WEBVTT 00:00:00.229 --> 00:00:05.580 Around this time last year, I made a series of videos called Designing for Disability, 00:00:05.580 --> 00:00:09.940 where I looked at the options and design decisions that developers could employ, to make their 00:00:09.940 --> 00:00:13.499 games more accessible to players living with disabilities. 00:00:13.499 --> 00:00:19.310 So I looked at colourblind palettes, audio visualisers, customisable controls, and optional 00:00:19.310 --> 00:00:20.670 assist modes. 00:00:20.670 --> 00:00:25.539 It was fascinating to see the ways that games could be tweaked to be more approachable - but 00:00:25.540 --> 00:00:30.920 also sad to see when games dropped the ball and shut certain players out. 00:00:30.920 --> 00:00:36.600 But now, 12 months on, I thought it was a good time to check back in and see how the 00:00:36.600 --> 00:00:38.040 industry was doing. 00:00:38.040 --> 00:00:44.160 So, over the last few weeks, I played 50 of the most noteworthy games that were released 00:00:44.160 --> 00:00:50.230 in 2019 - from massive new blockbusters like Death Stranding and Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, 00:00:50.230 --> 00:00:53.680 to indie titles like Overland and Untitled Goose Game. 00:00:53.680 --> 00:00:59.309 I wanted to see where they succeeded, and where they struggled in terms of accessibility. 00:00:59.309 --> 00:01:02.060 And this is what I found out. 00:01:02.060 --> 00:01:07.460 Part 1 - Auditory 00:01:07.460 --> 00:01:14.900 The first huge game of 2019 was Capcom’s terrifying remake of Resident Evil 2 - which 00:01:14.900 --> 00:01:19.940 spooked a whole new generation of players, with the aid of this bulky bloke in a Brony’s 00:01:19.940 --> 00:01:21.190 hat: Mr. X. 00:01:21.190 --> 00:01:25.720 You’ll spend the majority of the game on the run from this unstoppable, unkillable 00:01:25.720 --> 00:01:31.560 nightmare - only able to predict his position by listening out for his clonking great footsteps. 00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:35.250 Unless, of course, you’re deaf or hard of hearing. 00:01:35.250 --> 00:01:41.270 That’s because Resident Evil 2 offers no visual reinforcement of Mr. X’s footsteps, 00:01:41.270 --> 00:01:46.470 making him near impossible to track for those living with some auditory disabilities. 00:01:46.470 --> 00:01:53.000 CanIPlayThat.com dubbed the game “virtually unplayable very early on for deaf/hoh players,” 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:56.880 and a “complete failure in accessibility”. 00:01:56.880 --> 00:02:01.670 Other games this year went some way to help convey sound effects to those who can’t 00:02:01.670 --> 00:02:02.670 hear them. 00:02:02.670 --> 00:02:08.229 Far Cry: New Dawn offers sound subtitles for things like gunfire and explosions, with little 00:02:08.229 --> 00:02:10.789 arrows that point to the sound’s source. 00:02:10.789 --> 00:02:17.069 And in Gears 5, that iconic musical sting that symbolises that all enemies are dead, is subtitled 00:02:17.069 --> 00:02:18.709 as “music settles”. 00:02:18.709 --> 00:02:24.319 Plus, in that game, enemy bullet trails are - by default - shown as clearly visible yellow 00:02:24.320 --> 00:02:27.580 lines to help you see where shots are coming from. 00:02:27.580 --> 00:02:31.980 Another game worth mentioning is Apex Legends, and its clever ping system. 00:02:31.989 --> 00:02:36.700 This lets you highlight areas, enemies, and objects to team mates through both a subtitled 00:02:36.700 --> 00:02:42.030 voice line and a visual indicator - allowing players to communicate important info in a 00:02:42.030 --> 00:02:44.870 multiplayer game, but without audio. 00:02:44.870 --> 00:02:50.090 Of course, a really important feature for deaf and hard of hearing players is subtitles 00:02:50.090 --> 00:02:52.019 for spoken dialogue. 00:02:52.019 --> 00:02:57.249 And this year saw some really good examples with nice big fonts, speaker names, and high 00:02:57.249 --> 00:02:58.880 contrast backgrounds. 00:02:58.880 --> 00:03:04.519 Remedy’s mind-melting shooter Control has very readable subtitles. 00:03:04.519 --> 00:03:09.079 Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order offers massive great subtitles if you want them. 00:03:09.079 --> 00:03:13.810 And Metro Exodus also employs black backgrounds and speaker names. 00:03:13.810 --> 00:03:19.450 Most of these let you customise the subtitles yourself, through a menu of different options. 00:03:19.450 --> 00:03:23.819 Also this year, Ubisoft experimented with having subtitles on by default. 