Helldivers 2 was a massive hit right out of the gate for developer Arrowhead Game Studios, and the game’s popularity has only grown since it launched on PS5 and PC in 2024. Shedding the top-down perspective of the first Helldivers, this cooperative third-person shooter took the world by surprise by being equally hilarious, fun, and challenging. While it did suffer from a bit of controversy over having a PSN requirement on PC, all those issues have been resolved, and the game has gotten some major content updates at no extra cost. It is a prime example of a cross-platform game done right.
However, players on Xbox haven’t had an opportunity to join in on the fun, as the game is only available on PlayStation 5 and PC. Since so many modern games have timed exclusivity, you may be wondering if that’s the case for Helldivers 2, and we’ve got the answer for you below.
Will Helldivers 2 ever come to Xbox?
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Yes, after a year of silence leading us to believe that Helldivers 2 would never come to Xbox, the game has officially been announced for Xbox Series X/S. You can join the fight for Super Earth on August 26, with preorders for the game available right now. There’s the Standard Edition for $40 or you can opt to get the Super Citizen Edition for $60 which includes the following bonus items:
‘DP-53 Savior of the Free’ Armour Set.
‘Will of the People’ Cape.
‘MP-98 Knight’ Weapon.
Super Citizen Status.
Stratagem Hero Ship Game.
Premium Warbond Token
Once Helldivers 2 does hit Xbox consoles, it will integrate with PS5 and PC players with full crossplay support.
Arrowhead Games developed helldivers 2 as a second-party game published by PlayStation, but it is still owned by Arrowhead. This means that, after an exclusivity period of what looks to be 18 months, they would be free to sell the game on any platform they want. Arrowhead also noted earlier that it would not be partnering with PlayStation for its next project. According to Forbes, this new game will be “100% funded by ourselves so we’ll call 100% of those shots.” That doesn’t mean whatever game they make next won’t come to PlayStation, only that Arrowhead will be free to choose what platforms to release on.
Just a few missions intoDoom: The Dark Ages, I felt like I’d reached the apex of action games. There I was behind the controls of an enormous Atlan mech, eclipsing the kind of battleground that felt enormous to me moments before. The sky above me was scorched. Buildings turned to ruins under my feet. One by one, an army of demonic kaiju ate my metallic fists. How can it get any bigger and badder than this?
It doesn’t — and that’s both the gift and curse of the Doom Slayer’s latest saga.
In an attempt to one up the already hellacious shooter series, one that reached new adrenaline highs in 2020’s Doom: Eternal, developer Id Software turns every dial up to 11 from right Chapter 1. The battles are faster and more ferocious. Hidden lore becomes glitzy cutscenes. Our hero rides a mechadragon, for God’s sake. Every single piece of it is an exercise in maximalist escalation, trying to find a ceiling to a timeless shooter hyper violent glory. It reaches that height, but comes up against a hard truth: There’s nothing left to climb once you’ve reached the top.
Doom: The Dark Ages delivers another dose of reliable thrills by building on the foundation established by its excellent predecessors. The power fantasy of it all is more potent than ever, but Id Software’s experiment in excess proves that there is such a thing as “too much” when it comes to video game spectacle.
Year One
Rather than picking up where Eternal left off, The Dark Ages is a prequel to Id Software’s rebooted Doom series. It acts as a Doom Slayer origin story that draws inspiration from Batman: Year One, Frank Miller’s gritty tale about The Dark Knight’s first year on the job. That approach lays the groundwork for the most narrative-focused Doom game to date, complete with big cutscenes. It’s analogous to the jump fromMetroid Prime to Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. The latter built on Retro Studio’s famously atmospheric adventure by ratcheting up the lore and introducing a large cast of characters to deliver it all in dialogue. The Dark Ages does the same for Doom with mixed results.
ID Software
The idea is that it all takes place in Doom’s own medieval era, where humans fight a war against demons with crossbows, flails, and — you guessed it — shotguns. It’s a fun enough gimmick that allows Id Software to imagine more primitive versions of classic weapons, but the tale under that schtick is Doom’s most incomprehensible chapter to date. New characters who are never properly introduced spend cinematics rattling off proper nouns that never really mean anything to me. A lot of money went into creating a story that more or less just boils down to “There’s a war happening between humans and demons.”
More successful is its characterization of the Doom Slayer. While previous installments paint him as an all-powerful killer who’s always in control, he’s initially a tool here. The origin story involves him being reduced to a living weapon whose personality is electrified out of his body in order to give him a one-track mind that’s hyper focused on demon killing. It’s a clever meta twist that turns the character’s usually thin persona and turns it into a source of pain that drives him down a more layered path of revenge and destruction. A few key sequences that show his humanity cut through an otherwise convoluted word soup.
I can understand the instinct here. Doom has always been one of those deceptively deep series. To the average player, it might seem like there’s not much more to it than guns and guts. Deep fans will tell you that there’s much more beneath the surface, and The Dark Ages feels like it’s built to finally reward that audience. In delivering that, Id loses something special about the series. There’s a certain mystique to old games that were light on in-game story. They were often sparse and atmospheric, leaving players’ imaginations to fill the negative space. Only the most dedicated fans would crawl down the rabbit hole, finding secret lore hidden away in books or cassette tapes. Those scattered tidbits gave games like Doom a sense of hidden history, turning fans into archivists who could trade their findings with one another.
The bigger Doom gets, the smaller its world actually feels. Wet concrete seeps into every gap, creating a solidified record of history that’s the same for every player. Even the little details are enshrined in in-game Codex entries. 2016’s Doom reboot found a happy medium, retaining a sparse and sleek story while still expanding the lore. The Dark Ages goes full Hollywood and feels a little less special for it.
