Tile map click to walk UX

Question

My game is a top down mobile game where the player clicks a tile to walk to it.
However, it isn't clear where tile boundaries are from just looking at a level, so you could click on the edge of a tile expecting the player to walk there- but they walk to the center.
For instance, you could click on the center of the island shown below expecting it to be a tile- but the center is actually a corner in-between 4 tiles- so clicking there could result in walking to any of the 4 surrounding tiles.

Should I let the player walk freely, even between tiles, or is there a better solution in terms of UX?

DMGregory · Answer

I noticed that Oskar Stålberg's games like Bad North and Townscaper flirt with this ambiguity in the way they distort and disguise the tile grid to make the world feel more organic.
To solve the UX problem this could cause, they overlay an affordance that highlights the tile to be selected, or all tiles when a move is about to be issued.
 
This gives the player clarity and confidence about what moves are possible and what the outcome of their action will be, without changing the underlying aesthetic of the tileset when not actively navigating.

Tile map click to walk UX

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