00:03:23.820 --> 00:03:30.240 And discovered that, in Far Cry New Dawn, a whopping great 97% of players kept them on. 00:03:30.240 --> 00:03:34.279 Other games offer subtitles as an option before the game even begins. 00:03:34.279 --> 00:03:39.489 It’s also of note that every game I played this year actually has subtitles. 00:03:39.489 --> 00:03:44.530 Which shouldn’t be noteworthy, but at the tail end of 2018, Activision released the 00:03:44.530 --> 00:03:49.920 Spyro Reignited Trilogy without any subtitles at all in its major cutscenes. 00:03:49.920 --> 00:03:52.650 Thankfully, they were added in a patch this year. 00:03:52.650 --> 00:03:57.609 But still, there’s plenty of examples of less-than-ideal subtitles. 00:03:57.609 --> 00:04:02.379 Many games fail to include the speaker’s name through labels or colour coding. 00:04:02.379 --> 00:04:08.349 Games like Borderlands 3 and Rage 2 put way too much text on one line, forcing you to 00:04:08.349 --> 00:04:12.209 scan across the entire screen to read the subtitles. 00:04:12.209 --> 00:04:17.840 Some games mismatch the text and audio, like in Planet Zoo where the actor says “Trade 00:04:17.840 --> 00:04:21.020 Center”, but the subtitle says “Animal Storage”. 00:04:21.020 --> 00:04:25.040 Games still fail to include subtitles for every part of the game. 00:04:25.050 --> 00:04:31.930 In FIFA 20, the commentators aren’t subtitled, this opening cutscene in RAGE 2 has no subtitles, 00:04:31.930 --> 00:04:36.560 and Breakpoint doesn’t transcribe certain enemy barks, which lets them get the drop 00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:37.620 on you. 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:43.620 Also, some games still use on-brand fonts instead of plain, sans serif text. 00:04:43.620 --> 00:04:49.780 And while games like Devil May Cry 5 and Sekiro aren’t bad, Blasphemous’s pixelated gothic 00:04:49.780 --> 00:04:54.060 font is, well, blasphemous. 00:04:54.060 --> 00:04:58.750 And finally, there’s the all-too-familar, too-small subtitles. 00:04:58.750 --> 00:05:05.040 Crackdown 3 has teeny tiny text to read while punching up bad guys, and The Surge 2 has 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:07.280 microscopic subtitles. 00:05:07.280 --> 00:05:11.020 But subtitles aren’t the only place where you’ll find small text. 00:05:11.020 --> 00:05:13.880 Which brings us onto part two. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:18.220 Part 2 - Visual 00:05:18.220 --> 00:05:23.560 Text size is the area where games most frequently fail, in terms of accessibility. 00:05:23.560 --> 00:05:30.060 Not just in subtitles, but across user interfaces, in collectible documents, and on your heads-up display. 00:05:30.060 --> 00:05:35.500 So The Outer Worlds continues to be a squint ‘em up, thanks to minute words all across 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:36.940 its user interface. 00:05:36.940 --> 00:05:43.180 The text in Fire Emblem: Three Houses is small on your TV, but minuscule on your Switch. 00:05:43.180 --> 00:05:47.810 And Death Stranding tries to look cool with its sleek UI, but it’s a struggle to parse 00:05:47.810 --> 00:05:49.180 at a distance. 00:05:49.180 --> 00:05:56.240 The worst perp of 2019, though, is the tactical Baba Yaga simulator John Wick Hex, which writes 00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:00.700 some critical information in text that’s only 12 points big. 00:06:00.700 --> 00:06:04.830 Luckily, other games use a far more readable font size. 00:06:04.830 --> 00:06:10.800 In Outer Wilds, the rumours on the computer are nice and legible from most distances - and 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:15.740 it’s the same with the user interface in Kingdom Hearts III, and the translation screens 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:17.330 in Heaven’s Vault. 00:06:17.330 --> 00:06:21.800 Other games offer the option to choose your own text size: such as the existential detective 00:06:21.800 --> 00:06:27.190 drama Disco Elysium, and the gothic horror adventure Sunless Skies. 