One of the best games on Xbox Game Pass is from a studio Microsoft is potentially shutting down

Compulsion Games made an award-winning game in South of Midnight, but is still in danger of being shut down by Microsoft. On June 10, Bloomberg reported that Xbox was planning major layoffs for July.

The short version

• It developed stylish platformer Contrast and dystopian RPG We Happy Few before being bought by Microsoft in 2018.
• Since then, Compulsion has only developed one game, 2025’s South of Midnight.
• It’s one of the best games you’ll find on Xbox Game Pass, and an example of how the service can allow players to discover games that might have been overlooked otherwise.
• South of Midnight is an adventure game set in the Deep South.

Context

You play as Hazel, a young woman who discovers she’s a magic-using Weaver. After a hurricane rips through her town, she sets out to locate her mother, who was lost in the storm. As she searches for her mother, Hazel learns the heart-wrenching backstories of her community members, including her late father, who was shunned by his parents after a childhood tragedy. Even a monstrous alligator becomes a sympathetic character (and a fun boss to fight).

Why it matters

So many colorful characters populate South of Midnight, like a giant talking catfish and a blues legend. They’re often pulled from southern folklore, like the antagonist Huggin’ Molly, who is said to abduct kids after dark if they’re outside alone. South of Midnight’s ability to make its setting feel like an integral part of its world and narrative is what makes the game so special.

Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full original at Polygon via the source link.