Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight will be a southern fantasy hack and slash coming to PC…
Announced at the 2023 Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, South of Midnight from the indie studio – at least until its acquisition by Microsoft in 2018 – Compulsion Games is one of the games that stole its way into our hearts and one of the most promising futures. Xbox Game of the Year. A developer diary for the Canadian team’s project with a stop motion aesthetic, South American folklore and hack and slash style was presented, in which Compulsion confirmed specific gameplay and technical details, as well as a promise: they will do everything they can to make the Xbox Series run at 60 FPS X, even on Series S consoles!
The essence of South of Midnight is to immerse ourselves in the mythology of the south, specifically New Orleans, its swamps and the voodoo folklore that the Jamaican immigrants brought with them in the 19th century. With this fantastic inspiration, we can put ourselves in the shoes of Hazel in the game. She is a young girl who can use magic in addition to melee combat. The game focuses on single-player mode without being open-world. We will explore levels of different sizes, with bosses and plain enemies, but it will not be a sandbox.
South of Midnight doesn’t take weeks of our lives
Although the game is still in development, the Canadian team has confirmed that the estimated duration of the project will be 12-14 hours. It promises to be a no-frills adventure game with a simple concept: to entertain with polished combat and attractive graphics. Also, since the team knows that not all players like the stop motion aesthetic, this visual option can be turned off in the menu, eliminating the “variable frame rate” of the animations for a smoother experience.
As for technical fluidity, according to an interview with content creator Parris Vicious, the project with the game’s voiceovers will be developed in Unreal Engine 4.
In a graphics engine that the studio has used throughout its career. In addition, the use of a slightly older engine – considering that the current version of Epic Games’ software has already reached version 5.5 and is preparing to jump to Unreal Engine 6 – is not a disadvantage. On the contrary, thanks to UE4, Compulsion set the 60 FPS standard for Xbox Series X/S.
This confirms Microsoft’s determination to maintain the quality and performance that fans have long demanded in its exclusive titles. For now, we’ll have to wait for more details on the project, which will be released in 2025 exclusively for the Xbox Series and PC.
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