NOT having a minimap is now considered super hard core??
Oh have times changed lol.
Apparently, yes. Not even playtesters frequently can cope anymore.
https://www.pcgamer.com/dishonored-clues-hints/ (Big thorn in my side in an otherwise great game, in which all the markers ARE optional, since they even added an NPC spoiling the mission objective, no detective work much required whatsoever).
That's not becaues of people being "dumber". It's because of years of conditioning. Games like Horizon Forbidden West or God Of War even go this far, they have the characters solving puzzles by talking as soon as you get there... apparently, there's starting to be some backlash now though. Plus the aforementioned Elden Ring and even Zelda showing that excessive handholding is no requirement to reach players. Which is a good thing, if you ask me.
I mean, I hardly ever play games on the hardest difficulty or anything. However, if things solve themselves and you're just following the red dotted lines in between cutscenes or plot points, that's just boring. Might as well watch a Netflix show.
Thing is, BG3 so far hasn't struck me as that bad though. In a couple instances, like when I was simply tasked to go find an NPC to talk to in a settlement, I embraced that some. It's just a convenience thing as I didn't need to walk the entire place (and there's usually no visual cues or dialogue to guide you here).
However, I can't imagine a decent DUngeon Master coming up with a quest like that: THERE'S A PERSON THAT GOT LOST DEEP DOWN IN THE UNDERDARK SOMEPLACE. And then guiding players right to the guy... why even have a quest like that in the game then?
PS: Speaking about conditioning: I hardly get lost navigating places, even cities I've never been to. And I attribute most of that to having grown up on the likes of Eye Of The Beholder, Might & Magic et all -- and I learned to navigate their mazes of same, same looking corridors without manually drawing maps myself, but by memory!