Primal violence
The expanded scope is detrimental to areas of The Dark Ages, but it does wonders for its core action. If Eternal was all about showcasing the Doom Slayer’s agility, this installment is all about power. The basics of shooting remain the same from the 2016 reboot. I rip and tear through enemies with an arsenal of oversized weapons, no reloading required. Battles are fast-paced and heavy, requiring me to constantly stay on the move while also remaining in the heat of battle in order to refill my health through gory finishers. Anytime my finger isn’t pressing down the trigger, I’m wasting my time.
The Dark Ages still does all that while layering in a wealth of new systems that make for the series’ most involved combat system yet. First, there’s my trusty Shield Saw. I can toss it like Captain America’s shield to cut through weak enemies or hold it steady to parry incoming attacks. The latter is especially impactful as it gives me even more confidence to stand tall in the center of the action instead of running for cover. Performing a perfect parry will also trigger my selected Shield Rune, which punishes any enemy who dares to lash out at me. My rune of choice was a shoulder turret that would activate on each block, letting me spray more lead out as an act of vengeance.
Similarly, there’s a greater emphasis on melee attacks this time too. By the end of the campaign, I’m able to equip one of three melee weapons: gauntlets, a flail, or a spiked mace. Each one has its own speed and power, but each easily allows me to chip armor off of enemies and get some of my own for the trouble. It’s another incentive to get up close and personal, doling out three-hit combos to buff up defenses while leaving my enemies defenseless. Systems like that successfully build on Eternal’s puzzle-like combat, which was built around using the right move to top off the right resource. The only difference is that I’m even more of a menace.
Those new ideas pair nicely with The Dark Ages new guns, which ratchet the chaos up even more. Some of them are your average Doom weapons, from Super Shotguns to plasma rifles. Each weapon has two modes that can be swapped between on the fly and each has its own small upgrade tree. The best guns in the batch are the Slayer’s new medieval-flavored tools, which really pay off the absurdity of the setting. One primitive tool throws a skull into a grinder and shoots the shards out in a wide spread. My personal favorite is a ball and chain that can be charged up, fired, and retracted. It feels incredibly powerful and just a little slapstick as it bonks demons. That’s exactly the kind of energy I look for in modern Doom games.
ID Software
What’s impressive is just how natural the juggling act of all these systems comes to me, another one of Eternal’s strengths that’s retained here. Every button has a clear use on the control scheme and I’m never left confused about what to press and when — the only exception to that is the radial weapon wheel, which remains a clumsy way to swap between guns on the fly. When I’m locked into an arena battle, combat becomes balletic. I toss my shield to one side to cut down some dregs and turn to fire a rocket. My shield returns to me just in time to parry an incoming attack, telegraphed with a green cue. I follow it up with a few flail hits and then a bloody finisher. All of this happens in one smooth motion, like I’m executing movements in a dance (a suite of great accessibility features helps make sure more players can find that same flow for themselves, too).
I don’t really appreciate how second nature it all is to me until I find myself dropped into a trap. After getting a collectible, I fall into a dark, narrow hallway that’s full of melee recharge items. Soon, a wave of enemies comes flooding towards me and I have to think fast to block their attacks and counter with quick shots. The action on screen almost becomes abstracted, full of flashing colors like a Norman McLaren animation. I don’t miss a beat, hitting all of my moves working off green and purple streaks alone. Moments like that are where The Dark Ages clicks most, putting the Doom Slayer’s instincts in my own head. You really start to understand why this guy likes killing demons so much. It’s a primal kind of violence.
Bigger doesn’t mean better
With action that strong, The Dark Ages should be the best entry in the trilogy. After all, it checks all of the right boxes. It’s a technical powerhouse, filled with spectacular visuals that create an enormous sense of scale, all while maintaining a smooth 60 frames per second. Id’s level design is at its best here, too. Chapters take me from hellish corridors to an open battlefield where I carry out a siege against waves of demons. Each space is meticulously detailed and filled with well-hidden secrets that find ways to use my shield as an environmental puzzle tool. The audio design is as loud and proud as ever, with gunshots and metal music combining into one ruthless symphony of destruction. The story is longer, has a bit of extra variety, and threads in plenty of epic set pieces.
So why wasn’t I nearly as thrilled with it as I was by 2016’s Doom?
The Dark Ages is emblematic of a recurring issue in big-budget franchise video game design. The instinct is to always go bigger each time. How do you top Monster Hunter World? More weapons, creepier monsters, larger environments. It’s all about escalation, whether through gameplay iteration or technical prowess. That’s the top priority here, but it’s a self-defeating approach that turns The Dark Ages into the most inelegant and meandering game of the trilogy.
The scope increase isn’t without some creativity, mind you. In addition to standard first-person shooting levels, The Dark Ages also features chapters that have the Doom Slayer piloting mechs and dragons. Both are fun ideas that feel like a teenage boy’s coolest dreams come to life, but neither are exactly as exciting as they sound. The first mech chapter is awe-inspiring, but the actual combat systems aren’t terribly deep. I’m mostly just hitting my right trigger to slowly punch out kaiju enough to fill a special meter. It gets old fast. The thrill of dragon flying is similarly short-lived, as I’m largely taking down ship after ship by completing a dodging minigame. Both gimmicks look very different and make for welcome formula diversions, but they boil down to the same one-note duck and counter gameplay hook.
What’s especially strange is where those chapters fit into the story. The Dark Ages doesn’t save either of them for some big, climactic moment. Both first occur back to back early in the run of 22 missions. That decision means that the scale climbs to unimaginable heights by Chapter 6 and then has nowhere else to go. With no sense of mounting progression, The Dark Ages is dynamically flat for most of its run time. An epic siege in a critical early chapters feels no different than a random arena battle in a lower-stakes transitional level later. The excitement turns to monotony once the same explore-and-shoot formula is repeated over and over across 45-minute chapters that shuffle the same enemies into different arenas. It’s no coincidence that 2016’s Doom is both the best and shortest of the trilogy. The Dark Ages is twice its length without actually adding much.
