Summary
When diving into an open-world game, players often want to be immersed and lose themselves, no matter if the setting is sci-fi, fantasy, or historical. One of the many ways in which this can be achieved is with minimal UI clogging up the screen.
Over the years, too many games have plagued players with large HUDs, countless quest markers, and constant pop-ups. Thankfully, there has been a slight push back in recent times, and more and more great open-world games with minimal UI have been released.
Kingdom Come: Deliverancehas long been lauded as one of themost immersive historical games, and a minimal HUD helps players lose themselves in medieval Bohemia. In most situations, players will only see a small compass and health bar at the top and bottom of the screen respectively.
Beyond their size, these UI elements utilize muted colors and their art style fits the medieval theme of the game. Players will also see no quest markers above NPC’s head for example, with the compass instead guiding them there. One thing players may want to turn off, however, is the chatter of NPCs being displayed as text. Hardcore mode takes minimal UI even further, as only the compass is shown, but it has no cardinal directions, such as north.
Red Dead Redemption 2is a game that requires little introduction, with it being widely regarded as one of thebest open-world games of all time. Among its many qualities, is a minimal HUD that is also dynamic. For example, if players are simply roaming the land on horseback, there will be no HUD at all, and they can even turn on cinematic mode when following a path.
For times when more of the UI is shown, players have plenty of choice in regard to how much they see. For example, the compass can be turned off, although this means players might have to open the map often if they are unfamiliar with their surroundings. When the minimal UI inRDR2is shown, the Western-themed font and black-and-white color palette help keep things grounded within the game.
Shadow of the Colossusis not for everyone as players must travel throughan empty but atmospheric world aloneuntil they stumble upon epic fights against enemies of tremendous size. To consolidate this feeling of being alone and to further immerse players in the world, the game features practically no UI.
Upon gaining control of the main character at the start of the journey, the controls will pop up on screen, and, of course, they can always check the menu if they forget. Otherwise, the screen is almost always blank, especially as one ability allows players to hold their sword up, to light the way.
Ghost of Tsushimais a game with fairly minimal UI, with parts of it dynamically appearing when needed. It also has one trick up its sleeve that solves a time-honored problem for players who prefer playing without a minimap or compass displayed on-screen.
Usually, these players have to open the map when they are stuck for directions, but inGhost of Tsushima, they can click a button to initiate the Guiding Wind. While riding at break-neck speed on their horse, they can then follow the direction of the wind without ever having to stop to look up directions. The fact that grass and other plants blowing in the wind are so satisfying in thisbeautiful game, makes the feature even better.
Sea of Thievesis a funopen-world pirate adventure gamebest enjoyed with friends, and for most of the time on the open sea, players aren’t burdened with UI. The cartoonish health bar and ammo tracker, for example, will only be displayed when they aren’t full, and will largely go unnoticed.
The only other UI elements to be seen are player name tags which can thankfully be turned off for those who prefer a screen without clutter. All this allows players to focus on pillaging islands for loot and engaging in epic battles at sea.
The Witnessis an open-worldpuzzle gamewith no UI or HUD at all. Players wake up on a cozy but strange island with no memory of how they got there or even who they are. To have any chance of regaining memories and making it home, players must solve puzzles, of which the game boasts over 500.
Without UI or any help from the game, players are left on their own to figure things out, and can attempt any puzzle they want at any time due to the game’s open nature.
