South of Midnight is a master class in cultural appreciation

Listen, I played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and it was good. I enjoyed discovering a dystopian Paris, meeting likeable characters, and reveling in brilliant artistic direction. Still, I feel resentful towards the game for doing the unforgivable — eclipsing South of Midnight. As a cultural consultant and Black gamer, I finally found a game that understands how cultural depth can make play unforgettable. Let’s dive into how and why this multiple award-winning game captured my heart.

When in June 2024 Compulsion Games announced an Xbox-exclusive game with a lead Black woman character, I was instantly hooked. Then I heard it takes inspiration from American Southern Gothic folklore, and I was sold. The main character Hazel spends the game trying to save her mother who went missing during a hurricane, awakening her magical weaving powers and meeting mystical creatures during her journey. 

A coming-of-age story with a modern-day, dark-skin girl in a magic world with top-tier graphics is a first for the 33-year-old Black girl gamer and cultural consultant that I am. Name another AA or AAA game that comes close, I beg you.

When South of Midnight was released one year ago, I played it live on Twitch. And since many of my followers are Black women, too, we were stunned together by pretty much everything: the visuals, music, character design, story, world, and much more. The complexity of the game made me realize that South of Midnight is a master class in cultural appreciation, despite coming straight out of the mind of a white man and his Canadian team.