Bethesda
But hey, that’s just Doom, right? Of course every dial is going to be cranked up as far as it can go. The goal is to create a non-stop adrenaline ride that doesn’t take its foot off the gas, isn’t it? Excess is the appeal.
Is that actually true though? My instinct is to say that The Dark Ages is the logical progression for the series, fully realizing its maximalist potential. It sounds right in my head, but I don’t think that it actually is. I wouldn’t describe 1993’s Doom as excessive. Perhaps it was for the time, but its timeless appeal comes from its elegant minimalism. Walk through hallways, find colored keycards, shoot demons. It’s the shooter’s version of Pong, boiling the complexity of the genre down to its essence. 2016’s reboot worked because it carried the same energy, rejecting open-world trends of the time to create a focused, linear adventure fueled by atmospheric storytelling and heavy metal. Id Software has described The Dark Ages as a return to the series roots, but it couldn’t feel further from them. If anything, it feels like more of a cousin to the bloated God of War Ragnarok.
I don’t think any of this will stop players from having the time of their life blasting through demons. As critical as I am of The Dark Ages’ design philosophy, I still spent hour after hour poking around its intricate levels and mastering its stellar combat. I may have tuned out the story more than I expected, but my jaw wasn’t immune to dropping when I had to blast an approaching giant with an explosive turret. Even with its faults, this is still a bonafide blockbuster by a studio that knows how to dish them out better than anyone. It just feels like the pedal is as far against the metal as it can go. Doom: The Dark Ages starts cruising at 100 miles per hour and never pumps the brakes. That’s perfectly fine for a joyride, but you need acceleration to really appreciate speed.
Microsoft has just announced price increases across the globe for Xbox consoles and controllers, and the company also said some first-party titles might increase in price to $80 starting this holiday season. Unfortunately, it’s not a small jump; the price for many console models increased by at least 20 percent.
The lowest-priced console, the Xbox Series S 512GB model, is moving from $300 to $380, while the Xbox Series X is increasing to $600 from $500. If you want to snag the Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Black SE model, start saving your pennies: it’s now an unbelievable $730. Xbox controllers will now start at $65, while the Xbox Wireless Headset will start at $120. However, the Xbox Adaptive Controller will remain the same price.
That’s quite a jump all around. There is a small silver lining: no price increases have been announced for Xbox Game Pass, and the increased game price will only apply to new titles launching this holiday season. All existing games should remain the same price. It also won’t affect all new games, although Microsoft hasn’t said which titles will see an increase.
Photo by Anthony from Pexels / Xbox
These prices aren’t just for the United States, either. Microsoft says the change is global, with European and Australia also getting a hike.
Microsoft writes, “We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development. Looking ahead, we continue to focus on offering more ways to play more games across any screen and ensuring value for Xbox players.”
The announcement comes on the heels of similar news from Nintendo, with its first-party Nintendo Switch 2 games finding themselves the topic of public outcry. Microsoft also just posted its third-quarter earnings, showing increased revenue overall with much of that owed to Xbox Game Pass and other cloud services.
The higher prices will likely drive more players to the subscription services. Almost all first-party Xbox titles come to Game Pass on day one, and gamers on a budget will most likely be drawn to the service in order to play more games without dropping a small fortune each time a new title releases.
Gamers love to compare one console to another to know which will provide the best experience. The latest entry in the console market is the Nintendo Switch 2, which crushes the previous version when directly comparing the Switch 2 vs. Switch, but that’s to be expected of any generational leap. The more interesting questions are how things shake out with the Switch 2 vs. PS5, Switch 2 vs. Steam Deck, and Switch 2 vs. Xbox Series X. Technical power is one thing, but there’s more to a console than just raw power. We have compared everything a gamer should consider when deciding whether or not to buy a new console, from the best games to controllers and price, to make sure you know which console is right for you.
Switch 2 vs Xbox Series X specs
Nintendo Switch 2
Xbox Series X
Size
3.9mm thick
15.1 x 15.1 x 30.1 cm
Weight
TBD
9.8 pounds
Screen
7.9-inches, 1080p HDR, 120Hz.
N/A
CPU/GPU
Custom Nvidia chip
3.8GHz Custom Zen 2, 12 TFLOPS 1.825GHz RDNA 2
Storage
256GB
1TB custom NVME SSD
Wireless
Yes
Wi-Fi 5
Video output
4K docked via HDMI, 1080p handheld, HDR and ray tracing support
Up to 4K, HDR and ray tracing support
Speakers
Stereo
N/A
USB connector
2 USB Type-C ports
USB-A
Headphone/mic jack
Built-in mic with noise-cancelling tech, but an audio jack is included in the new Pro Controller
3.5mm stereo on controller
Game card slot
Nintendo Switch game cards
Disc drive or digital only
microSD card slot
Supports microSD Express
N/A
Internal battery
Lithium-ion battery/522mAh or ~20Whr
N/A
Battery life
2 – 6.5 hours
N/A
Charging time
TBD
N/A
Availability
Launching on June 5
Available now
Even for those who are technologically knowledgable to compare CPU and GPU specs will be at a loss here since Nintendo has been tight-lipped about the specifics of its chipsets. All we know is that it holds some form of custom Nvidia chip, but the more interesting thing to compare is what both systems are capable of doing.
Both the Xbox Series X and Switch 2 have the potential to hit 4K graphics (only while docked in the Switch 2’s case) and frame rates of up to 120. That said, not many Series X games hit either of those high-end targets, with most offering performance and quality modes that aim for 60 to 120fps or 4K. While we only have a small sample size of Switch 2 games right now, we see a similar story with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. This game in docked form can run at either 4K 60fps or 1080p 120fps. However, we don’t expect this to be the standard since this is a Switch 2 Edition of a Switch game.
