Xbox’s ‘South Of Midnight’ Is Renewing My Faith In Video Games

The games industry has seen a lot of strife in recent years, namely in the form of mass lay-offs, unfathomable studio shutterings and the seemingly unwillingness (at least by out-of-touch higher-ups) to seriously invest in any project that isn’t a dull, predictable sequel or a live service money-printing monstrosity.

However! There’s some light at the end of this dark digital tunnel—possibly.

[MrDead]

"The games industry has seen a lot of strife in recent years, namely in the form of mass lay-offs, unfathomable studio shuttering" ... A big part thanks Microsoft's industry consolidation, but do carry on kissing their behind Forbes.

[Cacabunga]

So good looking..

[Obscure_Observer]

Looks fantastic!

The art style, the stop-motion cutscenes, fluid and smooth gameplay and combat at the top of gorgeous deep south´s biomes and cultural influence is just brilliant.

Compulsion Games is definitely one of the most creative studios at XGS right now.

Here´s hoping MS won´t f* with them like they did to Tango.

[S2Killinit]

Looks ok. Not great, but ok. As long as the story is good, its all groovy.

[4Sh0w]

Sounds fanboy-ish. I never get to high or low about gaming. The doom n gloom is always blown out of proportion. I don't cry for *great devs, they are always in short supply, so one companies loss is another companies win. As long as there are gamers with a coin in their pocket there will be new games for sale. We should all want better for this industry BUT gamers are waaay to sensitive to every little bump in the road. Honestly if you just buy what you like (or sub it, lol) then more goodness will keep coming, unless of course it's not profitable but OK that's life, supply & demand.

[Tacoboto]

That's not the fault of Compulsion, the developers of this.

And it's not like Sony (in their most-profitable generation ever) is avoiding layoffs or studio closures either.

[MrDead]

Never said it was, I just found it funny that MS firing thousands and closing Tango is being praised here.

[Tacoboto]

Reported for Spam.

That's a delusional take and you cannot legitimately believe they've even once been praised for that.

[DaCajun]

There needs to be a "fanboy troll" flag review button on this site.

Nothing worse than comments from fanboy trolls that go into articles for games or platforms that they have no interest in playing or buying just to spread their biased hate and ignorance.

[itsmebryan]

@MrDead

So, it's Microsoft's fault that Sony
or anyone else closes studios, lays off people, and canceled games. I couldn't figure it out until you explained it .
Thanks

Thanks

[milohighclub]

Blame everything on m$

[MrDead]

Spending almost $80 billion to consolidate a massive part of the industry, having to fire thousands and close down one of your most celebrated studios because of greed is very much the fault of MS... oh and lets not forget no new games come form MS mergers but we have lost some because of it.

Lay all the praise on the devs but MS and Xbox deserve zero.

[DiRtY]

So is MS to blame for Bungie / Sony layoffs?
Epic Games layoffs?
EA layoffs?

Jesus, stop it.

[Pepsi_Man3000]

Always me me chuckle seeing people say "X game is restoring my faith in games. It's not like the usual stuff. It's creative and risky" etc etc. Like I get it. It's always great to see something new, creative, uncommon. But it just seems odd how they make it sound like games like this just hardly exist anymore. We still get plenty of these kinds of games

[Zeref]

Different people will have different reactions. Maybe they didn't play any game that is like South of Midnight.

I have had this same reaction when I played Ori for the first time. But I haven't played Hollow Knight for example and that's supposedly similar. Maybe other people felt the same with Hollow Knight.

[ravens52]

Seems a lot like Kena. Looks like a great game and I want to play it. But no, it's not doing anything new from what I saw.

[rlow1]

I think you miss the point, it’s not that it brings anything completely new in terms of gameplay. But the art style and the cultural undertones of a New Orleans style characters. Makes for a new IP that looks refreshingly different from anything leader out there.

[darthv72]

someone on youtube called it Bayounetta... clever. It does look interesting though.

[robtion]

I like the art style. A little concerned about how the story and tone might turn out as Sweet Baby Inc is involved in developing it. That seems like a bit of a red flag.
SBi
'We worked on: Story development, Scriptwriting, Cultural & Character Consultation'

[MontyeKristo]

Who are they and why is it a concern to you?

[repsahj]

More like Kena made by DreamWorks rather than Pixar. XD

[crazyCoconuts]

From the trailer doesn't seem like my kinda game

[Friendlygamer]

Personally I really dislike this "low framerate" animation style that was popularized by the spider man cartoon movies

[Zeref]

It's called stopmotion and it's been popular way before Spiderman.

[ChasterMies]

For animation it’s called “animation”.

[Friendlygamer]

That's not stop motion, neither is spider man

[anast]

I was really hyped for this until they 'business decisioned' the art. Too bad, this game had a chance to be great.

[ThinkThink]

Yeah, you've been hyping this game up ever since it was announced. Bummer it didn't live up to the reveal for you. I'm interested in the story and style of the game, but overall, it looks like a mid 70's metacritic. Compulsions animation looked odd in their last game as well.

