5 beginner tips to keep in mind when playing South of Midnight

South of Midnight is the latest third-person action-adventure game by developers Compulsion Games, the creators of Contrast (2013) and We Happy Few (2018). In this game, you control Hazel, a weaver with the ability to use supernatural powers to fight deadly mythical beasts and explore a gothic reimagination of Southern America. As such, knowing how to use her weaving powers correctly is essential to get an idea about how to progress through this game with maximum power.

This article will give five beginner tips that you can keep in mind while playing South of Midnight.

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5 beginner tips for new South of Midnight players

1) Explore every nook and cranny of the map

Explore more of South of Midnight (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

South of Midnight is a linear game compared to other modern AAA games that have bloated, oversized worlds. However, what it lacks in size, it makes up with its purposeful level design that is jam-packed with off-beat paths that diverge from the Guided Strand keeping you on the main road.

Since each level is big with lots of explorable areas, treading the unbeaten paths will help you find various surprises like Floofs (upgrade materials), Life Filaments (permanently increases your total health), and various collectibles.

Hazel has various explorable Weaver spells that allow her to travel to difficult-to-reach locations. As such, if you see a place that you think you can reach - you probably can through careful platforming. However, keep in mind that Hazel cannot swim, making falling in waterbodies a deadly predicament.

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2) Learn how to dodge and counterattack effectively

Dodging in South of Midnight is very important (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Throughout her journey, Hazel will face many supernatural beasts from South American folklore, like the legendary Huggin’ Molly and Two-Toed Tom. Their attacks do a lot of damage, where taking a few hits will spell death for you. While she doesn’t have a shield to protect herself from attacks, she has a dodge ability that more than makes up for it.

The best part about her dodge is that it constitutes many I-frames (invincibility frames) that let you take no damage by simply rolling in the right direction.

However, if you can pull off a perfect dodge, Hazel will let out a shockwave that damages and staggers all nearby enemies. This lets you stack some damage and also opens up any counterattacking opportunities.

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3) Use spells to interrupt and stun enemies

Spells can stun enemies (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

As mentioned earlier, enemies do a lot of damage, and are fully capable of finishing you off in a few hits. As such, sometimes you will find situations where some of the bosses in the game will constantly try to close the gap between you two.

During such situations, it’s best to use the wide assortment of spells you have in your arsenal to create opportune moments to attack enemies after learning their patterns.

Like a Jedi master, you can use various push-pull spells to get enemies in the perfect spot to land various hits and stagger them. Spells are pretty powerful in this game, letting you use them tactically depending on which enemy and how many of them you are facing.

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4) Actively seek out Floofs

You can use Floofs in South of Midnight to upgrade the various magical weaver abilities available (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Floofs in this game refer to your primary currency for upgrading your stats and magical weaver abilities. As you level up, you will unlock more of these spells. As such, you must decide which of these to unlock and upgrade first using Floofs.

Like our first tip, exploring each level thoroughly will help you find many hidden Floofs that will help you upgrade your stats faster. A great tip would be to look for different animals in each level that run away after spotting you.

If you chase these animals, they will often lead to various points of interest that have hidden Floofs. Moreover, you will also get them by unraveling Stigma and eradicating its corruption.

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5) Know the correct time to heal yourself

Unraveling enemies in South of Midnight lets you heal slightly (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

Healing is very different in South of Midnight compared to other third-person action games. You don't get healing potions/spells like Dark Souls or Devil May Cry. On every encounter, you will find one glowing green health orb that you can use at any time during the battle. You also get two of them during boss fights.

While you might be tempted to use them up the moment you take damage, it’s best to use them when you have around one-third of your health. Instead, you should use other healing options like the self-heal that you get while unraveling enemies. As such, these health orbs should be treated as an important resource to help you stay alive.

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For more related articles, check these out:

• Will South of Midnight be on Xbox Game Pass?
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• Is South of Midnight available on GeForce Now?