The Switch 2’s internals not only allow for HDR like the Series X, but it also now supports both DLSS and ray tracing. DLSS, in particular, could help achieve those higher frame rates without losing visual quality. Xbox Series X uses a technology similar in AMD’s FSR and is also capable of ray tracing.
Storage-wise, it looks like the Series X has a huge advantage here, but that isn’t necessarily true. While Xbox’s 1TB system easily clears the Switch 2’s 256GB, game sizes are vastly different on each platform. Most major Xbox Series X games are reaching sizes close to, or even above, 100 GB per game, which will quickly fill up that 1TB drive. Switch 2 games, at least so far, are remarkably small. The largest we know of right now is 64 GB, with most falling between 5 and 10 GB. We will have to see how game sizes look going forward, but in terms of how many games you can expect to fit on each console before expanding their storage, the Switch 2 looks like it will be able to hold more.
Switch 2 vs Xbox Series X design and features
Microsoft
There’s not much to say about the Series X design, which could be a positive for most. It is a basic tower design that is simple and unobtrusive to have in your home. You can spice it up with different wraps, and there are a few color variations, but it is not meant to stand out.
Beyond games, the big feature going for the Series X is Game Pass. This subscription model comes in several tiers that give its subscribers access to a catalogue of free games from first and third parties to download ranging from the original Xbox to modern games, online multiplayer, PC access, and cloud streaming, depending on the tier. This does allow you to play Series X games on the go, though you will need other hardware to do it.
The Switch 2 is far smaller, whether in handheld mode or docked. Handheld mode is still the Switch 2’s defining feature and is ready to go right out of the box. It also includes its own subscription service called Nintendo Online and the Expansion Pass. At the highest level you get online multiplayer and access to tons of retro games from the NES up to the GameCube.
Switch 2 vs Xbox Series X controllers
Nintendo
The Xbox Series X controller is simple but effective. It is perfectly functional in every way but with nothing that makes it stand out. You can opt for a more expensive Elite version to give you more customization options and back paddles, however. There are also plenty of alternative controls, from the accessibility focused Adaptive controller to fight sticks and racing wheels.
Meanwhile, the Switch 2 Joy-cons are upgraded versions of the original. You can use them connected to the system via magnets or wirelessly in two halves as before, but now they also have mouse-like functionality. Placing one down on a flat surface lets you use it as though it were a mouse to make aiming in FPS games or navigating menus in strategy games far easier, though not all games are guaranteed to support this. If you wanted a more traditional control option, there’s also a new Pro controller with a layout very similar to Xbox’s that even has back paddles. There is also the new C button to activate GameChat, which allows players to voice chat directly through the system without the need for a headset.
Switch 2 vs Xbox Series X games
Microsoft
In recent years, Xbox has been drifting away from exclusives and putting more games on competing hardware, including the Switch. We haven’t seen what plans there are for more Xbox games coming to Switch 2, but we assume every game that can be ported will be, even if it isn’t right away. Xbox still gets nearly every major third-party game that hasn’t struck a deal with either Sony or Nintendo, however, so it isn’t lacking for games.
The Switch 2 obviously remains the only place to play Nintendo games. You will never see Mario or Link on an Xbox unless there’s some massive shakeup. With more Xbox and other third-parties eager to embrace the Switch 2 as a platform, you can get the best of all worlds with the Switch 2.
Switch 2 vs Xbox Series X price
Photo by
Normally, price would be the easiest comparison point, but things are a little muddled at the moment. Currently, the Switch 2 comes with a $450 price tag, but that may not be the case for long. Preorders were already delayed due to tariff announcements, and Nintendo may be forced to alter the price to reflect that.
The normal 1TB Xbox Series X still costs $500 or $450 for the all-digital version at the time of writing for a new unit, with a 2TB option also available for $600.
“South of Midnight is a tremendous display of artistry, even if its gameplay doesn’t hit the same heights.”
✅ Pros
Heartfelt story
Striking art direction
Incredible music and sound
A compact adventure
❌ Cons
The back half drags
Repetitive structure
Combat gets old fast
In the quiet town of Prospero, the Southern American setting of South of Midnight, the pains of the past leave a permanent mark. Trauma is not a scraped arm that fixes itself after a few days; it is a visible scar that can not heal on its own. It lives in the soil. It soaks into the trees through their roots. It thickens the swamp water and buzzes in the air alongside the mosquitos. If left untreated, it’s bound to get infected.
Developer Compulsion Games explores that idea in its latest action-adventure title, one that’s as invested in inventing a magical realist fantasy as it is diagnosing an illness in America’s real deep South. The specters of poverty and inequality lurk in the shadows like timeless folktale monsters. Prospero’s residents dare not say their names out loud; anyone who does ends up immortalized in a stray note left behind in an abandoned home. Rather than hiding from that darkness, South of Midnight recognizes that we can’t solve problems by ignoring them and assuming they’ll naturally resolve with time. We have to help our communities heal so the beauty within them can continue to blossom.
South of Midnight is a weighty adventure that pays tribute to the deep South with astonishing art, impeccable sound design, and the best music you’ll hear in a video game this year. It’s an emphatic journey about connecting with our most vulnerable neighbors when they need it most rather than leaving them to suffer alone. The artistic craft on display is unimpeachable, though the full package is weighed down by the demands of a big genre game that Compulsion isn’t fully able to keep up with.
There’s no place like Prospero
In an opening not so dissimilar to The Wizard of Oz, South of Midnight opens with a storm. Hazel, a teenage track star, and her mother are preparing to evacuate their small, rickety home when the two butt heads amid the tension. Next thing you know, the house is swept away into a raging river, separating the two women. After discovering that she has thread-controlling Weaver powers, Hazel sets out on a journey through Prospero to track down her mother (and their lost home) and reconcile with her before it’s too late. That sweet and simple mother-daughter tale makes up the story’s central artery, but blood pumps into its heart from multiple directions.
