Some games are well-designed and specifically designed with accessibility in mind, and some games make me wonder if developers are aware of the existence of disabled people. The latter is why I and my partner created "Can I play that?" Just over a year ago – was the result of years of advocacy within the # a11y community and external social media.
Unfortunately, even with endless advocacy, whether people with disabilities can play games and enjoy them is still a minor issue. Prior to the title's release, some studios and developers discussed the game's accessibility publicly, but this is still not a common practice. Therefore, I discuss the best and worst of game accessibility here every month.
By the beginning of 2020, accessibility was hit a bit, but there were also some huge gaps.
Dreams (PS4) Accessibility Options
Dream is a tricky game about accessibility. Although Media Molecule has made great efforts to ensure that its games are as inclusive as possible, Dreams is basically the center of other people's creations. Therefore, it is simply impossible for Media Molecule to ensure equal access to all content created in Dreams.
The range of user-created games and experiences ranges from cute platform players and puzzle games to relaxing audiovisual experiences, while blind and / or deaf players can be obtained without a lot of work. Since its early days, Media Molecule has done a great job of improving accessibility.
The early access version of the game is completely controlled by the motion controller, while the full version adds a standard finger stick as an option.
The subtitles are simply amazing, with some impressive size options, despite their lack of speaker labels for rare movies.
Pillar of Eternity 2-Ultimate Edition
Some games make me wonder if developers know that accessibility is even the same thing? Column of Eternity 2 is one of them.
After controlling your little ghost character, the subtitles are very small, and contrast has proven to be an issue throughout the intro sequence. The role creation menu will not be better.
In the class selection, the difference between the text you selected and the rest of the class was so small that before I noticed that I slightly bolded the class, I planned to restart the game and thought it was useless. d Choose. The character statistics and information displayed at the bottom of the screen are boundary line microscopes, and the color difference in one of the dialog options you have selected with the other dialogs is again barely noticeable.
Unlike the PC version, it does not have the ability to remap the controller, and many players will not have access to the radial UI. Pillar of Eternity 2 was originally the best and was not ported to consoles.
HyperDot accessibility options
HyperDot is a game that is hard to excel at, but it's not because of poor accessibility. HyperDot is a master class on accessibility and design challenges. This is a rare game where both competent and disabled players will question their skills as well! Individual developers even negotiated with accessibility expert Cherry Thompson and listed it in credit.
As a large visual arcade style game, deaf and hard of hearing players will not find any obstacles. For players with reduced mobility or limited range of activities, HyperDot has fully customizable controls and allows the use of third-party accessories and software, such as Tobii Eye Tracking.
Darksiders Genesis subtitles
I've never played any game in the "Dark Blood" series, and I've been exposed to the latest version, from gameplay to accessibility, with no expectations for anything. The studio's outstanding performance in terms of accessibility surprised me. Obviously, developers have been listening to us all for their efforts to improve the accessibility of the game and it paid off. Diablo will launch as a movie before showing you any menus.
Unlike many games that do this, the movie plays with subtitles. Not only are they enabled by default, they are medium in size, their background is clear and easy to read, and different speakers' texts use different colors!
Beginning with the movie theater's opening ceremony, players will find a large number of custom settings, from fully remappable console controls to UI text scaling (you can also scale non-movie dialogue subtitle text).
Kentucky Zero Route-No Options Menu
I really want to like Highway Zero in Kentucky because there are so many other people who praise it, but I don't. I tried. I worked very hard, but during Kentucky Zero, everything I saw or had to do made me dislike it. What struck me was that a game that had to do the least things failed so much in terms of accessibility. As a disabled player, the first thing I do in every game is to go into the options menu. I can't find one here. I still don't know if there is one.
There is nothing intuitive about this menu other than the Roman numerals used to indicate behavioral choices. If your game makes me stupid, I don't want to play anymore. If your game menu can make me stupid, then I don't want to play it at all. Other than that, even for a visionary, I can hardly see ridiculous menus and dialogue text.
As a result, low vision players will find this game particularly problematic. Deaf / expert players may find it hard to find a worthwhile game, as it looks like it relies heavily on sound design for immersive games that are not visually conveyable.
Zombie Legion 4: Target Capture for Deathmatch
The reason why I played this series of games was to satisfy the X-ray bullet cameras, which showed the various explosion sites of the Nazi zombies, so I will not pretend to have any wonderful statements about this. I was like seeing those rotten skulls explode. Compared with "Zombie Army Trilogy", the release of "Zombie Army 4" marks a significant improvement in the overall accessibility of the game, but there is still room for improvement.
For deaf / screaming players, Zombie Army 4 offers the choice of subtitle text size, as well as color options for subtitle text and a minimally improved visual indicator system for nearby enemies (only if the enemies are close enough to actually hit you Only happens).
There is no full controller remapping for the console, but two control style options are provided. As a player dealing with hand tremors, I need strong shooting assistance or steals from the shooter. Zombie Army 4 has a sensitivity slider at least in theory, but it didn't seem to work during the time I played the game (Rebellion and I have very different definitions of "powerful" target assist). I like the bullet camera of this game, but as far as overall accessibility is concerned, I can only say that it is good.
Read the VG247 Zombie Army 4 review here.
Savage Planet Journey-Switch Run
Another game that made me feel "Meh, good" is "Savage Star Trek". The game itself? Absolutely cute! Bright, colorful and fun. This is everything I want in a space exploration game, without a heavy moral dilemma, and of course it is not taken seriously. Developers do take accessibility seriously. kind of.
Subtitles: Well, there. About me, I can only say this. They are not microscopic, but they are not large enough to be difficult to read, which is a pity because the dialogue is great.
In addition to small subtitles, there are some nice features! Players can even limit the chat atmosphere of their EKO companions. Many people may not consider this an accessibility feature, but it is absolutely essential for players that may become overloaded with too much chat and information, and players with hearing problems .
Target assistance is also provided, options for switching or holding of the run, and two controller layout options. They cover many of the most basic accessibility necessities, but full controller remapping and subtitle size options will greatly benefit the game.
You can view the VG247 Savage Planet Journey review here.
Metro Exodus accessibility
Metro Exodus is not a new game. I know. The patches I'm discussing are not new. It was released in August 2019. But I only learned about it last week, so we are here, pretending it's new.
Before and after the game's launch date, I conducted a deaf / accessibility review on my website "Can I Play?". I would laugh if someone told me at the time that my comments would motivate developers to fix and release patches (this is very rare and has happened twice in all years I have accessibility reviews). If anyone tells me that this patch will introduce the best and best implementation of the deaf / accessibility features I have seen, I will laugh even harder. But again, here we are.
Now in the accessibility menu, players will find "hearing impaired captions", and this magic little feature is to tell the player exactly what the enemy is doing nearby (robber, watcher, etc.) and what they are doing (scream , Attack), search, etc.), which direction is pointed in the form of an analog clock, and how far the enemy is from them.
Another new feature in this patch is the option to turn off tinnitus sounds, which should be present in every game that scares players.
This is a VG247 Metro Exodus review.
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