South of Midnight: A Dive into Difficulty Settings
South of Midnight offers players an engaging experience with five difficulty options, including a fully customizable mode. Whether you’re drawn to the narrative of this Southern Gothic adventure as Hazel or prefer a challenge like the advanced Grand Weaver difficulty, there’s something for everyone.
While action games have long led the way in offering various difficulty levels, it’s refreshing to see South of Midnight cater to a wide range of players. The game allows you to adjust the difficulty at any time through the pause menu, encouraging players to explore without restriction.
Scryer Difficulty: For Those Who Want Pure Story
If your aim is to savor the core storyline of South of Midnight without distractions, the Scryer difficulty is your go-to choice. In this mode, combat and platforming become secondary, letting you immerse yourself in the narrative and the beautifully crafted world of the Deep South. Health Coils, your healing spots, can be used more than once in this setting, making addressing combat challenges easier.
Think of Scryer as existing below the traditional "easy" difficulty level, as noted by the developers for the next tier. You can always switch to a harder setting if Scryer feels too simple.
Healer Difficulty: The Easy Mode
The Healer setting is essentially the "easy mode" for South of Midnight. This mode presents a greater challenge than Scryer, meaning you might encounter the game over screen, requiring checkpoints to resume. Like Scryer, Health Coils are replenished and accessible multiple times.
While Scryer might suffice for those interested only in the story, Healer remains an option, offering another way to enjoy the game.
Weaver Difficulty: A Balanced Challenge
Weaver is your standard, balanced approach—often seen as the "normal" setting. In this mode, combat and platforming are challenging yet manageable compared to Scryer or Healer. From now on, Health Coils can only be used once, ramping up the difficulty a notch.
Starting with Weaver may provide the best onboarding experience for most players, allowing you to adjust later as needed, similar to my own initial playthrough where I found the balance in damage dealt to be fair.
Grand Weaver: The Tougher Experience for Action Veterans
Grand Weaver represents the highest standard difficulty in South of Midnight and feels similar to "hard mode" in typical action games. Enemies are tougher, requiring more hits to defeat, while they can take you down more swiftly. The overall combat becomes more frantic, suitable for players experienced in action genre mechanics.
If you’re well-versed in challenge-driven games, consider selecting this mode right from the start. For players skilled at combat, this might provide a more gratifying experience.
Custom Tapestry: Tailor Your Adventure
If you prefer a highly personalized experience, the Custom Tapestry mode is ideal. This setting allows for extensive adjustments across various aspects of the gameplay while maintaining access to the full narrative. Customizable options include:
- Player damage
- Health Coil strength/regeneration
- Player invincibility
- Enemy and boss damage
- Combat intensity
- Larva spawn rates
- Ally and hazard damage
- Crouton invincibility
The "Crouton invincibility" feature applies to your companion used for exploration and light puzzles, preventing them from being harmed, which can speed up those segments of gameplay.
Choosing Your Difficulty
For those unsure of their starting point, I recommend beginning with Weaver difficulty. The systems in South of Midnight gradually introduce mechanics throughout the game, ensuring you won’t feel overwhelmed. If Weaver turns out to be too easy or difficult, you can easily change the setting via the pause menu.
For some, the Custom Tapestry might fit the bill best, especially if you find certain combat elements challenging. In such cases, turning on Crouton invincibility and reducing hazard damage could help smooth the experience. Just keep in mind that changing settings during combat will reset the arena.
Ultimately, South of Midnight provides versatile difficulty settings to cater to both casual players and seasoned veterans, ensuring everyone can find their stride in this captivating world.