The narrative’s real draw is broader, as Compulsion uses its fictional town to explore the very real struggles of the deep South, particularly focused on the Black communities within it. Prospero is a quiet bayou town where history can be felt in its bones. The streets are lined with rundown houses that have been repossessed from families that are nowhere in sight. Scattered notes paint a damning picture of the exploitative factories on the outskirts of town that have worked Prospero’s residents to the bone for little pay and unsafe working conditions. Local eccentrics live on the edges of society like outcasts, all while holding in decades’ worth of personal tragedy.
Compulsion Games
It’s a magical realist setting filled with monsters inspired by Cajun folklore, but there’s a sobering reality under all the fantastical layers. This isn’t so far off from real towns in the American South where residents have been left to fend for themselves by a government that is keen to pretend that the injustices of the past are ancient history. It’s a primarily Black community where you can still feel the long-term effects of racial injustice. The story rarely calls explicit attention to those historical undertones, but you can feel how hard generations have worked to rebuild Prospero into a safe haven with no resources.
Hazel’s story is as much about reconnecting with her mother as it is learning to be a part of that community. The game’s 14 chapters take her to different parts of town where she encounters local legends tied up in tragedy. Exploitation, death, and kidnapping still haunt the people of Prospero, often manifesting as folk creatures like the Rougarou. Hazel isn’t just tasked with slaying monsters, including an army of Haints that have sprouted up around town; her job is to listen to those who have been left to suffer in silence. Each chapter is about giving empathy to those who desperately need it and using Hazel’s Weaver powers to bandage wounds that have been left to fester.
A standout example of that comes early on as Hazel must help out a giant catfish that has found itself ensnared in the branches of an enormous tree. What starts out as a standard video game mission full of platforming soon reveals itself to be the tragic tale of Benjy, a child whose brother left him to die in the trunk of a tree. It’s South of Midnight’s central metaphor: the unresolved pain of a community has been baked into bark that towers over the town. It’s not just the people of Prospero who need help healing, but the land itself.
The voice cast works hard to sell those feelings, fully committing to the setting. Adriyan Rae in particular owns her role as Hazel, putting forth spunk and compassion in equal measure. You feel like she’s someone who really cares about her town and wants to take care of her own, even if she’s still a teenage wiseass at heart.
South of Midnight’s story does start to unravel around its halfway point. Hazel’s relationship with her mother takes too much of a backseat around that point, as the adventure seems more invested in paying visual homage to New Orleans and other pockets of the region. It all wraps up a little abruptly considering how emotionally charged the first half is. It’s a moment where I’m left to question whether or not the project is a bit too much of a sightseeing adventure for Compulsion, a studio based out of Canada. There’s enough sensitivity here, though, to dispel that worry. The studio creates a fictional town here that feels rooted in authenticity. It’s the kind of story that big budget video games have rarely, if ever, dared to tell. Those tales, these places, this history — it all deserves a spot on center stage.
Sights and sounds
Though South of Midnight’s story is rooted in deep-seeded trauma, Compulsion’s aim isn’t to take pity on the South. Instead, it seeks to celebrate the rich culture and history of the region. That comes through in art, music, sound, and lots of references to great art of the area. All of the literary references that should have been in Split Fiction are here instead, with homages to Flannery O’Connor, Zora Neale Hurston, William Faulkner and more. The story itself plays out like a tribute to Daniel Wallace’s Big Fish, fusing Southern gothic with the kind of magical realism that’s well-suited for a larger-than-life video game adventure.
Compulsion Games
You can feel the genuine admiration for the South from the breadth of film and literary references, and that same care is baked into every step of the creative process. The most striking example of that is South of Midnight’s art style, which pulls its inspiration from stop-motion animation (while still maintaining a smooth framerate on top of an “animating on twos” effect). It’s not just a flashy gimmick; it’s what the story calls for. Compulsion tells a human tale here where you can feel the imprint of history’s thumb in every corner of the world. There’s no better way to capture that than by referencing a medium defined by its hand-crafted element. These aren’t robotic assets copied and pasted throughout the world. Everything, from Hazel’s face to quilts draped over banisters, feels like it was made by hand. The effect doesn’t quite go as far as Harold Halibut, a 14-year project painstakingly made through photogrammetry, but Compulsion does an impressive job of mimicking the medium in 3D.
There’s a level of detail here that I’ve rarely seen games like it achieve. Every single corner of Prospero feels like a distinct space. Houses aren’t just copied and pasted buildings reused in each chapter. Each one has an entirely different layout, cluttered with items and memories that tell a story. A ratty mattress shoved under a staircase tells me exactly how one family was living. Other spaces I visit have walls covered in crosses or family photos. I can feel the people who have been left behind everywhere I go. They are always with me.
While that art is sure to turn heads, sound is South of Midnight’s secret weapon. That starts with its phenomenal original score, which fuses rustic folk music, big band jazz, and gospel to create a video game soundtrack unlike any I’ve heard at this scale. It’s an ever-changing ode to the music of the South that fluidly bounces between lonely banjo twanging and the kind of exuberant orchestral showtunes that you’d expect out of a 90s Disney movie.
What’s more impressive is the quiet moments. Usually when I stand still in a video game, there’s not too much to hear. Maybe I’ll catch a bit of environment noise and a bird or two, but it tends to be just enough background noise to create a sense of space. South of Midnight, on the other hand, understands that nature is an orchestra. When I stand still here, I can hear a thick pack of mosquitos buzzing through the air, birds squawking in the distance, a frog croaking at my feet. When I close my eyes, I can feel the environment. The swamp air fills my lungs. The heat of the bayou sun touches down on my skin. I can see the golden yellow light illuminating the dead grass. Video games simply don’t sound like this, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to hear something likeAssassin’s Creed Shadows the same way again after this.
