Ubisoft ends its torrid love affair with mini-maps

If you’ve played a Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed game in the last few years than you’ve more than likely become overly reliant on the least immersive addition to gaming in recent history — the mini-map. Well get ready because mini-maps must have said something nasty about Ubisoft’s mum because their friendship has finally come to an end.

If you were lucky enough to play Nintendo’s darling child for 2017, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, than you would already be getting your head around a world without a mini-map. One of the best things about Breath of the Wild was the way that I didn’t even notice there was no mini-map. I didn’t even mind opening the map and making my own markers based off an instantly recognisable locations.

It looks like both Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry will still have a compass that will point you towards nearby locations of interest that are in the general direction you are pointing. Outside of that you’ll be using your “totally not a ye-olde drone” eagle friend to map areas and enemies ahead of yourself in Assassin’s Creed, while in Far Cry you’ll use the less mystical powers of binoculars.

I for one love this. Minimal UI’s are a thing of beauty — removing the clutter also removes the feeling that there is just a bunch of busy work waiting for me ahead. The only thing that could make it better is the complete removal of waypoints and an over-world map that tells you exactly where you are. I love getting lost in a game, it’s the easiest way to appreciate everything that was done to expand the world.

We’ll get to experience this stripped back style for ourselves soon as Assassin’s Creed: Origins releases October this year and Far Cry 5 is releasing early 2018.

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