Today, May 19th 2022, is Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Accessibility in video games is a subject that is very important to me. Being a gamer with an eye condition that gives me poor eyesight, means the more accessible a game is, the more I can enjoy it.
That’s why PS5 features like screen zoom are really important, without that, I wouldn’t be able to read anything on the screen. Of course, there are many, many other gamers who also have a need for games to be accessible. Disabilities take many forms and it’s great to see game companies working tirelessly to make their games more accessible.
PlayStation is one such company that works extremely hard to make its games more accessible to people with disabilities. And they have just revealed the accessibility features for God of War Ragnarok.
God of War Ragnarok Accessibility Features
God of War Ragnarok developer Santa Monica Studio has retained all of the accessibility features from God of War (2018) and expanded upon them. They have even added some new features as well.
The UI (User Interface) has been redesigned to allow for more flexibility and readability. And they have rebuilt controller mapping from the ground up and added even more customisation options for combat and interaction.
In total there are over 60 ways to adjust the gameplay in God of War Ragnarok to suit a player’s particular needs.
Here’s a look at some of the new and notable accessibility features in God of War Ragnarok, as shared by the PlayStation Blog.
New features added from the God of War(2018) PC version
The new accessibility features in Godo of War Ragnarok includes some things that where in the PC version of the game, including:
Sprint Auto Sprint: You will sprint while the stick is held and stop when released. When Auto Sprint is active, you can begin sprinting by pressing the move stick forward for a short period of time in one direction. The duration required to engage the Auto Sprint is configurable by you.
Persistent Dot (Always on Reticle): If you need additional focal points to reduce motion sickness, or just want a persistent reminder of the centre of the screen, we offer the ability to turn on a centre dot in three different sizes and seven different colours.
Aim Style: You can choose to use either hold or toggle on/off the aim stance.
Block Style: You can choose to use either hold or toggle on/off the shield stance.
New subtitle and caption improvements
Having informative and readable subtitles and captions is very important for deaf and low sight gamers. Santa Monica Studio says they have invested heavily in these systems to allow for even more customisation and information.
Subtitle and Caption Size: We have increased our minimum text size and added new scaling. This includes an extra-large text size to make subtitles and captions more readable. We have also dedicated a larger text area to match TV and movie subtitle standards.
Subtitle and Caption Colors: You can adjust the colours of speaker names, subtitle body, and captions individually. You will be able to choose between seven different colours.
Text Size & Icon Size
The ability to adjust in-game text size and the size of other elements like icons is a game-changer. Sure, the PS5 screen zoom feature is great but sometimes using it in mid-game just isn’t practical. Especially if you are in the middle of the action and you are trying to read what a prompt or some other bit of the UI says.
So the highly requested feature from God of War (2018) is back and better than ever. God of War Ragnarok will feature a full re-engineered and responsive user interface that will make reading text easier than ever. The game will have a larger minimum text size that can scale significantly.
Santa Monica Studio also shared an example of icon scaling in action. The screenshot below (credit: PlayStation Blog) shows the smallest and largest icon sizes. This is an absolute game-changer for low sight players like myself.
There are even more God of War Ragnarok accessibility features detailed over on the PlayStation Blog. From controller remapping to high contrast options, Santa Monica Studio is doing some great work to make their games more accessible. Check out the rest of the accessibility features on the PlayStation Blog.
On another note, I think with PlayStation detailing these accessibility features, it probably means that God of War Ragnarok will be coming out this year.