I’d wager that a lot of these strengths come from South of Midnight’s compact scope. It is not trying to be an enormous, open-ended adventure with tons of space to explore. While that always sounds more freeing for players, it tends to be restrictive for the artists who need to fill the canvas. The bigger the game, the less hand-crafted it tends to feel. Assets are reused, music repeats, cost-saving tricks are implemented. By keeping things slim, Compulsion is able to put more care into everything it touches so that it can bring the South to life in a way that feels thoughtful and authentic.
A so-so adventure
The artistry of it all is remarkable, but Compulsion runs into conflict when trying to balance its artistic ambitions with what’s expected of an action-adventure video game of this scale. This is the largest project the studio has ever produced and I can feel that inexperience rear its head here and there. That isn’t to say that South of Midnight isn’t a perfectly fine action-adventure game. It is, even if it’s not striving to be mechanically inventive. It’s more that Compulsion struggles to string some good ideas through a full 12 hour story.
Gameplay plays out as a traditional third-person adventure game. Hazel can double jump and air dash from platform to platform, occasionally clamoring up painted cliffs like Nathan Drake. It’s a straightforward, linear adventure formula — and it’s fitting for the story. South of Midnight is meant to feel like a timeless folktale. It makes sense for it to play out like a foundational adventure game, something that feels canonical. While playing, I was brought back to genre classics like Beyond Good and Evil that were able to fully transport me to another place without leaning too heavily on the concept of “immersion” to create bloated worlds. This is similarly laser-focused, like a tale sprung out of a storybook’s pages.
It’s just the execution that doesn’t fully bring that vision together. What initially feels refreshing becomes formulaic by the second half. Chapters have me collecting memories in bottles, fighting through repetitive arena fights with Haints, and running through an occasional platforming gauntlet where I inevitably need to wall run and skirt around thorny plants. As soon as I could identify the pattern, the otherwise natural world began to feel too mechanical for its subject matter.
Combat is the primary issue. Every battle drops Hazel into a round arena where a few different kinds of Haints spawn in. She can hit her enemies with basic slashes, but also use her Weaver powers to bind enemies, mind control them with her trusty doll companion, push them away, or drag them closer. I found a great flow in the early chapters as I learned how to use my powers to create distance between enemies, carefully timing my finishing maneuver to unravel a foe and get a bit of health. There’s a little bit ofKena: Bridge of Spirits, Hogwarts Legacy, and even Doom in here, which gives combat encounters a great sense of (literal) push and pull.
There aren’t enough tricks here to sustain the amount of fights that feel needlessly crammed in here, though. I had learned just about every trick I could in the first third, with only a few extra skills to unlock that mostly buffed the effectiveness of my skills. It feels perfectly satisfying to yank Hazel towards an enemy, bind it in thread, hit it with a few slashes, and repel it into a wall to get some separation, but that loop never really changes, even as it introduces beefier Haints that just require more slashing to defeat. The only reprieve comes in a handful of exhilarating boss fights, like a clash with Two-Toed Tom, a giant gator who gnashes at me with its jaws as I try to stun it with the ring of a church bell.
Compulsion Games
The more the second half dragged, the more I wished that South of Midnight wasn’t constrained by its action-adventure game needs. It is doing so much to set itself apart from its peers in its sound, art, and narrative, but so much of its gameplay feels obligatory. There has to be combat, and lots of it, to fulfill the “action” half of the genre. My Weaver powers have to be used to collect hundreds of Floofs from the same few environmental puzzles that get me to walk off the beaten path and extend the runtime. Even at a brisk 12 hours, the adventure feels longer than it is as it drags me through the motions. Sometimes, I found myself wishing that Compulsion had taken everything here and compressed it into one heck of animated film instead.
I’m glad that it didn’t, though. South of Midnight is daring for something of its scale, putting its faith in players’ desire for video games that reflect reality rather than shy away from it. As fantastical as it all is, this is a story meant to pull us closer to the very real struggles that people in forgotten pockets of America face. It wants players to confront wealth inequality rather than use it as toothless set dressing. It wants us to consider how Black communities are often left behind. It wants us to accept that America’s dark history is not a distant memory, but a disease that will continue to mutate until we take meaningful steps to make amends. It is a healing process that requires human hands.
Just as a stop motion figure can not walk without someone there to articulate its limbs, our world stops moving the moment we decide that it doesn’t need us to support it anymore.
The First Berserker: Khazan, like many Soulslike experiences before it, combines dangerous exploration with extraordinarly difficult enemies and bosses to fell, ensuring that genre fans have plenty to keep them busy for upwards of 40 hours. And if those ultra-challenging bosses are your main draw, you may be curious how many you’ll come across during your journey through the game’s dark and twisted world. The goal is to be prepared, after all, so we can’t blame you for wanting to know.
Well, look no further. Here’s how many bosses are in The First Berserker: Khazan and where you’ll find them all.
All bosses in The First Berserker: Khazan
There are a total of 16 main bosses to face off against in The First Berserker: Khazan, as well as an even larger selection of optional bosses encountered in bonus missions, which you’ll unlock by having discussions with NPCs around the Crevice (the game’s hub), collecting certain special items, or completing specific tasks.
Below is a list of all main and optional bosses, as well as the mission in which they’re encountered. Needless to say, spoilers await you beyond this point.
Main bosses
These bosses are encountered in The First Berserker: Khazan‘s main missions, which means you’ll have to learn and overcome their challenges to move the adventure forward. These range from tough to immensely challenging, so the average player can expect to spend quite a while learning their moves and finding the right time to fight back.
