this post was submitted on 06 Dec 2023
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94
Good gaming experiences with no HUD? (self.games)
submitted 11 months ago by PolishAndrew to c/games
86 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I'm starting to find that HUDs in games clutter the screen and take away from being fully immersed in the game. I like games that force you to pay attention to what's going on in the game and not numbers/markers on the edges of the display. What are some of your favorite games to play with no HUD? Here are a few of mine:

Astroneer - this game has tool tips on screen but that's about it. There isn't even an inventory, all objects are interactive and you can physically place them on your backpack.

Battlefield 1 - super gritty and immersive, but playing without a HUD really puts you at a disadvantage online.

Red Dead Redemption 2 - I liked that you could hide the HUD, but the mini-map was a tap on the d-pad away if you get lost. It was a super immersive experience!

Grand Theft Auto 5 - maybe not designed to be played without the HUD, once you get used to the layout of the city this becomes a lot easier, and you focus more on landmarks to navigate and again this really increased immersion. Sometimes finding things in missions wasn't obvious and required consulting the map but otherwise this was enjoyable.

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[โ€“] PolishAndrew 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This is a great answer and I learned a new word today! I'm okay with diegetic elements, as it feels organic and as long as it's not distracting I'm okay with that! I forgot about mirrors edge, the minimal(ish) design of that game is great.

I suppose saying "no HUD" was a bit narrow, the spirit of my question was more about games that don't have displays and elements pulling too much attention from the game itself. I appreciate the response!

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

No worries. Paradoxically I feel like a pedant now for using the big word.

Anyway, that question is weirdly different from the "no HUD" one, I agree. Some of the games that make me look more at the world instead of at the pointers and indicators are full of HUD stuff. Somebody mentioned Zelda, which is fine. PUBG is a weird example, because yeah, it looks like a (messy, cheap, poorly designed) HUD, but the whole proximity audio and high stakes gameplay makes you stare at things like a hawk. We take it for granted because Battle Royale games became such a huge deal, but that was a neat trick.