Beginner’s Guide#
South of Midnight is a linear, chapter-based third-person action adventure with no character levels, no equipment slots, and no systems to study — a beginner needs far less than in most action games. This page covers three things only: how to set up before starting, which controls to drill, and where to focus early. All mechanics follow verifiable sources as of October 2026.
Pre-Game Setup#
Difficulty: Wrong Choice? No Fear#
The game offers four preset difficulties plus a custom tier, all changeable anytime in settings, with no achievement tied to difficulty. The four presets, officially described:
| Difficulty | Positioning | Advice |
|---|---|---|
| Scryer | Story-focused | Players who want the story and art at least resistance |
| Healer | Easy | Players with less action-game experience |
| Weaver | Balanced | The default recommendation — combat and narrative in equilibrium |
| Grand Weaver | Advanced | Players wanting a more oppressive combat experience |
| Custom Tapestry | Custom | Adjust player damage, boss damage, damage risk, invincibility toggle, and more |
Difficulty fine print (including “changing mid-fight restarts the encounter”) is on the dedicated Difficulty System page.
Accessibility: The Official Menu Is Generous#
The accessibility menu is thorough; the official FAQ explicitly lists these options — turn them on as needed rather than white-knuckling:
- Skip boss fights
- Skip combat
- Skip chase sequences
- Invincibility toggle
- Motion blur toggle
- Stop-motion effect toggle
In other words, any segment that troubles you has an official, legitimate way around it — no unconventional workarounds required.
Language and Saves#
- Subtitles support 23 languages including Simplified and Traditional Chinese; no Chinese voice-over.
- The Steam version supports Steam Cloud saves.
Basic Controls#
Hazel’s controls revolve around four action modules. For exact bindings, defer to the in-game “Settings → Controller” screen — this page explains what each module is for rather than reproducing key tables:
| Module | Purpose | Beginner Note |
|---|---|---|
| Move and jump | Progress the linear levels, position | Level paths are broadly single-lane; when lost, follow the main road |
| Dodge | Evade attacks, with a Perfect Dodge check | Perfect Dodge has its own achievement (In the Nick of Time) — drill it early |
| Melee combos | Primary damage | Combos are the damage backbone; most fights are melee-led |
| Weaving skills | Ranged damage and crowd control | See table below; each joins the combat loop as it unlocks |
The weaving actions unlock in sequence, each with a clear purpose:
| Weaving Action | Notes |
|---|---|
| Weave | Skill damage that chains with melee combos |
| Strand Pull | Yank an enemy toward you — breaks their advance or closes the gap |
| Strand Push | Shove enemies away — buys safe distance |
| Crouton | Deploy the rag double to draw aggro and relieve swarms |
| Aerial Rend | Air interrupt that can cancel enemy actions |
| Unravel | The finisher against weakened enemies |
Systematic breakdowns of these on the Combat System and Weaving Abilities pages.
Early-Game Advice#
Chapter 1: Take the Tutorial Seriously#
Chapter one, Night of the Flood, opens in the hurricane’s aftermath and carries the tutorial load: movement, jumping, dodging, melee, and weaving skills all come online here. Don’t skip the tutorial segments — the boss fights of chapters 5, 7, 9, and 13 all rest on these basics, and debts skipped early get collected mid-game.
Upgrades: Grab Floof on Sight#
There’s no XP or levels — all growth comes from 21 upgrades bought with Floof, across five lines: General (9), Weave (3), Strand Push (3), Strand Pull (3), and Crouton (3). Buying everything costs 1,940 Floof while the game holds 2,210 total. That means:
- Floof supply is tight with little slack — grabbing on sight is the right habit.
- Foreign outlets like GameRant have published “which upgrades to buy first” features; this site’s general advice is survival-oriented melee and dodge options first, then crowd control and the Crouton line — the full allocation in the Abilities guide.
- Your first upgrade unlocks the Learning the Ropes achievement.
Collection: No Need to Catch Them All#
The four collectible types (Floof, Tin Flips, Readables, Health Filaments) are all unmissable because every chapter is replayable. Grab them in passing on playthrough one; the systematic full-collection plan is in the Collectibles Guide.
Boss Fights: The Legitimate Answers When Stuck#
The game has only 5 mythic-tier opponent fights, and the chapter 3 Benjy sequence has no actual combat at all. When stuck, work this order:
- Check whether you’re fluently using Strand Pull / Strand Push — most boss solutions are crowd control, not stat checks.
- Drop the difficulty a tier or switch to custom parameters — changeable anytime, zero achievement penalty.
- Use the official accessibility option to skip the boss fight — the story experience is unaffected.
Full breakdowns in the Boss Guide.
Common Beginner Misconceptions#
| Misconception | Reality |
|---|---|
| Trying to grind XP and levels | No levels or XP exist — growth is Floof upgrades only |
| Worrying about missed collectibles | All collectibles are unmissable; chapters replay anytime |
| Assuming gear and crafting systems | No equipment, crafting, relics, or totems — growth is exactly 21 upgrades |
| White-knuckling a high difficulty | Difficulty changes anytime with no penalty, plus invincibility and other toggles |
| Treating every enemy as a must-kill threat | The game is built around crowd control — pull, push, and the Crouton double all beat brawling |
| Looking for an open-world map and fast travel | It’s linear and chapter-based — no open-world map, weather system, or fast travel |
Next Steps#
- To understand combat systematically: read the Combat System.
- To plan upgrades: read the Abilities guide and Upgrades and Floof.
- To know what each chapter holds: read the Chapters guide.
- For specific questions: check the FAQ.