Yetuga – Banished Hero
Blade Phantom – Trials of the Frozen Mountain
Viper – Forgotten Temple
Volbaino – First Act of Revenge
Aratra – Strange Stench
Rangkus – Traitor Revealed
Maluca – Veiled Knives
Elamein – Devoured Village
Shactuka – Inconceivable Truth
Trokka – Witch’s Castle
Bellerian – Hermit Mountains
Skalpel – Corruptors’ Fortress
Princess Ilyna – Strange Melody
Hismar – Fall of the Empire
Reese – Bloody Sanctuary
Ozma – Master of Chaos
Bonus mission bosses
These bosses are encountered in The First Berserker: Khazan‘s bonus missions, which are optional levels you can take on to find extra gear, scrolls, upgrade items, and more. We highly recommend you complete all of them on your journey, as the additional loot and experience are well worth the time. Additionally, some of these bosses will essentially be retooled versions of encounters you’ve already had (perhaps with a new move or two), making the learning curve for defeating them a bit lower than you’d expect.
Keshta the Unyielding – Stormpass’ Phantom of Combat
Whether you pre-ordered The First Berserker: Khazan or bought the Digital Deluxe Edition, doing so entitles you to a set of in-game gear. Those who pre-ordered can obtain the Fallen Star armor set, while Deluxe Edition purchasers can score the Hero’s Weapon and Armor set. Those who both pre-ordered and purchased the Deluxe Edition can earn both of these sets. But if you’ve started up the game and want to know when you can actually claim these bonuses, we’ve got the answer for you.
Difficulty
Moderate
Duration
2 hours
What You Need
Access to The Crevice (main hub)
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Where to claim your Pre-Order and Deluxe Edition bonuses in The First Berserker: Khazan
Step 1: Before you can access your bonuses, you’ll need to beat the first two main missions of The First Berserker: Khazan.
Step 2: After completing the game’s second mission, you’ll be in the main hub known as The Crevice.
Step 3: From the place you spawn head behind a large pillar in the center of the room to find a shiny barrel.
Step 4: Interact with the shiny barrel to claim any pre-order or Deluxe Edition bonuses you’re entitled to.
As with most Soulslike titles, The First Berserker: Khazan offers a tough and lengthy campaign that will push your skills to the limit. Whether you’re facing tense exploration through dangerous environments or facing off against massive bosses with equally massive health bars, you have a lot to deal with here.
As the opening hours of The First Berserker: Khazan unfold, you’ll learn a lot about how the game functions via in-game tutorials and a handy encyclopedia. But we’ve compiled a few additional tips to get you started with the game so you can be as prepared as possible for what’s ahead. Let’s take a look at our tips for The First Berserker: Khazan.
The First Berserker: Khazan can be a brutally difficult game at times, especially on its Normal difficulty (more on that below). As such, grinding up even moderately better gear and increasing your levels just a bit can make a bigger impact than you’d expect. Don’t be afraid to find good grinding spots to help you get better prepared for bosses or tough areas.
Foes that yield a lot of Lacrima aren’t an uncommon thing to find near the end of a level. For instance, there’s a great grinding spot in the opening level right before you fight the game’s first main boss Yetuga. After dropping the cart down to the Blade Nexus here, you can head back up the cart and head right to find a large yeti creature. By using your charged heavy attack a few times, you can easily beat this guy down quickly. Rinse and repeat for a whopping 480 Lacrima per run (which is quite a lot early on). And if he runs off to fight the human foes below, you can go ahead and whoop their asses for even more Lacrima.
There’s no shame in playing on Easy
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As stated before, The First Berserker: Khazan is an exceptionally challenging experience that is certain to test the mettle of even seasoned Soulslike veterans. With that in mind, the game will provide you an opportunity to bump the difficulty down early in your adventure. There’s no shame in opting to go this route, as the goal of any game is to have fun playing it.
That being said, some trophies/achievements are disabled when playing on Easy. Keep this in mind if you’re going for 100% completion. But you can always consider this route as preparation for a harder future run. Ya know, just ease yourself into it!
Also, if you didn’t swap to Easy when prompted by the game, you can find the difficulty settings under the Accessibility tab in your Settings menu. Here, you can also bump things back up to Normal at any point.
Experiment as much as you’d like
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The First Berserker: Khazan has multiple weapon types and a lot of different skills you can invest in for each of them. Part of the fun of this brutal Soulslike experience is figuring out which of these weapon and skill setups work best for you. Since you can respec your skill points for free at any time, you should experiment with all the weapon types and as many of their skills as possible to see if you can find a build that feels just right.
Blocking tends to work better than dodging
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Your build and playstyle will determine what works best for you between dodging and blocking in The First Berserker: Khazan, but in our experience, blocking seems to be the safest choice in a lot of situations. You can absorb quite a few hits while blocking even at the beginning of your journey, and investing in the appropriate stats to bolster this even further can make you quite a tank as you continue through the game. Because you generally won’t take any damage at all when blocking, you can use this method to patiently wait out difficult enemies or bosses, waiting for just the right time to get in a hit or two.
Of course, if a defensive playstyle isn’t your cup of tea, you can also weave in plenty of parries to save your stamina and whittle away your opponent’s. And it goes without saying that dodging remains a viable strategy against certain types of attacks (especially grabs), so don’t discount it entirely!
Complete Bonus Training for extra rewards
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The First Berserker: Khazan is a very loot-driven game, so you’ll find a smorgasbord of weapons, armor, consumables, and more as you defeat enemies and explore the environments of each level. However, there’s a relatively well-hidden additional way you can score some useful items, and it also offers a nice dopamine hit in the process: Bonus Training challenges.
Bonus Training challenges are found within Daphrona’s Codex, which is accessed in your menu. You’ll notice a treasure icon beside the names of some enemies. If you look at their codex entry, you’ll see challenge that can be completed to earn a listed item. These usually ask you to defeat an enemy type in a specific manner or without taking damage. Whatever the challenges ask of you, make sure you return to the Codex entry after completing it to claim your prize!
If you’re diving into The First Berserker: Khazan, you may have taken a glance at its skill trees and felt a bit overwhelmed. There are a lot of skills to choose from, and it can be difficult to figure out which suits you best. We’re always trying to make things easier for you, though, so we’ve decided to list our picks for the best skills to buy first from each tree, which should make the game’s opening hours slightly more manageable.
