South of Midnight’s Story Puts a Twist on This Weird…

South of Midnight draws on a lot of different influences to weave its tale of loss and forgiveness, primarily digging into folklore from the American Deep South. The shape-shifting Rougarou, ghostly Haints, and child-snatching Hugging Molly are all appropriate antagonists for the game’s location, and bring attention to the rich traditions of the region and its diverse inhabitants.

One of the game’s weirdest inspirations is not the bayou, however, but Shakespeare, and there are more than just a few connections. Though it is not too often that video games make direct references to Shakespeare, South of Midnight’s plot shares a lot in common with one of the bard’s classics.

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By Cameron Swan

South of Midnight Puts a Twist on Shakespeare’s The Tempest

A great storm takes the main characters from their home, scattering them in a land full of mysterious magic, encircled by impassable water, where they must work with fantastical creatures to escape. This synopsis could sum up South of Midnight or The Tempest, as their themes of personal tragedy in a mystical landscape often parallel one another through the game’s story.

Written by Shakespeare, The Tempest is set on a remote, magical island. Prospero, a sorcerer who fled to the island, conjures a storm to shipwreck a party made up of his brother Alonso, his son Sebastian, and other nobles, in revenge for being betrayed years ago. Split up by the storm, the various nobles work with the island’s denizens to either help Prospero, with Sebastian marrying his daughter Miranda, or to betray him, such as the comedy relief plot orchestrated by two courtiers and the monster Caliban.

The play has gone on to inspire many works in the centuries since, with some notable contemporary references, like the Dark Angels' homeworld of Caliban from Warhammer 40,000. South of Midnight does not try to match the same plot beat for beat, but there are some obvious crossovers.

The following section contains spoilers for South of Midnight.

All the Similarities Between South of Midnight and the Tempest

The hurricane that initiates the events of the story and washes the house away is reminiscent of the storm that shipwrecks the party in The Tempest. The hostile bayou environment where water is a danger has clear similarities with the sea that traps the nobles in the play too, splitting the characters up from one another. Inhabited by all kinds of creatures, friend and foe, the Deep South’s cryptids are ideal stand-ins for Caliban and Ariel.

Water is a major isolating theme of both, and serves as an almost unseen antagonist, having brought disaster and serving to make the protagonists easy prey in an unfamiliar land. Bunny Flood’s surname is clearly metaphorical, and while not a reference to The Tempest explicitly, it does mirror Prospero’s role in the play of bringing disaster upon her own family for selfish gain.

Naturally then, the town being called Prospero is a direct reference to the sorcerer of the same name, but it isn’t the only obvious one. At Kooshma’s Cabaret, Hazel is tricked into a play that puts her back in the story’s starting moments, where Kooshma intends to keep her dreaming for his sustenance.

What makes the dream section so relevant is not its contents, but the set-up. After breaking out, Hazel is surrounded by stage props, and finds other similar rooms where the same dream torture is carried out. During The Tempest’s fourth act, the characters put on a masque, or a play within a play, where Prospero manipulates Sebastian into marrying his daughter. The fourth wall-breaking scene is put on very deliberately by Shakespeare as a nod to audiences of the time.

Forgiveness is important to both stories as they wrap up, ending each adventure not with the defeat of its villains, but with the end of animosity in favor of new beginnings. South of Midnight delivers this message well, showing the power of empathy, and that collaboration is better than conflict. What South of Midnight doesn’t share is Shakespeare's passion for vulgar jokes, but then, that might be a quality best left to The Tempest.

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