10 Video Games That Ignored The Industry (And Became TIMELESS)

At a cursory glance, South of Midnight might look like just another third-person open-world action-adventure game desperately vying for your attention.

But the truth is that the latest effort from We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games is actually a thinly-veiled throwback to the more straight-forward adventure games of the PS2 era.

For starters, South of Midnight isn't an open world game at all - it's a linear, seven-hour single-player romp that feels like an intentional throwback to the action-platformers of decades past.

That is to say, it doesn't feel mechanically cutting edge in the slightest - the combat is almost hilariously simple by modern standards, and the central gameplay loop is more-or-less repeated wholesale throughout the experience.

And yet, there's something refreshing about the game's steadfast refusal to inundate the player with exhausting progression systems, endless crafting, and other tiresome gumpth intended to bloat the experience out.

Instead, the relatively basic gameplay makes it easy for players to drink in the game's gorgeous Southern gothic vibe and just enjoy South of Midnight as the breezy ride it assuredly is.