Note: Remember that while Common Skills are used across any build, weapon skills are exclusive to that weapon. As such, only invest skill points in the weapon you’re currently using. You can always unlearn them for free at any time and move them to another skill tree if you decide to swap weapons.
Common Skills
Berserk Spirit – Berserk Spirit is found in the Resources sub-tree. This skill increases how much Spirit you can when attacking. Since you’ll need Spirit to use many of your active abilities, this is an important skill to have as early as possible.
Brutal Attack: Reap – Brutal Attack: Reap is found in the Brutal Attack sub-tree. Having this skill means you’ll always earn a bit of health when performing a brutal attack from the front. This is especially helpful early in the game when your healing resources are so limited, and it could be just enough to save your life against a tough boss.
Javelin: Charge – Javelin: Charge is found in the Javelin sub-tree. This skill allows you to charge your javelin throws at the cost of an additional Spirit charge. Since there are a lot of situations where archers are pinging you from afar, this helps you make quick work of them. It can also be used to deal a huge chunk of surprise damage to an enemy you’re trying to pull, giving you a leg up in battle by the time they reach you.
Dual Wield Skills
Blazing Assault – Blazing Assault is found in the Swift Attack sub-tree. This skill provides you with a fifth strike when using a swift attack combo. It doesn’t sound too exciting on paper, but more strikes mean more damage, and more damage means dead enemies.
Whirlwind – Whirlwind is found in the Switch Attack sub-tree. With this skill, you can use a heavy attack after a swift attack to send yourself into a whirlwind leap that spins you into an enemy for huge damage. This is one of the best ways to chip away at bosses, and it’s only made better once you reach level 18 and pick up Phantom: Sword Dance, which offers a huge damage buff when using this skill.
Blowback – Blowback is found in the Guard sub-tree. Having this skill unlocked will cause you to deal damage to enemies when you pull off a successful brink guard. If you’re particularly adept at brink guarding, this can boost your overall damage output by a surprising amount, especially against extremely aggressive enemies.
Greatsword Skills
Mortal Blow – Mortal Blow is found in the Swift Attack sub-tree. This skill lets you follow up a swift attack with a fast, high-damage heavy attack. Since the greatsword is very slow by default, this can be especially useful during the early hours of the game by letting you land extra damage without leaving yourself open too long.
Heat of Battle – Heat of Battle is found in the Unbreakable sub-tree. With this skill unlocked, you’ll have more poise and take less damage when you’re hit mid-attack. More poise means you’ll be less likely to be interrupted by an attack, making this a must-have against enemies that you know will be trying to sneak in hits during your combos.
Armor Breaker – Armor Breaker is found in the Guard sub-tree. This skill allows you to follow up a block or brink guard with two swift slashes. While it won’t suit every person’s playstyle, defense-minded folks can use this to “turtle” behind their blocks, deal quick damage at the end of an enemy’s combo, and then return to a guard stance to repeat the process. At level 18, you can grab the Heart Piercer skill, too, which gives you the option for a nice stab attack after the initial Armor Breaker combo.
Spear Skills
Moonlight Stance – Moonlight Stance is found in the Swift Attack sub-tree. This skill applies a 15-second buff to your Spear after you complete a swift attack combo, granting you afterimage attacks with all subsequent strikes. This is the bread and butter of the Spear, so your goal should be to always keep it active. The extra damage this buff provides is invaluable, and picking up Moonlight Stance: Vitality at level 10 can increase your stamina recovery rate while under its effects.
Crescent Strike – Crescent Strike is found in the Shrewd sub-tree. This skill sends you leaping into the air to slam down on a foe. It also deals extra damage to weak points. Nearly all of the active abilities you can use with the Spear are fantastic, so which is truly the best will come down to preference. But in our opinion, this skill is a great early-game choice due to how quickly it activates, which makes it easy to use during tense, rapidly-paced battles.
Breakdown – Breakdown is found in the Guard sub-tree. With this skill in your repertoire, you’ll deal increased stamina damage to any enemies affected by brink guards. The Spear is already a great tool for eating through an enemy’s stamina, and this just speeds things along even more!
As you navigate the challenging world of The First Berserker: Khazan, you’ll spend a significant amount of time checking every nook and cranny for sweet loot. There’s plenty of it to find, too. But as with almost every Soulslike game, some of The First Berserker: Khazan‘s loot is sporting a trap! While not technically a mimic, there are some scary things lying in wait for you as you pick up loot throughout the game’s levels, and failing to recognize them could cost you a huge chunk of health — or maybe even your life.
Here’s how to spot one of these traps and what you can do to save yourself from them.
How to spot a Crypt Devourer in The First Berserker: Khazan
While exploring levels in The First Berserker: Khazan, you’ll occasionally see dead bodies that glow red. Interacting with these corpses will normally earn you some Soul Tier Dust and a brief dialogue sequence, but some are housing something dangerous beneath them. When you interact with one of these, you’ll be greeted by a giant worm-like creature called a Crypt Devourer, who will grab you, deal damage, then throw you haphazardly onto the ground. In some cases, the throw can even send you into a pack of enemies or off the side of a level where you’ll fall to your death.
Luckily, once you know how to spot a mimic, they no longer pose much of a problem.
For starters, corpses with a Crypt Devourer waiting beneath them tend to not glow quite as strongly as normal ones, so keep an eye out for a less potent red dust around it. Due to the lighting in the environments, though, this isn’t always a perfect science.
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To know for sure whether you’re facing a trap corpse, pull out your javelin and place your reticle over the corpse. If it turns red when doing so, you know there’s a Crypt Devourer there. Throw the javelin to kill it in one hit and save yourself from getting tossed around by an ugly worm.
