How the American South Inspired 2025's Most Promising Xbox Exclusive
A love letter to Southern folklore.
For over a decade, Compulsion Games has been creating hyper-stylized versions of pivotal periods in modern history. Its debut game, 2013’s Contrast, was inspired heavily by the Belle Époque, Art Nouveau, and the noir genre. We Happy Few, from 2018, set its unsettling London dystopia against the backdrop of the psychedelic ‘60s. It’s been a winning formula for Compulsion as these striking settings are often unlike any of its contemporaries.
South of Midnight, the Montreal-based studio’s next game, follows this tradition. It’s set in a fantastical version of the deep American South. This choice of setting is more than just an aesthetic. It informs every element of the game, from its narrative to its striking, clay-made, stop-motion art and otherworldly creatures.
“It’s this dark fantasy meets Southern Gothic,” Compulsion Games’ Art Director Whitney Clayton tells Inverse. “There are all these great folktales and superstitions. It's just such a rich setting.”
South of Midnight is a third-person action game that follows Hazel, a young Black woman navigating her hometown in the aftermath of a devastating hurricane. While trying to survive, Hazel discovers she’s a Weaver, a powerful magic wielder. Her discovery, however, coincides with the sudden appearance of ferocious creatures throughout the South. Hazel sets off on an adventure to stop these supernatural threats at the source.
Despite its fantasy setting, Compulsion wanted to create something relatable. The choice to juxtapose its gothic fantasy with the more mundane hurricane’s impact on the protagonist's home was deliberate.
“We had team members who were from New Orleans and had been through things like that,” Clayton said. “It was important for us that there are parts of the narrative that are really grounded and relatable, and then our character goes on her journey from there.”
South of Midnight protagonist Hazel discovers that she has magic abilities in the aftermath of a hurricane.
To ensure a faithful rendition of its setting, the Compulsion’s development leads did two week-long trips exploring the south, including New Orleans, the Mississippi Delta, swamps, and the Appalachians.
“It's supposed to be set in a fictional version of the Deep South that meshes together different environments and locations in the Deep South,” Clayton said. “There is a Delta-like area, there's an Appalachian mountain area, there's a bayou-like area. But we don't say it specifically.”
It’s not often that big-budget, console-exclusive video games ground themselves so deeply in the culture of the American South, especially exploring modern times.
South of Midnight’s creatures are based on the folklore of the American South.
“It's a bit of a scary setting, right?” Clayton admitted. “There's obviously a very dark history that you have to learn how to navigate and tackle appropriately. But we're proud of that part of it. It was work but I think we all learned a lot and grew a lot from making this game. There's so much beauty in the deep south and there's so much cultural potential.”
It’s a visually arresting game that looks like a cross between the 2009 film Coraline and Disney’s Princess and the Frog. The team settled on the clay look as it lends the scenery a special vibe.
“We wanted to do something a little more deliberate,” Clayton said. “I really thought the charm and the tactile nature of maquettes and handcrafted things suited the content that we wanted to do with these old buildings, old twisty trees, and creatures. It's organic. It's handmade.”
The game’s claymation visuals were selected to accentuate the game’s tactile Southern Gothic aesthetic.
The team worked with Canadian stop-motion animation house Clyde Henry Productions to bring its world to life.
“It's a funny coincidence because we were researching stop-motion and Clyde Henry Productions had a style that hits this sort of dark, slightly mature eeriness,” Clayton said. “Early on in the project they let the artists come to their studio and they showed us their maquettes. The artists got to see how they make maquettes, because they needed to be able to reverse engineer how maquette is made in 3D. It was not easy.”
Clayton also said that the game’s striking visuals are a direct result of what the team learned making its last game, We Happy Few. The 2018 game was often remembered for the twisted world it presents in its trailers. But the actual game seldom followed through on that promise, thanks to its rogue-like gameplay.
Hazel must use her newfound powers to fight terrifying beasts.
“We learned we really like doing games that have a heavy narrative focus, and we honed in on a style,” Clayton said. “We Happy Few had a lot of procedural elements that at the time we thought were really interesting. But the team was just really excited to do something a lot more crafted.”
South of Midnight is still a few months away from release. But it's already shaping up to be one of 2025’s most unique experiences. Combining gorgeous visuals with a setting not often explored in video games has resulted in a game that looks and feels like a breath of fresh air among big-budget releases.
