South of Midnightis one of a kind, but because it heavily leans into the Southern Gothic genre, there are a handful of great games that have a similar vibe. Southern Gothic is specific to the American Deep South, and deals primarily with the region’s socio-political climate, often examining fraught and even disturbing characters.South of Midnightis distinctly fantastical, as are some of the games below, but magical elements aren’t necessarily a qualifying aspect of the genre.
Southern Gothic has grown in scope since it was defined roughly a century ago, butthe works therein are uniformly sardonic in many facets, and often touch on subjects that hearken back to the region’s history of slavery and the following Reconstruction period.South of Midnight’s beautiful adventuredoesn’t have any exact peers visually, and you won’t find perfect gameplay matches below, but all five games have a similar atmosphere, primarily thanks to their settings.
Rockstar Games, 2018
Red Dead Redemption 2is among thebest games of all time, so you shouldn’t need much convincing to play it (or replay it), butthe thing it shares most closely withSouth of Midnightis its incredibly sharp character writing. You won’t encounter any quick-witted, talking catfish, but the entire Van der Linde Gang – not to mention practically all the supporting cast – is a delight to interact with. It’s a much longer game thanSouth of Midnighttoo, so if you’re looking to get stuck into a particularly great story,RDR2is the way to go.
Despite its numbering,RDR2is a prequle toRed Dead Redemption, and while I recommend playing them in release order,Red Dead Redemption 2is a self-contained experience. The original game is safely a Western, taking place primarily in the desert, and while it has some characteristics of Southern Gothic work,RDR2’s setting puts it more distinctly within the genre. Especially in some of the earlier chapters, you deal with southern aristocratic families in the wake of Reconstruction.
A particularly disturbing Southern Gothic detail inRDR2is Gertrude Braithwaite, who was born with physical deformities and unaddressed mental issues, and was locked in an outhouse on the Braithwaite property for her whole life out of fear she’d tarnish the family name.
RDR2’s character models aim for realism, in contrast toSouth of Midnight’s stylized characters, butRockstar Games' opus is similarly spellbinding in its presentation. From thick forests, dense swamps, and open plains to humble campsites, logging towns, and urban sprawls,Red Dead Redemption 2’s map is wonderful to explore, just likeSouth of Midnight’s varied take on the region. You won’t be double-jumping and gliding all over, but there are plenty of atmospheric horse rides to be found.
4Kentucky Route Zero
Cardboard Computer, 2013–2020
As a point-and-click game,Kentucky Route Zerois a far cry from the action gameplay andcombat inSouth of Midnight, and you won’t find a massive, stunningly detailed world like inRed Dead Redemption 2. That doesn’t meanKentucky Route Zero’s art direction is any less impressive, though;it’s a gorgeous game. With a frequently haunting atmosphere,Kentucky Route Zerosees you take control of a trucker named Conway, tasked with delivering a package to 5 Dogwood Drive, but even finding directions turns into a deep mystery.
Kentucky isn’t technically part of the Deep South, butthe game is heavily inspired by Southern Gothic literature, and has the same melancholic view of a troubled past. You’ll meet plenty of off-beat characters, and Conway’s journey gets progressively more bizarre.Kentucky Route Zerocan be as overtly magical asSouth of Midnight, and there’s a similar mysticism that permeates the whole game as you experience a similar rabbit-hole adventure.
3Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Capcom, 2017
Resident Evil 7was a turning point for the long-running and famed survival horror franchise. After a couple of entries that hewed too close to the action genre,RE7overhauled the formula significantly, providing the series' first foray into first-person perspective and limiting most of the explorable area to the Baker estate in rural Louisiana.The game is steeped in Southern Gothic themes, prominently featuring the maniacal Baker family, who have been transformed by a novel virus known as Mold.
It’s in this body horror thatRE7finds more common ground withSouth of Midnight. WhereSouth of Midnightsees Benjy merge with a tree, Laruent turn into the Rougarou, and Honey become a swamp monster,Resident Evil 7gives each member of the Baker family a horrifying transformation. The Baker estate and the surrounding area are steeped in a tragic past with connections to the Umbrella Corporation, theREseries' ever-looming menace.