00:06:27.190 --> 00:06:33.330 Planet Zoo, Ghost Recon Breakpoint, and Borderlands 3 let you scale the entire user interface, 00:06:33.330 --> 00:06:36.770 making both text and icons easier to see. 00:06:36.770 --> 00:06:41.150 And this isn’t just important for accessibility - because as we move into a future where the 00:06:41.150 --> 00:06:47.430 same game can be steamed to your big TV or your tiny phone screen, scaleable user interfaces 00:06:47.430 --> 00:06:50.380 are going to have to become the norm. 00:06:50.380 --> 00:06:54.820 Another area where some games have shined, is in offering players the option to switch 00:06:54.820 --> 00:07:00.560 out special fonts for plain, easy-to-read text: Untitled Goose Game lets you change 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:04.380 its cursive to-do list to a more basic font. 00:07:04.380 --> 00:07:08.630 And Overland is one of the only games this year to offer a font choice that’s 00:07:08.630 --> 00:07:11.660 designed to aid those with dyslexia. 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:16.740 A number of games this year also use built-in screen reader tech, to have the game speak 00:07:16.740 --> 00:07:18.290 its text to you. 00:07:18.290 --> 00:07:21.380 Here’s how Eagle Island sounds when clicking through the menu 00:07:21.380 --> 00:07:25.800 SCREEN READER: "Controls. Save. Game. Use right stick." 00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:31.340 And Apex Legends can turn text chat messages into voice, and voice chat messages into text, 00:07:31.340 --> 00:07:34.620 so you won’t miss people talking about your low level profile 00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:41.140 SCREEN READER: "TADEthePRO says 'Level 2' 'omg' 'why'." 00:07:41.140 --> 00:07:46.540 And finally, more games are giving players the chance to read text at their own speed. 00:07:46.550 --> 00:07:51.420 Bloodstained won’t go to the next line until you press a button, and Tangle Tower lets 00:07:51.420 --> 00:07:53.880 you pause the dialogue at any moment. 00:07:53.880 --> 00:07:58.870 Time’s always ticking by in the clockwork space sim Outer Wilds, but you can have the 00:07:58.870 --> 00:08:01.150 game pause while reading text. 00:08:01.150 --> 00:08:08.620 And Kingdom Hearts III lets you slow down time when clicking through menus. 00:08:08.620 --> 00:08:13.400 Another key area for visual accessibility is colourblindness. 00:08:13.410 --> 00:08:16.560 And this year saw some great approaches to the problem. 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:21.110 The Color Dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX wasn’t much fun for 00:08:21.110 --> 00:08:27.680 those with Deuteranopia - but this year's Switch remake adds things like distinct shapes on the enemies 00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:32.900 and unique cracks in the floor tiles, to help distinguish between the different colours. 00:08:32.900 --> 00:08:38.110 Far Cry New Dawn has another simple colourblind mode, which makes key on-screen elements become 00:08:38.110 --> 00:08:39.719 pink and yellow. 00:08:39.720 --> 00:08:44.180 Total War: Three Kingdoms lets you switch the colour scheme of the game’s different factions. 00:08:44.180 --> 00:08:48.540 And Resident Evil 2 lets you pick the laser dot colour of your weapons, to help it stand 00:08:48.550 --> 00:08:50.100 out from the background. 00:08:50.100 --> 00:08:54.490 Apex Legends has one of the better features, with three distinct palettes, and a preview 00:08:54.490 --> 00:08:58.140 of what those new colours will look like right there on the menu. 00:08:58.140 --> 00:09:03.520 And The Outer Worlds doesn’t confer information solely through colour by design, because one 00:09:03.529 --> 00:09:07.810 of the company’s directors is colourblind. 00:09:07.810 --> 00:09:12.601 Some games, though, are still using these full-screen filters, which often don’t work 00:09:12.601 --> 00:09:18.079 as intended and only really have the affect of making the game look ugly and gross. 00:09:18.079 --> 00:09:23.149 The full screen Protanopia filter in Modern Warfare, for example, doesn’t stop red enemy 00:09:23.149 --> 00:09:26.240 names from blending into the background at key moments. 00:09:26.240 --> 00:09:31.120 Thankfully, the Call of Duty series has long since switched from red and green teams, to 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:32.460 red and blue ones. 00:09:32.470 --> 00:09:37.709 And some games do still use colour as the exclusive way to convey information. 00:09:37.709 --> 00:09:43.529 In Death Stranding, the labels on your packages go from yellow to red to indicate how beaten 00:09:43.529 --> 00:09:46.990 up they are - plus some tiny scuffs and scratches. 00:09:46.990 --> 00:09:52.180 Those labels are practically identical to those with certain types of colourblindness. 