AAA Games Should Take Note Of Indiana Jones & The Great Circle’s Solution To The Yellow Paint Dilemma

screenrant.com:

may have solved the yellow paint dilemma for good. On social media, "" has become a kind of shorthand for what some players see as excessive hand-holding in video games. Often, it manifests itself as actual yellow paint, slathered all over interactable objects like climbable walls and ladders. Some players and game devs argue that this kind of design is ostentatious, breaks immersion, disrespects intelligence, and limits freedom. Others hold that it's strictly necessary, since players are too obtuse to figure out where they're supposed to go otherwise.

Although the debate appears to have been reignited by the remakes, which introduced yellow paint even where the original games had none, yellow paint has since infected many major releases:,,, the list goes on and on. But one major 2024 game seems to have gotten away without yellow paint, even though it's got all the mechanics that usually demand it. Despite having pretty complex platforming, lots of ladders, and bundles of breakable containers, forgoes the primary colors entirely, but still finds a way to make hints work.

Instead of garish yellow paint, splatters climbable platforms with white — at least some of the time. It's a lot more subtle to begin with, so it doesn't feel overtly handholding, even though it's easy to spot. There's still a sense of satisfaction when the player chooses to investigate it and discovers their suspicions were true. Besides that, it's much easier to believe that a streak of white paint might've been left behind than that someone went on a rampage around the Vatican with a can of Pantone 012.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle valiantly attempts to recapture what makes the movies special, and like Indy himself, it usually lands on its feet.

But more importantly, doesn't rely entirely on white paint. It also uses other subtle cues, like torn rags flapping in the breeze, platforms jutting out oddly, strange holes in the wall, to tell players where to go. Sometimes, it's a voice line