Is South of Midnight an open-world title?

South of Midnight is set in the fictional American Deep South town called Prospero. You play as Hazel Flood, a young woman who will stop at nothing to find her mother, Lacey, after a hurricane literally and figuratively carries her humble trailer home. The story will take you all over town, but it is not an open-world title.

Compulsion Games' developers found a good balance between storytelling, platforming, and combat encounters. While some areas are much larger than others, they only feature a handful of secrets and collectibles that can amplify your experience. While the story is a decent length, you can spend a bit more time exploring every crevice and unearthing the secrets of Prospero.

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South of Midnight is not an open-world experience

The game is designed to help you focus on the big picture (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

South of Midnight is a fairly linear experience, akin to most single-player titles that can be completed within a day. The story is divided into chapters with varying length. A good example would be Chapter 5, called "Everything that Rises." Every chapter before this is much shorter, and the game kicks it up a notch with more platforming sections.

Hazel will acquire new magical artifacts that offer more mobility options, such as gliding and grappling. These allow you to reach new areas to snoop around and explore. There are areas like small and decrepit houses that are full of collectibles and hidden lore, but it often spits you out to the main path.

The game includes a feature that will guide you to the main path called the Guiding Strand. It will point you in the right direction to progress the story and make necessary adjustments if you stumble upon a secret area to find more floofs and whatnot.

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The game offers limited exploration

Prospero is a massive place, but it is not fit for free exploration (Image via Xbox Game Studios)

There are some areas where you need to backtrack to continue the story and other hidden spots that are completely missable and optional. While the inclusion of hidden areas isn't as expansive as a dedicated open-world game, it is as close as this game comes to such an experience.

You can take a few minutes to mess around and investigate larger areas before reaching points of no return. If you are short on time and have no time to explore every nook and cranny, you will likely miss collectibles and floof deposits that require a bit more effort to find.

The game can be wrapped up in a few hours, depending on the difficulty you select or if you wish to complete it 100%.

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South of Midnight is available on Xbox Series X/S, PC, and GeForce Now. For more related articles, check these out:

• Will South of Midnight be on Xbox Game Pass?
• How long will it take to beat South of Midnight?
• Is South of Midnight Premium Edition worth buying?
• Is South of Midnight available on GeForce Now?
• South of Midnight Chapter 2: Other Voices, Other Looms walkthrough