00:09:52.180 --> 00:09:57.160 Thanks to Twitter user RazorBeamz for pointing that one out. 00:09:57.160 --> 00:10:01.720 Providing more visual clarity is a good way to alleviate the problems of colourblindness 00:10:01.730 --> 00:10:04.600 - and help with other visual disabilities. 00:10:04.600 --> 00:10:09.079 In Eagle Island, you can dim the background to make the foreground layer easier to see 00:10:09.079 --> 00:10:13.720 - plus, you can put outlines around enemies and objects to help them pop out. 00:10:13.720 --> 00:10:17.370 In FIFA 20, you can boost the size of the player indicators. 00:10:17.370 --> 00:10:21.600 And in Ghost Recon Breakpoint, you can not only boost the size of the user interface 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:26.290 - but you can put shadows behind indicators and markers to ensure they stand out from 00:10:26.290 --> 00:10:28.339 the background. 00:10:28.339 --> 00:10:34.069 Part 3 - Motor 00:10:34.069 --> 00:10:39.200 One of the most requested features, when it comes to accessibility, is the option to remap 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:40.610 a game’s controls. 00:10:40.610 --> 00:10:45.339 This lets players with motor disabilities put all of the key functions in easy-to-reach 00:10:45.339 --> 00:10:51.709 places, or avoid using difficult inputs like touchpads or the buttons under the analogue sticks. 00:10:51.709 --> 00:10:57.649 Unfortunately, some games still don’t offer any controller options whatsoever, including 00:10:57.649 --> 00:11:02.749 the Zelda remake, the avant-garde Postman Pat episode Death Stranding, and the zombie 00:11:02.749 --> 00:11:05.029 biker game Days Gone. 00:11:05.029 --> 00:11:07.420 Other games make do with presets. 00:11:07.420 --> 00:11:12.889 Crackdown 3, The Outer Worlds, Resident Evil 2, and Wolfenstein Youngblood just have you 00:11:12.889 --> 00:11:16.120 pick between a few developer-made layouts. 00:11:16.120 --> 00:11:17.730 Not bad, but not good enough. 00:11:17.730 --> 00:11:21.215 But I’m really pleased to see just how many games this year 00:11:21.215 --> 00:11:23.519 let you pick your own button placement. 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:30.130 The Surge 2, Team Sonic Racing, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice have full remapping. 00:11:30.130 --> 00:11:34.639 And Devil May Cry 5 shows how it’s important to provide this on a game level, rather than 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:39.300 relying on the system-level remapping, by letting you independently wire up the inputs 00:11:39.300 --> 00:11:44.199 for the game’s three distinct characters, Nero, Dante, and V. 00:11:44.199 --> 00:11:49.899 Apex Legends and Borderlands 3 go a step further, and don’t just let you pick your own buttons, 00:11:49.900 --> 00:11:56.100 but give you really in-depth control over things like camera sensitivity and dead zone options. 00:11:56.100 --> 00:12:00.980 Plus, there are aim assist and aim snap options to help you pick out targets. 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:05.899 Also of note is Overland, where the entire game can be played with just a mouse. 00:12:05.899 --> 00:12:09.699 Or just a controller. Or just a keyboard. 00:12:09.699 --> 00:12:15.649 Those are really strong options that should open the game up to a wide range of players. 00:12:15.649 --> 00:12:19.720 This year’s MVP, though, is Gears 5. 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:24.709 Between controller remapping, the ability to make the camera follow behind your character, 00:12:24.709 --> 00:12:29.060 and the option to use the left stick for aiming when your gun is raised, you can basically 00:12:29.060 --> 00:12:30.980 play the game with one hand. 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:35.689 Tricky, but possible, thanks to a wide range of accessibility options. 00:12:35.689 --> 00:12:40.740 Pokémon Sword and Shield is notable, too, for its casual control scheme that maps all 00:12:40.740 --> 00:12:45.690 important buttons onto one Switch joy-con, making it possible to play the game with just 00:12:45.690 --> 00:12:46.869 one hand. 00:12:46.869 --> 00:12:52.860 This thoughtful option is especially welcome after the disastrously inaccessible Pokémon 00:12:52.860 --> 00:12:59.540 Let’s Go, which forced players to use cumbersome waggle gestures to throw Pokeballs. 00:12:59.540 --> 00:13:03.720 Toggles are key, too - as seen in Crackdown 3’s lock-on mode. 00:13:03.720 --> 00:13:07.660 In Borderlands 3’s aim, sprint, and crouch options. 