Debate over Resident Evil 4 Remake's yellow paint resurfaces as devs explain just how much help players really need: "Realism is less immersive"

gamesradar.com:

Devs and players are once again going back-and-forth on the yellow paint that Resident Evil 4 Remake uses to highlight environmental fixtures like climbable ladders and lootable barrels.

the yellow paint is so unnecessary obviously a ladder is climbable obviously a crate is breakable why did they do this pic.twitter.com/oWTxn8rmGTOctober 2, 2023

This isn't the first or even second time this particular design choice has sparked debate, but the arguments and anecdotes coming from the latest discussion are probably the best ones yet. Here's hoping we can finally put this to bed.

The, for lack of a better word, Gamer Take remains pretty much unchanged: using yellow paint to highlight stuff is "unnecessary," an insult to the player's intelligence, gaudy, immersion-breaking, inelegant, and therefore this kind of visual filter should be optional rather than baked into the game. 

I can at least see the argument for making this type of thing a graphical setting, if only because, as advocate Steven Spohn points out, it's a huge accessibility win – though as I've said before, people who would disable this setting deserve the frustration that's coming to them. But the idea that it makes games less immersive dissolves under even the mildest scrutiny. 

The responses from developers have been many and varied, usually focusing on the pitfalls of realistic graphics and the realities of playtest feedback. "As environments get more detailed and realistic, materials get more complex and noisy, etc, it becomes increasingly difficult to direct players in unobtrusive ways," argues Dusk and Iron Lung creator David Szymanski. "And generally developers err on the side of caution when it comes to keeping players from getting stuck."

"The largest