Unlike most games that add a mini-map as standard, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 intentionally left it out.
Sandfall Interactive’s team, headed by CEO and creative director Guillaume Broche, aimed to get players to stop depending on icons and waypoints and instead focus on the game world itself.
To them, mini-maps spoil immersion by swapping the feeling of awe for straightforward efficiency. Broche didn’t sugarcoat it when explaining the choice.
During an interview on Dropped Frames, he said, “It makes it boring. When I played Final Fantasy 10, I just look at the mini-map. I don’t enjoy the environment. I don’t remember the level design. I just remember the maps.”
He went on to admit that, even though he dislikes them, he still uses mini-maps when they’re present simply because they exist. That’s exactly why Clair Obscur doesn’t include one. The game leans into visual storytelling and worldbuilding.
Players find their way by observing surroundings, remembering layouts, and using spatial reasoning. It hearkens back to early RPGs and soulslike games where learning the layout was essential for progress. Not having a mini-map relates to the story as well.
Earlier expeditions failed and left no charts or maps behind, so the player’s journey mirrors that sense of disorientation and raw discovery. Predictably, there has been some resistance to this design. Those who play casually or find navigation tricky have voiced their annoyance.
I’ll admit, I spent quite some time lost in places like Flying Waters, going in loops and fighting the same respawning enemies because I doubled back without meaning to. Even JRPG and exploration fans admit the game can feel like it’s about dodging confusion rather than soaking in the atmosphere.
Some feel that it breaks immersion instead of making it better. But leaving out the mini-map also encourages us to slow down and absorb our surroundings. Visual guides like lamps, climbing indicators, and subtle lighting help lead the way without spelling everything out.
It wouldn’t feel like an “expedition” if a map did all the work for you. Still, the chat encouraged some practical recommendations. Rather than asking for a full mini-map, some players have asked for lightweight additions like breadcrumb trails, fog-of-war style area tracking, or the ability to drop markers on the world map.
Others simply wish the game would highlight climbable areas more clearly or ease up on the visual overload in zones like Yellow Harvest. Despite all this, Broche remains firm in his stance. “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,” he explained.
“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.”
That quote sums up the entire approach behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The developers knew what they were doing, and they stuck to their vision. Whether it’s refreshing or frustrating, it’s undeniably distinct—and that’s exactly what they wanted.