Clair Obscur: Expedition 33is full of amazing original features and unique ideas that make the experience truly one of a kind. But there’s one intentionally left-out gameplay feature that I personally wish would be included in an eventual update, despite developers saying it will likely never happen. By design,Clair Obscurwants players to explore each location in its entirety and give you a sense of discovery along the way, and the way it enables that is by not giving players a mini-map to navigate each area.
While I understand the logic behind this choice, I still find myself wanting a mini-map after multiple full playthroughs and over300 hours of gameplay. While I can understand and accept thatClair Obscurwillnever get a mini-mapbecause the missing feature encourages exploration, I’m completely surprised there’s not a decent mini-map mod already available from the game’s modding community. Modders forClair Obscurare diligent and quite active, and they’ve even managed to influence developers to include new features, such as difficulty modifiers and parry/dodge window adjustments.
Clair Obscur Needs A Mini-Map Option For Accessibility
Having A Mini-Map Option Would Be A Game-Changer For Some Players
There’s a strong argument to be made on both sides of the mini-map debate forClair Obscur: Expedition 33.On the no mini-map side of things, the game is designed to encourage exploration throughout each new area by forcing players to find their way through sometimes labyrinthian pathways, such as the Ancient Sanctuary. By not having a mini-map,there are real consequences for not exploring thoroughly, such as missing essential loot, enemies, item drops, and even narrative details that require traveling off the beaten path.
On the other hand, players who want a mini-map argue that not having one is an unnecessary limitation, and might even be a barrier to exploration. While it’s interesting to go through to see if you may have missed a secret hidden around some random corner, by the time you reach your secondplaythrough in NG+, the lack of a mini-mapstarts to feel like an unnecessary obstacleintroduced by devs to give players the illusion of a challenge. A player getting lost doesn’t equate to a challenge as much as it does frustration.
Mini-maps make exploration easier for a wider audience of players, some of whom may struggle to even play the game without one.
Aside from being frustrating, this could be seen as an accessibility issue as well. Mini-maps make exploration easier for a wider audience of players, some of whom may struggle to even play the game without one. At the very least,a mini-map should be an optional featurethat can be toggled on or off based on accessibility preferences. Alternatively, a mini-map could be included exclusively in Story Mode to give players who are looking for a casual gameplay experience an additional way to enjoy the game.
Why There’s No Mini-Map In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Developers Believe A Mini-Map Hinders Immersion
In a pre-release interview (viaTwitch), Guillame Broche, CEO of Sandfall Interactive, argued thatimmersion is more important than completing the game to 100%and finding every single secret area. Without a mini-map, players are simply going to miss things, but this is a feature thatClair Obscurthinks is essential if you want players to be fully immersed in the world. Broche says the following about the lack of a mini-map feature:
“When you stop the game and are like, ‘Oh, maybe I should have gone to this little pass that I saw before, maybe there was something.’ Then, you remember all the game, all the level design and everything, and it makes the exploration a lot better… Yeah, you’re going to miss stuff. Yes, you’re not going to find all the secret passages. That’s the beauty of RPGs: missing stuff.”
Whether or not you agree with Broche’s philosophy on mini-maps or what makes RPGs great, he definitely seems to have a strong opinion about the decision to leave mini-maps out of the core game.I’m not sure if I agree that all players will"remember all the game"by being forced to explore without a mini-map, and it’s certainly not true that successful RPGs with mini-maps are inferior at immersing players into a world. Arguably, mini-maps are simply tools that players can choose to use or not in order to enhance exploration or make it easier.
Clair Obscur’s Mod Community Needs To Step Up
It’s Unlikely A Mini-Map Will Be Added, So Mods Are Our Best Bet
Ultimately, it seems like developers at Sandfall Interactive, the company behindClair Obscur: Expedition 33,intentionally left mini-maps out as a way to encourage players to explore, for better or worse. Thelikelihood of themadding a mini-map function in a future patch or update seems lowbased on their stated intentions with the game even before its launch. Considering Broche stated in no uncertain terms before the game’s release that a mini-map “makes it boring,” I’m almost certain we won’t see one unless the modding community steps up.
It’s actually quite surprising there isn’t a functional mini-map mod already given how active the modding community is forClair Obscur.At least one mod does exist, but it’s quite buggy at the moment and probably not worth downloading until it’s updated significantly.Modders forClair Obscurare missing an opportunitythough, as this is probably one of the most useful features missing from the game. Considering there probably won’t be any other viable option for a mini-map without a mod, it’s time someone who knows what they’re doing steps up for the community’s sake.
After the most recent patch update, you are now able to rematch against Simon down in the Abyss, who is easily the most difficult boss in the game.
Omitting a mini-map is a deliberate choice by developers, and it’s one they’re completely entitled to make. I can see the argument from both sides here, and I think players can enjoy and complete the game without the crutch of a mini-map just fine. However,there are going to be instances where the lack of a mini-map might be an accessibility issue,and this is why I think it should be considered as a permanent fixture. If that is ever to happen, I think a functional mini-map mod could actually sway developers' opinions, at least based on recent mod-based updates.
It seems that popular mods are not being ignored by developers, as evidenced by their willingness to incorporate difficulty modifiers, a proper easy mode that increases dodge and parry windows, etc. These features were rolled out in the most recent update, and all of them were more or less based on the most popular community mods being used by numerous players. If Sandfall is going to be convinced to include a mini-map feature permanently toClair Obscur: Expedition 33, it’s going to require a communal effort and a functional mini-map mod used by a large portion of players.
