Trigger Cut Game Reviews

South of Midnight is easily the most beautiful and unique game of the year.  The stop motion like art style is truly amazing and I found myself stopping and just looking around at the environments and soaking in the vibes of this southern gothic world.  Hazel is a likable protagonist that has a strong motivation to keep moving forward in order to save her mom, who she loves deeply.  Your guide is a massive catfish with a southern drawl that I perked up every time he enters into the story.  The story is set up in a fairy tale-like fashion where each level is a chapter in a book. Music is of huge importance in this game with several original tracks that play while you are exploring or fighting a boss.  The highlights of this game are the boss battles where an original track kicks in that gives you backstory on the enemy you are fighting. I mentioned how unique this game is in the beginning however, that statement only applies to the environment design, music, and art style.  The gameplay is barebones with simple platforming that does not provide any challenge at all.  The combat is easily the weakest part of the game and becomes an annoying hindrance and halfway through the game this was just a mechanic I had to force myself to beat to get to the next story moment or set piece.  The combat is a shallow melee combat system that locks you into an arena with only a few enemy types.  The combat never evolves that much and outside of the occasional boss they are the same 3-4 enemy types the whole playthrough.  The story and vibes of this game are incredibly strong and it did not bother me much that the gameplay itself was weak.  Without spoiling, the ending is a let down and left me asking is that it?  Regardless, this is a journey worth taking just to experience the incredible world the developers created for us.