00:13:07.660 --> 00:13:12.680 And in Yoshi’s Crafted World, where hasty and patient egg throwing is basically just 00:13:12.680 --> 00:13:15.839 about toggling or holding the aim button. 00:13:15.839 --> 00:13:19.950 These stop players from needing to hold a button down for great periods of time, which 00:13:19.950 --> 00:13:23.240 can be impossible with some motor disabilities. 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:28.660 Unfortunately not every game got the memo: you need to hold down the lock-on button in 00:13:28.660 --> 00:13:35.180 DMC 5, and Team Sonic Racing should have just nicked Mario Kart 8’s generous auto-drive option. 00:13:35.180 --> 00:13:39.140 Most games also let you turn off these button-bashy quick time events these days, 00:13:39.140 --> 00:13:43.260 but there’s sadly no such option in Jedi: Fallen Order. 00:13:43.260 --> 00:13:47.260 Part 4 - Difficulty 00:13:47.260 --> 00:13:51.460 Finally, let’s take a moment to talk about difficulty settings in games. 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:55.839 Offering more lenient challenge levels can give players with disabilities more time to 00:13:55.839 --> 00:14:01.880 deal with threats - but also allows players with all sorts of skill levels to get into games. 00:14:01.880 --> 00:14:06.190 This year we saw lots of games with plenty of difficulty options to pick from, and the 00:14:06.190 --> 00:14:09.580 language used on these options is much better. 00:14:09.580 --> 00:14:13.600 Instead of patronising players who choose to play on easy, this year’s games talk 00:14:13.610 --> 00:14:18.389 about wanting to feel like a badass - or just focus on the storyline. 00:14:18.389 --> 00:14:23.360 The exact nature of these difficulty modes is often described to the player - Astral 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.720 Chain’s Unchained mode will do the hard combos for you, but won’t give you 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:28.760 a letter ranking. 00:14:28.769 --> 00:14:32.920 And Resident Evil 2’s assisted difficulty mode replenishes your health. 00:14:32.920 --> 00:14:38.400 Some developers note which difficulty level is intended by the designers, which is great. 00:14:38.400 --> 00:14:43.000 Super Mario Maker 2 continues Nintendo’s campaign for assist modes, with the option 00:14:43.010 --> 00:14:48.540 to bring up a palette of blocks and items that you can place inside levels to help you out. 00:14:48.540 --> 00:14:52.670 And Yoshi’s Mallow mode gives you infinite flight to breeze through stages, which is 00:14:52.670 --> 00:14:55.619 perfect for really young players. 00:14:55.619 --> 00:15:01.149 And also on Switch, there’s the rhythm action roguelike Cadence of Hyrule which typically 00:15:01.149 --> 00:15:03.929 expects players to move to the beat of the music. 00:15:03.929 --> 00:15:09.399 I don’t know if having no sense of rhythm counts as a disability, but I personally really 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:14.339 appreciated the game’s fixed beat mode, which lets you move without conforming to 00:15:14.340 --> 00:15:16.440 the beat of the song. 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:19.230 But then there’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. 00:15:19.230 --> 00:15:21.149 Yeah, you saw it coming. 00:15:21.149 --> 00:15:25.420 I don’t want to replay the conversation that the internet had back at the game’s 00:15:25.420 --> 00:15:31.110 launch because there’s more than enough articles, videos, and tweetstorms out there about easy 00:15:31.110 --> 00:15:32.620 modes and whatnot. 00:15:32.620 --> 00:15:37.660 But it is worth noting that From Software’s latest game is actually less accessible than 00:15:37.660 --> 00:15:40.829 the notoriously tough Dark Souls and Bloodborne. 00:15:40.829 --> 00:15:45.559 And that’s because it takes out key features like the ability to level up your character, 00:15:45.559 --> 00:15:48.890 or invite a friend into your game to help out with bosses. 00:15:48.890 --> 00:15:54.459 Sekiro does offer some accessibility options, like full controller remapping and toggles, 00:15:54.460 --> 00:15:58.320 but there’s nothing to make the game less gruelling. 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:02.320 And I think that makes Sekiro stand out in a year where developers have typically tried 00:16:02.329 --> 00:16:07.879 to make their games as approachable and accessible as possible - and often through completely 00:16:07.880 --> 00:16:12.240 optional tweaks and modes that don’t affect the experience for the able-bodied 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:13.880 or hardcore player. 