South of Midnight chapter 1: Night of the Flood walkthrough
Night of the Flood is the opening chapter of South of Midnight. It is relatively brief and linear, and most of its mission objectives are straightforward. The action starts with a hurricane warning. You will see Hazel packing up alone since her mother is preoccupied with checking on the people at the nearby shelter.
This article covers everything you must know before starting Night of the Flood, such as important details about the lore, where to find mission items, and much more.
Disclaimer: Major story spoilers will be discussed beyond this point.
Night of the Flood in South of Midnight guide
After sorting through the difficulty settings, South of Midnight will start with a cutesy cinematic to explain the game's lore. Night of the Flood will begin shortly after. You will be in control of Hazel, the playable character, as you help her pack up supplies and personal belongings before evacuating to Jolene's church with her mother, Lacey.
Also read: Is South of Midnight available on GeForce Now?
The first objective is called "Find Mementos to Pack," and most of the items are scattered around the house. Hazel's house is small, and you won't have trouble looking for a stuffed toy and a painting of her as a child with her father.
The stuffed toy can be spotted on the chair and shouldn't be hard to miss. Approach it and press E on your keyboard to interact.
The camera perspective will zoom towards the doll, and Hazel will have a few words to say about how she acquired this memento.
The painting can be found hanging on the wall on the opposite side. Approach it and press E to interact. Hazel will then reminisce about the good times she had with her father.
After checking every memento, approach the box and start packing. Lacey will barge in and help with the packing, but the friendly conversation will quickly escalate into a fight.
Check on the neighbors
After a fight with Lacey, she will ask you to check on Beaux. He lives across the street, and you can easily spot his house with the lights on.
Beaux is having a party with his pups and will offer you something to drink. After checking in on him, head to Mrs. Pearle's to see if she needs help.
If you're having trouble locating Mrs. Pearle's house, it is the only other house with the lights on. After knocking on her front door, the elderly woman will tell you she is doing fine and invite you for a meal.
Hazel will open up to Mrs. Pearle, but their conversation will get cut off after she sees her house collapse and gets taken by the flash flood.
Follow the mobile home
You must tap into Hazel's track star roots to chase the mobile home, but the path is linear. You will find broken trees and use them as a makeshift bridge to get across and steal beams as ramps. Eventually, you will land on the roof and see Lacey inside. However, you will be knocked out after the mobile home gets hit by a car.
Hazel will miraculously respawn back to the shore. Get across and follow the path until you see the sign from the image above and get through. After a failed attempt to get on, Hazel will go to Bunny, a relative on her father's side, for help.
The following section will teach you the basics of climbing and scaling, similar to other platforming games. Hazel is athletic and can hang on to ledges to reach higher areas.
Reach Flood mansion
Hazel will see weird things along the way, such as massive monsters and the flood being divided by an invisible barrier towards the mansion.
After knocking on the door, Lily will greet you and ask you to return the next day. However, you will barge in and see Bunny, Hazel's grandmother. She will be intrigued by Hazel's claim of seeing 'strands' and will then ask Lily to prepare a guest room for her only granddaughter.
Also read: All difficulty levels in South of Midnight
Hazel will pass out on a chair and bleed straight into a metaphysical realm where you must follow the strands.
Follow the strands
The game will teach you a new mechanic called the Guiding Strand and lead you to the next point of interest. Follow the dream sequence until Hazel wakes up from her nightmare.
The main door will be locked, and you will find other creative ways to escape the Flood mansion.
Escape Flood mansion
Follow the strand to the balcony, and you will find some ledges to use to get across. Keep going forward. You will find old notes and a chest containing magical relics. These hooks can interact with the strands and be used to deal with Stigma, objects imbued with power to progress the story.
After escaping the Flood mansion and finishing the cutscene, you will get to the end of chapter 1 in South of Midnight.
South of Midnight is available on Xbox Series X/S, PC, and GeForce Now. For more related articles, check these out:
- Will South of Midnight be on Xbox Game Pass?
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- Is South of Midnight Premium Edition worth buying?