[thesoftware730]

Oh man, now it won't be great because anast said so.

Damn it.

[TheColbertinator]

Anast doesn't like it? I'm taking my toys and going home!

[Tacoboto]

He's only hyped for an Xbox title so he can add it to his whine-and-moan collection.

[anast]

I'm here to help.

[rlow1]

lol, have you’ve played it? I mean you can not like the art style and that’s okay. But to judge the whole game on the merit of just one component. Honestly makes you sound salty.

[anast]

The art makes or breaks a game like this.

"Honestly makes you sound salty."

This is actually a salty comment. It projects and does not address the comment directly. The first one is free.

[rlow1]

How do you know what type of game it’s going to be? You’re entitled to your opinions, but when you trash a game with definitive statements based on not liking the art style. That opens you to counterpoints and criticism.

I thought art style was refreshing and the characters were interesting. The game comes out in 2025. They have time to keep polishing and optimizing.

As for “business decisions” the game. Not sure what your trying imply. All games ultimately are a business decision because money and time are involved. Peace

[anast]

They cut corner on the art style. This means they will cut corners in other places.

I'm rarely wrong on these matters. I'm The Oracle after all. You should've known this before making definitive statements. Yes, I can do it too. If I'm wrong, which is rare about these things, I'll say so. Why is it so difficult for people to be aware of themselves?

"Business decisions" is in quotations for a reason, not to be taken literal. I thought for sure this would've been obvious. It means they are cutting a ton of corners, which usually reflects in the game. The art looks generated and rehashed. It has little to do with the style.

I don't know what you mean by 'peace', was it supposed to be in quotations as some passive aggressive weirdness or are you honestly wishing me peace?

[MontyeKristo]

It's okay to not like the art style, but I think it looks fantastic and refreshing. That's the thing about opinions though..

[anast]

It's not the style so much. I mean yeah, I don't like this style, but it doesn't looked hand crafted. It looks repurposed, which is worrying, at least to me.

[MontyeKristo]

Understood. I can see what you're saying; but, still it's a visual style that some will appreciate and some won't. Its different, in video game sense, so I feel it's worth keeping an eye on, at the least.

[rlow1]

Anast you’re overthinking it. Peace just means what the word implies. No agendas or hidden meanings. I sometimes end with that because at the end of the day we are just sharing opinions. I realize that myself and just about everyone on here can get worked up over things. So putting a positive ending to a disagreement, argument, or statement is just my way of ending on a positive note. Wish I remembered to do it more…..peace….lol

[anast]

That's cool. I get it.

[romulus23]

This looked pretty good with exception of the low frame rate animation but I would argue Mixtape looked even better.

[CrimsonWing69]

This and Expedition 33 were my favorites of the show.

[monkey602]

Two top choices for sure!

[Jingsing]

You have to love how the gaming press never fails to amaze, As always they have been waiting with baited breath just to give Xbox some kind of credit to bash Nintendo and Sony down. Their unflinching bias towards that terrible company Microsoft has no limit.

[monkey602]

To be fair, Xbox deserve some credit for this showcase. They brought some exciting stuff. I'd be the first in line to lambaste them if they did as poor as usual but they came through this time. Especially after the State of Play, Summer Game Fest, Guerrilla Collective and Ubisoft Forward all whimpered this year.

[thesoftware730]

Jingsing,

Yeah, man, did you hear about them weather balloons? They were really flying saucers, and Joe Biden is a skrull, and working to invade the planet at the stroke of midnight on July 4th, Independence Day, because he saw the movie Independence Day, staring Will Smith and wants payback for making aliens look bad and losing.

Oh, and all MS Xbox employees are Skrull, so they use green as their signature color, just like Skrull's skin color!!. Think about it!!

Call me, so we can come up with a plan to stop the Sony and Nintendo hate and most importantly the invasion, my number is, 555-NUT-JOBS, that's 555-688-5627

[DOMination-]

You say that it's nothing but endless positivity towards MS but I say that's simply a case of seeing what you want to see or part of mad conspiracies I read here often (MS are paying off every gaming site in existence!!!!! being my favourite one)

Most days when I log onto N4G the top 5 articles are either very positive Sony articles (like the one currently there now in no. 1 spot) or negative Xbox ones. Microsoft have not done a lot right in gaming for 10 years now. For once, they deserve a few positive news stories.

[shinoff2183]

I'm a ps fan mostly but Xbox killed it. Sony has been sleeping(thanks Jim ryan). I just gotta see these come out though, and consistency. If Xbox comes through on most of these games that's great for gamers.

[GaboonViper]

STFU, Xbox is killing it right now, go and hype Concord, it will need a miracle to survive.

[shinoff2183]

The games gotta release.

[thesoftware730]

The animation reminds me of Into the Spiderverse...looks excellnt.

[Software_Lover]

The gameplay fighting sections looked just like "Kena Bridge of Spirits" to me.

[Friendlygamer]

True, looks so much like kena conceptually, even the idea of healing nature by killing corrupted monsters

[badkolo]

this game will come and go just as fast

[thesoftware730]

Badkolo,

How fast is that exactly? I need actual numbers, time date and when it will go, I don't wanna miss it!

