodge away from strikes. There’s also magic that helps you manage the swarms of foes you can encounter in combat arenas, as making sure you don’t get overwhelmed is key. One of the most fun mechanics is the ability to unravel a downed foe, which allows you to perform a finishing move and gain back some HP in the process. The fights can get a bit repetitive as the game goes on, but a really solid core keeps it from ever becoming unfun.

Smartly, South of Midnight also never overstays its welcome. It takes around 12 hours to beat, and the story constantly propels itself forward with interesting characters and a mythological-heavy version of the South that is fun to experience. I also have to acknowledge actors Adriyan Rae and Cynthia K. McWilliams, who do a great job of establishing a mother-daughter relationship that serves as the heart of the story.

The PS5 port comes with a full suite of accessibility options, ranging from tweaking the HUD to navigation assistance and motion sickness deterrents. As for combat, there are multiple difficulty modes, so if you just want to experience its story, you can just do that. In fact, there are actual combat and boss skip options that can be toggled, allowing you to skip encounters entirely. I’d recommend playing on one of the harder difficulties, as the gameplay winds up being more rewarding that way, but it’s always great to have a wide range of options.

South of Midnight (PS5) Review: Final Verdict

South of Midnight features a well-told and gorgeously animated story that is worth experiencing. Its mythological Deep South setting is a joy to see depicted so lovingly, and its unique combat keeps the game fun. While it’s not Xbox’s best PS5 outing, as it can get slightly repetitive, action-adventure game fans will want to check it out.