South of Midnight: One Day, Limitless Adventure from We Happy Few's Studio
Ever wondered how much adventure you can stuff into a single day? Compulsion Games-the creative minds behind We Happy Few and Contrast-are about to answer that question with their next title, South of Midnight. The entire story, a journey across 14 chapters, takes place across only 10 to 12 hours within the span of a single, very eventful day for our protagonist, Hazel.
Race Against a Clock: Urgency in the Narrative
In a recent interview, Gameplay Director Jasmin Roy revealed the shorter length of the game is intended. It is designed to brighten up the urgency of Hazel's mother's search. The 24-hour run-through world is richly saturated in Southern Gothic atmosphere. Imagine starting your adventure as the sun rises and racing against the clock to solve riddles before midnight strikes.
Do not let a shorter playtime fool you. Roy hinted that the game might even be somewhat longer than originally intended, suggesting a lot of punch into each second.
A Day in the Deep South: Different Biomes Variously in a Little Time
There is a lot of immediacy in South of Midnight, but then again, ''location, location, location''. Get ready to crisscross a broad different tapestry of terrains, each carrying its unique mood and narrative that ties into it. These locations include:
- Swamps: Mysterious and atmospheric, hiding secrete and murky secrets.
- The Delta: Bringing forth the Mississippi River and its neighboring landscapes.
- The Appalachian Mountains: Rugged and perhaps actually holding tales that one has never heard before.
- New Orleans-inspired Biome: A vibrant, eclectic cultural area, likely with an abundance of personalities and intrigue.
All of this is crammed into just one day. Art Director Whitney Clayton promises "it's a linear game with some bits of exploration." Expect a focused journey with room to breathe and discover.
Five Years in Making: Guerrilla Stopped-Motion World
If the length of the day within the game is brief, then the making of South of Midnight had been anything but brief. According to Roy, it was a five-year journey from rough concepts to the eagerly awaited game. Most of that time was spent on research, planning, and prototyping-highlights of which concern its arrestingly beautiful, stop-motion aesthetic.
Compulsion Games have branched out to other ideas, using studios that have produced such works as Clyde Henry Productions (the haunting Madame Tutli Putli). They want a handcrafted world that can be eerie at the same time as it is beautiful, moving smoothly at 60fps but appearing stop motion.
Magic of Stop-Motion Other Elements
While some effects of stop motion will be exhibited here and there-hay or trees, even animals would probably exhibit that well-known flicker-hazel would not move that way. This ensures a distinct style in motion without compromising on a smooth and responsive control scheme to keep it fantastical.
Clayton mentioned that it was definitely not intended to mimic gleeful, old-fashioned stop-motion like Wallace and Gromit but would instead infuse something darker, moodier, perfectly attuned to the very southern gothic themes the game promises to deliver. It is about creating a world that feels undeniably made but where you can just totally immerse yourself.
The narrative is turning out to be a red-hot blend of urgency and rich Southern Gothic locations, plus a really unique visual identity. Since the whole story takes place in one day, it promises the most intense, tightly focused adventure this April 8 when it is unfurled for PC and Xbox Series X|S (and available on Game Pass). It's time to discover a day like no other, South of Midnight.
