Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will launch with no minimap. Developer Sandfall Interactive is extremely confident in their level design that they want players to feel more immersed by removing a core component of modern gaming.
If done right, it could prove to be a legitimate fresh experience. But, according to a few previews, the lack of minimap could prove to be a hindrance once the game drops this upcoming late April.
The exclusion of a minimap was confirmed in an interview with Eurogamer. Sandfall Interactive COO Francois Meurisse stated that players tend to heavily rely on them when they're included in games with tons of exploration.
We want players to discover the world as the expedition does it. They don't have a map because every previous expedition failed. So yes, sometimes it can be difficult to find their way
It's an ambitious concept. Most modern games that are open or semi-open world come with a minimap built into the UI. Players often just set markers to the main objective and ignore the vastness of the areas the developers crafted, which is a shame.
Of course, the usage of these helpful tools is not obligatory. In fact, many games offer the option to turn it off. A lot of Zelda fans believe games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are actually more enjoyable without a minimap clogging the UI. Not only does it make the game look more minimalistic, but the world is built around incentivizing a sense of discovery, so not having a marker telling exactly where to go works perfectly.
click to enlargeAlternatively, if exploration is done poorly, not having a minimap can hurt Expedition 33. I'll use Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth as a prime example. I love the scope of the world and gameplay in Square Enix's RPG, but some areas are an absolute maze, riddled with annoying passageways that end up making exploration a chore. It would be impossible to navigate Gongaga's jungle without an extra bit of help. It's hard as is, as the one built into Rebirth sometimes makes things even more confusing.
As for Clair Obscur, Expedition 33 is not trying to be like Rebirth or Breath of the Wild. My money is that the scale of the game will be smaller than both, but big enough to still warrant a visual guide to aid players.
The game itself looks gorgeous. Sandfall Interactive isn't afraid of showing the type of games they're using as inspiration. The flashy turn-based combat with active commands, the colorful world, and even the addition of an old-school JRPG overworld. It's all there.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will feature a compass, so there will at least be a tool that provides a sense of direction. I truly hope the developers nail the exploration as it's one of my most anticipated games of the year. Finding out that roaming around such gorgeous landscapes ends up being tedious would be one of the biggest disappointments of 2025.
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