Compulsion Games announcedSouth of Midnight, its next project that’s presumably been in development since the Canadian studio launchedWe Happy Fewin 2018. The reveal was part of the June 11Xbox Games Showcase that also featured in-game footage ofFableand the announcement of a newFallout 76Expedition, among dozens of other unveilings.South of Midnightis only Compulsion’s third-ever game, but the studio’s puzzle-platformerContrastandBioShock-like FPSWe Happy Fewalready generated enough buzz for Xbox Games Studios to acquire it back in 2018. Since then, the only insight into the company’s activities came as part of a late 2021 report thatsuggested theWe Happy Fewdeveloper is working on a dark fantasy game.RELATED:New Avowed Gameplay Revealed, Coming Day One to Game Pass in 2024Today’s announcement ofSouth of Midnightseemingly confirms that rumor, not least because the game’s two-minute teaser ends with a giant monster shadow looming over its protagonist in a swampy Southern setting. Beforehand, the video opens on what looks like a giant corpse playingDeath Don’t Have No Mercyby Blind Gary Davis on a guitar. So, even thoughSouth of Midnight’sart style seems reminiscent of Tim Burton’s stop-motion animation, it would appear that the atmosphere of Compulsion’s next game will also draw from both gospel blues and Southern Gothic fantasy.
TheSouth of Midnightteaser was CGI-only, which seemingly contradicteda recent promise from Xbox Games Marketing VP Aaron Greenberg, who said that there will be no such trailers from first-party Xbox studios at today’s showcase. And while the video didn’t reveal much about the game, Xbox subsequently shared a few more details about Compulsion’s upcoming project.
It’s hence been confirmed thatSouth of Midnightwill be a third-person action adventure starring Hazel, a heroine on a mission to capture a variety of “supernatural creatures” that found their way to her world. David Sears, the game’s creative director, describedSouth of Midnightas “an honest love letter” to the American South, a setting that he feels is underrepresented in gaming. Since the Canadian studio made no indication to the contrary, it’s plausible thatSouth of Midnightwill either feature linear levels or a semi-open world akin toWe Happy Few.
The game’s title is possibly a reference toSomewhere South of Midnight, a horror fiction novel by Stephen Laws. The 2012 book tells the story of seven survivors that emerge from a mysterious traffic accident in the middle of nowhere unscathed, but “somehow different,” as per its official description. Whether that plot has anything to do withSouth of Midnight’spremise remains to be seen, but it could definitely fit a setup of a dark fantasy game set in the American South. While many of today’s Xbox Games Showcase reveals likethePersona 3 Reloadannouncementcame with tentative availability information attached,South of Midnighthas yet to be treated to a release window.
South of Midnightis in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