The major departure fromSouth of Midnight, aside from the survival aspects, is thatResident Evil 7is terrifying. Exploring the Baker’s home is like stepping intoThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The switch to first-person did wonders in bringing the horror back toResident Evil, and the terror is only heightened by the confined spaces you’re forced into. There aren’t any of the feel-good moments fromSouth of MidnightinRE7, but it’s worth checking out if you dig the deeply troubling stories Hazel uncovers.
2Hunt: Showdown 1896
Crytek, 2018
Hunt: Showdown 1896is in some ways the greatest gameplay departure fromSouth of Midnighthere – it’s almost purely a multiplayer game. It stands alongsideEscape from Tarkovas one of the enduring entries in the extraction shooter genre, and as far as live-service games go, it has an unmatched atmosphere.Most of its maps are set in an unspecified bayou, where hunters accept bounties to slay grotesque and otherwordly creatures.
You and a teammate or two will fight other duos or trios for the bounty, which can be gained from finding and killing the boss creature, whose location must be narrowed down as you explore the map. If you’re lucky, you’ll find the boss, kill it quickly, and escape with the bounty, butyou’re more likely to become embroiled in nail-biting shoot-outsinvolving semiautomatic rifles and revolvers galore.
You’ll want surround sound headphones to playHunt: Showdown, as listening for particular noises is a major part of learning opponents' whereabouts and keeping yourself hidden.
Huntrecently went through a major overhaul, which resulted in the addition of1896to its title. While it’s certainly gameplay first, leaning on incredible sound design to make navigating the map stealthily a task in and of itself,it uses its setting very well with Southern Gothic flair. For instance, one of the bosses, Scrapbeak, was a Civil War soldier who lost their legs to cannon fire, and whose prosthetic legs were just the first of many body modifications that turned them into a lumbering, bird-like creature covered in various bits of scrap.
1Norco
Geography Of Robots, 2022
Norcois another point-and-click adventure, likeKentucky Route Zero, but it takes place firmly in the Deep South, set mainly in the town of Norco, Louisiana (and other areas around New Orleans) in a dystopian future.LikeSouth of Midnight,Norcorevolves around familial mysteries, with the main character, Kay, returning to her hometown after her mother’s death to search for her missing brother.Norcodiffers fromKentucky Route Zerowith its first-person perspective, but still boasts enchanting lo-fi graphics. You’ll explore the town and talk with a range of eccentric characters while the mystery around Kay’s family deepens.
Norco won the first-ever Tribeca Games Award at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2021.
Norcois unique in that it’s a more modern take on Southern Gothic themes.It draws heavily on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated Louisiana – and New Orleans specifically – in 2005. Climate change is a major theme, as is the role therein of major corporations, which may interest those who were particularly touched by theSouth of Midnightsection examining the logging company town Hazel explores on her way to find Laurent.
Just likeKentucky Route Zero,Norcowon’t keep you on your toes gameplay-wise, butit has all the style ofSouth of Midnight. The societal decay inNorcoevokes a similar feeling to the Stigma plaguing Prospero inSouth of Midnight, andNorco’s Shield oil company hangs over the town like Bunny’s hoarded wealth inSouth of Midnight.
Only Compulsion Games could make another game exactly likeSouth of Midnight, but since it’s so well-rooted in the Southern Gothic genre, these other titles will hit some of the same notes. Admittedly, none of these are an action-adventure game with the same kind of combat and platforming asSouth of Midnight, but its themes and atmosphere are far more important to its identity. If you lovedSouth of Midnightand want to play another game with similar vibes, tryRed Dead Redemption 2,Kentucky Route Zero,Resident Evil 7, orNorco.
South of Midnight
In “South of Midnight,” players follow Hazel, a young woman navigating a surreal, Southern Gothic landscape in search of her mother after a devastating hurricane. As a newly awakened “Weaver,” Hazel confronts creatures from Southern folklore, such as Two-Toed Tom and Huggin’ Molly, using her magical abilities to mend spiritual wounds.
