Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 studio Sandfall Interactive has revealed it won't be adding a mini map to the upcoming PS5 RPG despite one or two complaints of players getting lost during a recent round of Previews. Speaking to Eurogamer at a recent GDC event, COO Francois Meurisse said the only change it'll be making is the addition of a compass.
Discovery and exploration are two important factors in the game, and the French team wishes to preserve that sense of wonder when you find something unexpected. Meurisse states that when you have a mini map on-screen at all times, you can "end up relying on it" instead of actually searching the world in front of you.
There's also an in-game reason for the lack of a mini map: all the expeditions before the one you're on failed. Therefore, nobody made it back to share a map.
"What we added on the world map that wasn't in the preview demo is just a compass, so you can find north easily and get your direction more easily," said Meurisse. This world map will be a wider view of the universe you are in and your current position within it, but won't zoom in to the local area.
Getting lost wasn't an issue we encountered when we played the RPG for a Preview earlier this month, which concluded: "Regardless of whether you’re a big JRPG fan or not, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a game you should be looking out for. Its impeccable art design and high-concept premise make it incredibly easy to be drawn into its world. Great character drama and a growing depth to character builds and combat will invest you even further."
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 releases for PS5 on 24th April 2025. Are you looking forward to playing the RPG next month? Let us know in the comments below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 26
I respect them for sticking to their vision!
If there's an in game reason for it, and the devs are passionate about it then I can respect this. But I feel like too many games are forcing the use of a compass instead of letting the player toggle a mini map or compass. This gets annoying because too often games - Ghost of Tsushima and Assassin's Creed Odyssey/Origins come to mind - will give you a search area for a quest, but because you only have a compass, it isn't clear where the boundaries of this search area are, so you can spend a lot of time just trying to gauge where you're supposed to be looking. Again, it seems like Sandfall have put much thought into it, but overall I'd prefer if devs just let the player toggle a mini map or compass.
Wouldn't a sane person create a map as they go? I don't have a problem with the absence of a mini map, but a fog of war or some other element on a separate map would be nice. Their reasoning is not really an argument for no mapping tool at all.
To be completely frank, it feels like everyone is trying to force immersion in games and this seems like another stab at that mentality. I mean, I liked being lost in BotW, for instance, but it’s starting to be a modern trope, “find your own way and get lost in this world.” Maybe I’m just getting old and I just want a good story. I dunno.
I wouldn’t say this takes away any of my interest in the game, but, given that this was a concern in a few previews, it does make me scratch my head a bit. I’ll have to see what I think of it. Given it’s on Gamepass, I’m ok being “maybe it’s for me, maybe it isn’t” at the moment.
For me a minimal does not dilute my experience in discover. It does irritate me during navigation however and partially ruin the exploration. Strange how the devs like you do what I think rather than just put a an option in the settings.
At the same time I also agree with the comment we can end up relying on the mini map. Though for me that’s usually when exploration is not fun or navigation is not easy without using the mini-map.
Hell yes! Compared to the on rails map marker chasing bs from a game like AC shadows or the stupid painted on rails climbing sections in nearly every game now, this is just so much better.
Tired of that bs.
Booked off a week from work to play this game (Yes I'm that excited for it)
Edit: Nope. Thanks Oram.
Compas can work if done right. Hopefully there aren't a lot of dead end wrong ways that lead to unnecessary back tracking.
Still curious about this one.
It could work if the level design is that memorable and snappy to navigate to the point where a mini-map is unnecessary. I'm not against it in theory, but it just adds even more pressure to deliver visually and design-wise.
@rjejr You sure you're not getting this confused with Dragon's Dogma 2, about the fast travelling part?
Love devs that actually encourage exploration
I'm really excited for this game, but every time we see or hear more about it the more pretentious it becomes. It's just a minimap.. not having one won't encourage exploration. The only thing it will encourage is frustration and people dropping the game.
@YoureTooSlowBro Because that clearly happened with games like Skyrim and Elden Ring lol.
They have kept the core aspect of what an RPG like this should keep anyway, which is the turn based combat. I can adjust to other changes, unlike with Final Fantasy...
Lowkey, high key, every damn key in existence hate this. This is a bizarre feature not to put as optional and comes across as lazy. I was so stoked for this game too 😭😭😭 Heavily debating canceling my preorder now.
Tbh since I’m gonna assume that the characters are “lost” (from what I gather from trailers it seems to be the case)
No mini-map makes a lot of sense plot wise.
With that said, it could have at least been a toggled option in settings for those who just really wants a mini map.
This sounds fun and interesting, my only concern would be making it clear what point triggers a story beat, so you don’t accidentally miss out on a chance to explore somewhere fully before being whisked away. But that’s only if it ever cuts you off from backtracking.
Love it! This game is really giving me Annihilation vibes, with this “no one has made it out alive of this mysterious zone that we’re exploring to stop the end of the world” story (the book, not the lame movie adaptation)
@Drax007 It is simple to cater to the online discourse about how games are too hand-holdy and get rid of discovery. The entire marketing has basically leaned into this.
Again exploration can be done well with a mini-map. One aspect of the Veilguard I like is how you open up the mini-map by traversing the world with a fog of war.
Huge dealbreaker for me. I have a terrible sense of direction and I really don't want to play more games wheren I'm lost all the time.
There's some map though right? I need some sense of direction relative to other landmarks or I'll get lost and angry.
@Nepp67 So.. have you just never played either of those games or seen any footage of this one? They're completely different types of games, genius. It'd be like FF7 not having a map while you're in the overworld.
Removed - flaming/arguing
Removed - flaming/arguing
I mean, I've pre-ordered this weeks ago so they're not trying to sell me the game. But seeing that purity of experience and concept when it comes to exploration is so important to them, as it is to me, I'm even more glad I've bought it. Ready to embark!
@Oram77 Well now that you mention it yes I do believe I am confusing this w/ DD2. Thank you.👍
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