South Of Midnight – Tips To Get You Started

South of Midnight is the latest game developed by Compulsion Games, and the first under the Xbox banner. It just released to early access owners and will be available on Game Pass April 8th. While the game is fairly straightforward there's still plenty of tips worth sharing to get you started.

In South Of Midnight you play as Hazel Flood, a teenager who's a track star. The game start with Hazel and her mother trying to get out of a hurricane, and from there things unravel into chaos. I won't spoil anything else, but needless to say, the game’s story and world make it a must-play. I gave it an 8.5 in our review, and it will be a game I remember for quite a while. Here are some essential tips to help you navigate the Deep South.

Explore, Explore, Explore

While South of Midnight is a fairly linear experience, you will be heavily rewarded for going off the beaten path. Following the games Guiding Strand, the light that will show you the correct path, can be very helpful if you get turned around, but going the opposite direction should be your priority.

Going left when the game says go right will often lead to something important, typically Floofs. Floofs are the game’s currency and needed to upgrade Hazel and her abilities. If you want to fully upgrade her then you will need to collect about 90% of the floofs in the game, which means a lot of exploring.

Additionally, you will often find health filaments if you go off the beaten path, which are the sole way you can increase Hazel’s health. There's also some cool lore if you go off path, which in a game all about its story and setting is a good thing to grab in my opinion.

The Best Offence Is A Good Defence

The single best piece of advice I can give you for the combat in South of Midnight is to learn how to effectively dodge. While you can easily dodge out of the way of most attacks without much thinking, the best thing you can do is perform perfect dodges. A perfect dodge happens right at the last second of an enemy attack, and if you do it properly, you will not only inflict some damage to those around but you will also temporarily freeze them.Â

A perfect dodge, especially on the higher difficulties, can get you out of a tight spot and help turn the tide of a battle. Also, make note that if an enemy’s health bar is yellow, that means they are doing their special attack, which cannot be interrupted, nor can it be dodged with a perfect dodge. You can still get out of the way, but you won’t inflict any damage or freeze them by doing so.

Crowd Control

Another big piece of advice for the combat is to learn to effectively use Hazel’s strand abilities to crowd control. Similar to the perfect dodge, this isn’t needed as much on the lower difficulties, but it will still help speed things up. Each one of Hazel’s skills can be used for not just damage, but also to help you control the arena better.Â

This guy is a lot easier to deal with 1 on 1

If things in battle get dicey, you can use the strand push to give you some space to breathe, or a strand pull can quickly bring an enemy to you for some quick damage to get them defeated and have one less enemy to deal with. Also, make sure to use Crouton to your advantage, as he will take control of an enemy for a brief time, helping you out a lot. Sometimes these methods can be far more successful than simply dodging away.Â

Take Advantage Of Some Accessibility Options

Now this one is only specific for achievement hunters and only recommended for after you’ve beaten the game once, as you should want to enjoy it to the fullest. However, for mopping up things such as collectibles, floofs, and health filaments, there are a few accessibility options that can really help speed up the process for you.Â

The 2 best options here are to turn on the ability to skip battles as well as skip the chase sequences. If you are looking to just get through each chapter quickly to find what you have missed, both options will significantly boost your ability to do so. But again, I don’t recommend doing this unless you’ve completed the game.

Plenty of options to speed up any mopping up you need to do

Hopefully, these tips will help you make the most of South of Midnight. Compulsion really made a great game, and it deserves some love. Enjoy your time in the south with Hazel!Â For extensive South of Midnight coverage, you can look below for all our guides.