Southern Gothic is a subgenre of American literature and visual media that captures violence, religion, and oppression within the American South, often portrayed with chilling, fictitious characters. My introduction to Southern Gothic media began with animated movies like Scooby Doo: Zombie Island and The Princess and the Frog. Although both have completely different plots, the foundation is there: a sinister, mystic presence, hoodoo or voodoo magic. Talking animals aren't necessarily a trait of Southern Gothic, but they both had those, too.
Cinematic classics like Eve's Bayou (1997) and Daughters of the Dust (1991), the stop motion-animated entry Wendell and Wild (2022), and popular vampire drama series Interview with the Vampire (2022-present) diversify the range of modern Southern Gothic media, and Ryan Coogler's critically acclaimed, awards record-breaking supernatural horror Sinners (2025) has joined the club.
Audiences are bloodthirsty for Southern Gothic lore, and one action-adventure title from Compulsion Games may meet cinephiles and gamers somewhere in the middle. If a game full of teeming stop motion-style animation and narrative-driven ballads is up your alley, South of Midnight should be on your radar.
A stunning revelation in gaming, South of Midnight has won big during the 2026 Awards season, taking home the Games for Impact award at The Game Awards, the Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game at the New York Game Awards, Best Character Animation for a Video Game at the Annie Awards, and Outstanding Achievement in Animation at the D.I.C.E. Awards. It's certain that this work has made a big impact on the gaming industry in less than a year, leaving an open call for more stories centering Black culture.
Spoilers beyond this point.
South of Midnight's protagonist is Hazel Flood, an angsty teenager from Prospero, Louisiana. In the aftermath of a devastating hurricane, Hazel must pursue her mother, Lacey, who was washed away in the storm. As Hazel climbs above toxic waters and treks through muddy terrains, she discovers her ability to mend broken buildings and mobilize inanimate objects as a Weaver.
Being raised in Florida's panhandle, I became familiar with the beach, the backroads, and the bayou very early in life. Occasionally, my parents and I would leave the conservative corner of the Sunshine State we lived in, and it was the spellbinding allure of Mississippi and Louisiana that fascinated me most.
My imagination, combined with my interest in video games, convinced me that a magical journey was awaiting in the swamps of the Redneck Riviera. The Gulf Coast's inexplicable charm is tangled in the Spanish moss of every Southern oak tree, and the quiet hums of the land critters are enough to keep you entertained but not apprehensive. Hazel's curious nature to explore her home and its inhabitants reminds me of the enchantment that is inescapable in the South, because magic is literally and metaphorically woven into every bit of the game.
Hazel's adventure begins with a glass bottle tree, a superstitious structure with mystical powers used to ward off evil spirits in Southern gardens. On her journey, Hazel learns that she possesses a string of supernatural abilities and is guided across the bayou by the ghosts of plantation escapees, whispering spirits, and a giant Cajun catfish. Occasionally, her mission to save her mother is interrupted by malevolent forces, the haints that occupy the swamps. Derived from Gullah Geechee culture, haints are restless spirits unable to move on from the physical world and terrorize the living, sometimes masquerading as a victim or ally.
As you defeat these foes, the battlegrounds begin to blossom, returning to their original splendor, which I can't help but read as an allegory for environmental destruction and the possibility for renewal. Throughout the first few chapters, Hazel encounters dilapidated houses with eviction notices that presumably represent the reality of housing insecurities as a product of environmental neglect.
At five years old, I encountered fallen trees and damaged power lines alongside improper drainage systems during Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Katrina. This left family homes or locally-owned businesses in Black communities washed away to never return, similar to the buildings in South of Midnight. Since August 2025 marked the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, it's apparent that hurricanes and race are entangled in a new form of storytelling about the horrors of Louisiana's hurricane season.
In addition to ecological grief, navigating anguish constantly reappears throughout South of Midnight as Hazel has visions that reveal the woes of her loved ones and various creatures. Based on Alabama folklore, Huggin' Molly — a misunderstood, spider-like figure that Hazel eventually battles — was accused of abducting Lacey and wayward children.
Huggin' Molly is one of many adversaries with a deeper, disturbing backstory that drives them to madness, which proves that the fables of the bayou quickly become a reality.
South of Midnight is soundtracked by the blues. According to an interview with Rolling Stone, Southern musicians are responsible for the game's impeccable score, which is distinct in scenes with villains like legendary alligator Two-Toed Tom and the mermaid-adjacent Ayotunde.
Touching hymnals aside, it's nearly impossible to not shed a tear or two as you admire the details of this game, like the relationship between Hazel and Lacey. From our introduction to their characters to their loving reunion in the game's boss battle, the mother-daughter dynamic pulls at the heartstrings. Regardless of their contention in the first cutscene of the game, saving her mother's life was worth Hazel's treacherous journey across dangerous conditions and difficult ancestral trauma.
In the same breath, the familiar African-American vernacular and Hazel's inherently Southern soliloquy are heartwarming for any gamer raised in a Southern Black household. Take a look around Hazel's home at the beginning of the game: you'll be reminded of the game's attention to Black culture with nods to Megan Thee Stallion's "Hiss" and references to Annie Lee's notable painting Blue Monday and Ernie Barnes' Sugar Shack.
Playing a game that doesn't shy away from its Blackness is a relief in comparison to the toxic gaming community. In a disappointing sea of Black characters in popular games subjected to the "Killmonger cut" — a lazy, comedically-tiresome hairstyle by game developers — and considering the infrequency of Black women protagonists in video games, I'm grateful to see a Black girl with two stylish feed-in braids.
Our stories are rarely recognized or celebrated, and incessant misogynoir thrives in online gaming communities as Twitch streamers experience doxxing, hate raids, and slurs. In 2025, South of Midnight was subjected to a targeted hate campaign. Prior to the game's release, consultancy firm Sweet Baby Inc. was accused of the "wokeification of video games" by the alt-right, and Compulsion Games' staff was relentlessly harassed in an online storm that parallels last decade's GamerGate.
As a consumer of Black-led science fiction and fantasy media, it's no surprise that white gamers don't understand the nuance provided by an unapologetically Southern Black game like South of Midnight. They're incapable of connecting to Black media, which isn't a jarring revelation since studies show that a majority of video game protagonists are white.
Anna Diop, Zendaya, Candice Patton, and Halle Bailey are a minor portion of Black talent subjected to brutal harassment campaigns for their race-swapped roles in highly acclaimed television or film, and it's arguably worse for video games. Between the release of South of Midnight and the trailer debut for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet starring Tati Gabrielle around the same time, the hate amassed a nasty backlash on social media platforms like X (formerly known as Twitter) and Instagram.
Despite the game's flaws, like its repetitive combat, the narration filled with devastating twists and turns completely sells South of Midnight as a significant addition to the rare video game realm exploring the American Deep South. Growing up with shows like Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, it was rare for me to see Black magical beings that didn't solely serve as a disposable accessory to a white protagonist. The intentionality behind Hazel's heroic character is a sign that Black gamers like me can have hope for more heart and soul in the future of gaming. South of Midnight is a worthy entry into the Southern Gothic canon.