Compulsion Games have been steadily sharing more and more information about their upcoming action RPG, South of Midnight, with a clear confidence in their artistic vision. Today, they have made a reveal that is particularly heavily detailed, in more ways than one.
They have shared the artwork we’ve posted below with this caption:
“Artwork outta this world
From chatty mudcats to massive river monsters, Hazel will encounter a unique cast of unusual creatures and cryptids on her journey where folklore meets reality in South of Midnight, arriving April 8, 2025.”
They also credit their concept artist, João Bragato, who seems to have been the main designer for South of Midnight’s visually pleasing, yet sinister, Haint designs. You can see more designs, including some for other games and some OCs, in Bragato’s ArtStation account here.
Now, while we can easily identify Hazel and her companion Catfish, but the others are not as recognizable. Those fans who did follow this game closely may recognize some of the characters in the story trailer last January. In the above left appears to be one of the few named Haints who was identified by name in that trailer, Huggin’ Molly. Subsequently, the giant birdlike creature and sad looking plant at the bottom of the image were also in that trailer.
There is, of course, a human male depicted in this art, positioned as if he is beckoning the sun behind him. Is he this game’s final boss? Or is this a pivotal character in the game for different reasons? As best as we can tell, he hasn’t been named or even shown until now. Could this be the mysterious figure Hazel approaches in the end of the story trailer.
And then there’s the fish lady in the above right side of the picture, who may or may not have also been in the story trailer. While we see a humanoid emerging from the swamp in said trailer, there isn’t enough detail to confirm that they are the same being. We did see Huggin’ Molly is clearly in some sort of boss battle, and the way the birdlike creature yelled at Hazel also suggests it will be a boss.
The fact that other characters that Compulsion already introduced, like the giant crocodile Two-Toed Tom, or that mysterious giant guitar player, Shakin’ Bones, is not in this art is also a curious mystery in itself. Compulsion seems to have given Hazel a really big world with more original characters than we would have imagined, and that also leaves us wondering just how big a game this really is.
Of course, Compulsion shared this image with little explanation to get fans interested in all these mysteries. Those gamers who really want to know will have the opportunity to find out when South of Midnight releases on April 8, 2025, on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Windows Store, and Game Pass.
