The first
Xbox Game Studios release of April is debuting today in the form of
South of Midnight, which releases in early access for those who are willing to pay an upgrade fee. And so, as a result, the reviews have just landed for it!
Here at Pure Xbox,
we gave South of Midnight an "Excellent" 9/10 in our review, praising it as a game that has "so much soul, personality and charm that it's hard not to fall in love with it". You can read our review elsewhere on the website:
But what about everyone else? We've put together a roundup of South of Midnight reviews so you can get an idea of what the critics are saying, so let's take a look at some of these impressions!
Here's what the reviews are saying about Xbox's South of Midnight:
I was engrossed with the storybook visuals, the well-delivered narrative and the satisfying traversal from start to finish, and I really can't recommend this one enough on Xbox Game Pass. Those of you that are more combat-first may not take a shining to this game quite as much as I have, but if you're looking for an engaging adventure that delivers soulful stories in spades, South of Midnight shouldn't be missed.
The latest from Canadian developer Compulsion Games is one of the few games that I’ve played to capture the profound feeling of being granted access to such a cultural history—full of ghosts real and imagined—and making it accessible to all.
With a thoughtful message, soulful world, and beautifully imaginative design to push things along, Compulsion delivers a classic adventure seemingly beyond their weight class with South of Midnight. It’s the exact, elusive story-driven diamond in the rough that Xbox has been in search of for generations now.
South of Midnight is a straightforward but well-executed action-adventure game on the surface, with a simple but satisfying mix of combat and platforming. It’s focused, filling out its 12-hour runtime nicely without ever dragging or relying on unnecessary padding. Beyond those basics, however, is a certain heart and artistry that elevates the whole package, inviting you to peer into the deep American South through its folklore, nature, and culture.
It doesn't exactly wow with its combat and platforming, but these parts of the game are mechanically sound, and South of Midnight's memorable characters, incredible visuals, and catchy soundtrack are so strong that it doesn't really matter that the gameplay is just decent.
South of Midnight comes out swinging with an incredible story, but the gameplay just isn’t there to back it up. If you love a good story and an awesome soundtrack, it’s still worth a look.
Familiarity soon fades into monotony across nine of its 14 chapters, though it's hard to stay bored when South of Midnight's world is such a smooth and effortless joy to explore. The result is a spellbinding tale that struggles to find its rhythm, but once found, absolutely sings.
This is a game of just remarkable craft - we've not even mentioned the stop-motion style of animation! It's lovely - and likewise remarkable attention, thought, and care. If only just a little more of that care had been afforded to the playing of it.
South of Midnight is a gorgeous adventure with wonderful performances, striking visuals and solid platforming gameplay. Its combat, however, is repetitive and reductive in equal measure, letting the overall package down considerably.
It's still early days for the
Metacritic average, but South of Midnight seems to be settling around the
75 mark as things stand, while its
OpenCritic average is higher at
80. We liked it more than the majority, then!
If you're keen to start playing South of Midnight immediately, you can do so - either with the Premium Edition or the
cheap Premium Upgrade that's intended for
Xbox Game Pass members. Alternatively, if you're happy to wait until
South of Midnight's main release date of April 8th, it'll be available on Game Pass for console, PC and cloud on that day.
