South of Midnight preview: Action-adventure platformer wears its bright, beating heart on its sleeve

I’ve been excited about South of Midnight since I saw its reveal trailer in 2023. The art direction, music, and deeply Southern setting felt ripe for an epic story. Still, coming into my preview, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

After playing my hour-and-a-half preview of the title, I was even more surprised. The common formula to maximize player count isn’t here at all: There’s no open world or even an attempt to lure people in with an “open zone.” I didn’t see any RPG mechanics or dialogue trees to be found. Combat felt fast-paced and snappy but remained relatively simple, and there’s not much in the way of builds to worry about.