[LordofYogurt]

I see nothing unique or special here.

[brianunfried]

Who are they trying to appeal to with that main character? That herky jerky animation style gives me a headache, It's a pass for me.

[TwoPicklesGood]

That game looks amazing so far. Def picking this one up.

[shinoff2183]

This is definitely one I'm looking forward to. My favorite thing from the show. Missed inxiles project unless I just hadn't noticed

[nmbr1esq]

This game looks Mid at best. More Slop.

[PassNextquestion]

Usually the cut scenes look better then the gameplay but I think it's the other way around in this game.

[tay8701]

Graphics are gorgeous, the 12 fps look isn't a deal breaker. The combat looks really bad though.

[Elda]

The game looks interesting but the reveal at the showcase it looked as if the game had some serious framerate problems.

[mastershredder]

A contributing shill on Forbes (totally all about games and stuff) doing the megachurch faith renewal over a rando as f game. Noice. I'm sure they appreciate your free work and industry expertise in current investment opportunities in the gaming industry (hoooooley sheeeet dude, just stahp! and this is on Forbes? lol wooooow.). The piece could have just talked about a bad ass game and the team behind it, rather that a diarrhea fountain of industry operation expectations and fantasy. Then to top it off, the whole topic is blown out of the water by his last comment.

"But going off the available footage, I’ve got to say, I’m all in. Games are making me excited again, and for that, I’m thankful. Vidja gamez, ya’ll." That means that : Games (in general) are making him excited again. So, like were you just high and finally got to the point at the end there Mitch? You were so focused on one that you finally realized there were a bunch to be excited about? Weird bro, but dang dude, I'm telling you you should open your own mega church and do this schtick every Sunday.

His Bio: "I write about video games (duh), technology (yeah, like consoles and stuff that makes your games run?) and pop culture" (I'm just gonna take a stab at this, you mean like collectables, anime and gaming right?).

[Huey_My_D_Long]

Honestly I'll be picking it up on pc. The artstyke sold me

[Juancho51]

This game actually looks good. It’s a shame they’ll release to very little to no sales since it’s on game pass. This is how developers get buried, they make an incredible game that “underperforms” because of game pass, and they dissolve them and move on, because that’s how Microsoft does.

[rlow1]

I honestly wonder if some on here truly love games. Or just complaining about the competition and downplaying anything positive???

What’s even funnier is a lot of what was shown is coming to their console of choice anyways.

[LoveSpuds]

I don't think people are complaining about the game per se, they are pissed off about this ridiculous article gaslighting people by suggesting that games have been shit for a while and suddenly XBOX are here to save the day with this release. This is especially frustrating given XBOX's conduct over the last few years, consolidating all these publishers and then, despite promising to do otherwise in the various proceedings at the EU, UK and US, laying fucking loads of people off.

To suggest this one game is restoring his faith in games is absolute bunk. I literally cannot keep up with the amount of amazing games I want to play, there is literally something great to play released every week.

[LoveSpuds]

I recall hearing all this buzz around We Happy Few too, which showed very well at the shows but turned out to be pretty average. I understand being excited for new games and I thought the announcement for SoM looked great, but to suggest it is 'renewing his faith in videogames' is such hyperbole.

I am not sure what others are up to, but I have been playing amazing games non stop for a long time, my appreciation for the amazing work developers put out hasn't waned in the slightest, I recently finished Stellar Blade and couldn't believe just how great that game was, for example.

It's interesting, but the thing that is diminishing peoples enthusiasm for games, in my view. is the massive consolidation of publishers by the likes of Embracer and MS and the mass layoffs these companies undertake as soon as they have bought up all of these publishers, I dont think many people question the creative talent of developers themselves.

[repsahj]

Kena 2 minus the cuteness.

[Flewid638]

The combat & hit stun animations desperately need work, but aside from that the overall art style is beautiful.

[DiRtY]

To be honest: I think this was the most boring game of the show.
But maybe that is just me. It is not my cup of tea at all.

[repsahj]

I agree. I think the game is trying to make a matured game Kena.

[obidanshinobi]

Why?
It looks like generic AA gamepass filler shit.
With a "look aren't we progressive" black woman main character (a tiny percentage of actual gamers), which will no doubt be a stereotype type because the vast majority of the development team will be white nerds who can't help but fall back on stereotypes because ultimately they're lazy and just doing it to virtue signal.
Seems to be a trend across modern gaming, black women only have a few hairstyles apparently, braids or afros.
Christ on a bike standards have dropped.
Let's not forget that Compulsion's last game was the unfinished complete waste of potential in We Happy Few, that was almost 6 years ago.
It's gonna be crap guys.

[thesoftware730]

Why is every game starring a black person considered "progressive" by people like you?

That is just the main character, plain and simple.

You need to chill out a bit and stop seeing shit that ain't there for everything; it's not like they had a different lead character and changed it to be "progressive" what if this was just their vision of their game?

[jznrpg]

Yeah this game is going to change everything. Stupid clickbait titles