00:16:13.880 --> 00:16:16.100 That’s not to say there aren’t missteps. 00:16:16.140 --> 00:16:19.960 It’s clear that games still have a long way to go with accessibility, 00:16:19.960 --> 00:16:22.980 with annoying oversights like too-small text, 00:16:22.980 --> 00:16:27.470 features that don’t work if you’re colourblind, and silly stuff like how boosting 00:16:27.470 --> 00:16:33.460 both the UI and the subtitles in Borderlands 3 makes the text fall off the side of the screen. 00:16:33.460 --> 00:16:34.720 Whoops. 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:39.660 And it’s especially aggravating when a game makes big strides in one area, but stumbles 00:16:39.670 --> 00:16:45.100 in others - like Control with its huge subtitles, but small UI text. 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:49.140 Or publishers that aren’t consistent across their games - most notably Nintendo, which 00:16:49.140 --> 00:16:53.240 has great features in some games, but a complete lack of options in others. 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:58.239 Plus: we’re seeing a number of games where important accessibility options are being 00:16:58.239 --> 00:17:02.439 added to the game months after release in downloadable patches. 00:17:02.439 --> 00:17:06.649 Better late than never, of course, but it’s not a good look when players with certain 00:17:06.649 --> 00:17:11.669 disabilities have to wait ages to play a huge Sony game like Days Gone. 00:17:11.669 --> 00:17:18.390 But still, I’m actually really impressed by the strides we’ve seen in 2019. 00:17:18.390 --> 00:17:23.549 Ubisoft continues to be the industry leader in this space with amazing features across 00:17:23.549 --> 00:17:27.350 Far Cry New Dawn, The Division 2, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint. 00:17:27.350 --> 00:17:33.090 Microsoft’s doing great too: Gears 5 has an enormous selection of options, from colourblind 00:17:33.090 --> 00:17:37.970 settings to controller remapping to button toggles to gore and language filters, making 00:17:37.970 --> 00:17:41.060 it one of the most feature-packed games of the year. 00:17:41.060 --> 00:17:47.680 Respawn works really hard, with great options in both Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. 00:17:47.680 --> 00:17:51.820 Borderlands 3 has lots of thoughtful options, which is good for a series that has struggled 00:17:51.820 --> 00:17:53.620 with this stuff in the past. 00:17:53.620 --> 00:17:58.900 Overland and Eagle Island are jam packed with accessibility features, despite being made 00:17:58.900 --> 00:18:01.309 by tiny indie teams. 00:18:01.309 --> 00:18:07.399 And hardcore, ultra-challenging games like Devil May Cry 5 and Astral Chain want everyone 00:18:07.399 --> 00:18:13.179 to join in - and so offer practice areas, assisted combos, and easy difficulty settings. 00:18:13.179 --> 00:18:16.429 But those looking for a challenge will not struggle to find it. 00:18:16.429 --> 00:18:21.669 But most of all, it’s just impressive to see how almost every major game this year 00:18:21.669 --> 00:18:27.140 includes some kind of accessibility option - or a full accessibility menu. 00:18:27.140 --> 00:18:33.520 And how studios like Microsoft, Ubisoft, and EA are publishing info on their accessibility 00:18:33.520 --> 00:18:37.760 options online so players can make better purchasing decisions. 00:18:37.760 --> 00:18:44.080 How Microsoft dedicated its 2019 Superbowl commercial to its adaptive Xbox controller. 00:18:44.080 --> 00:18:49.830 And how the Fortnite clan FaZe enlisted the deaf player Ewok - who can tear up the competition 00:18:49.830 --> 00:18:53.260 thanks to the game’s clever audio visualiser. 00:18:53.260 --> 00:18:55.280 Because games are for everyone. 00:18:55.280 --> 00:19:00.320 It’s just that developers might need to provide a few extra options. 00:19:01.320 --> 00:19:03.630 Hey, thanks so much for watching! 00:19:03.630 --> 00:19:10.090 And cheers to accessibility specialist Ian Hamilton, once again, for his assistance and wisdom. 00:19:10.090 --> 00:19:16.660 This was probably the most expensive video I’ve ever made - and it’s about... accessibility options? 00:19:16.660 --> 00:19:18.100 What is wrong with me? 00:19:18.100 --> 00:19:24.059 But this is totally possible thanks to GMTK supporters who back me on Patreon, or buy 00:19:24.059 --> 00:19:26.750 GMTK merch from my Teespring store. 00:19:26.750 --> 00:19:29.389 Details on both can be found in the description below.