After the action-adventure game "South of Midnight" was released on April 8, 2025, the black heroine Hazel was controversial, and the peak number of Steam online users was only 1,483.Recently, Adriyan Rae, the voice actor for the heroine of "South of Midnight" was nominated for the "Golden Joystick Award for Best Performance in a Leading Role". She was interviewed by foreign media GameInformer and talked about some of her opinions.

Adriyan Rae recalled that shortly before learning about the nomination, she happened to go to a studio where a golden rocker trophy was displayed.She had no idea that a few weeks later she would also be nominated for a Golden Rocker.She said: "I'm really excited and happy, it's an honor in itself. I'm so grateful, it's wonderful."

Adriyan Rae, the only black woman nominated for a Golden Joystick Award this year, said: "On one side, it's sad, but on another side, it's gratifying. It depends on how you look at it. On the sad side, these stories deserve to be told. Black women have powerful stories and strong characters that people can relate to, and their stories deserve to be represented. On the positive side, at least this is progress. This nomination proves that."

The nomination also shows that those who thought the story wouldn't resonate with the masses were wrong.“You look at the current situation and it’s enough to prove that it’s definitely right to have black women as protagonists,” she added: “So I feel like both of those feelings exist, but I would rather be grateful.”

Adriyan Rae continued: "I'm grateful for this progress. I hope it shows those responsible for making games and allocating budgets that diversity and representation are crucial. We have nothing to lose by choosing to include these (diversity and representation). This is the right step towards progress, and I am deeply honored to be a part of this movement."