Marvel’s Spider-Man follows in the footsteps of Uncharted 4, and Horizon: Zero Dawn as a PlayStation exclusive with great accessibility options. The Insomniac-developed game features extensive in-game options to help make Spider-Man PS4 more accessible for all kinds of differently-abled people.
Along with three difficulty options, Spider-Man PS4’s accessibility menu has options for big subtitles, QTE auto completion, backgrounds for subtitles and HUD elements, and the option to skip puzzles. These options are offered in unison with system-wide accessibility options that were added in 2015 that included customized button assignments, inverted colors, and more. Sony has been intent on making their games more accessible this generation, and their work has not gone unnoticed. DAGERS (Disabled Accessibility for Gaming Entertainment Rating System) has praised the developers of games like Uncharted 4 and God of War for including these accessibility options.
While Sony has been adding accessibility options to their games and system software, Microsoft has been working in the hardware sector. Microsoft unveiled and released the Xbox Adaptive Controller this year. The AbleGamers Foundation helped design the controller. It accepts a wide range of input devices to be used on Xbox One and Windows 10. The two platforms support the adaptive controller natively, meaning all games work with the device.
Accessibility in games has seen growing attention in recent years. Nonprofits such as AbleGamers advocate for better accessibility options throughout the industry. Developers like DICE have a suite of accessibility options in their Battlefield and Battlefront titles. Their games have options for various kinds of color blindness, button remapping, and advanced control options like analog stick dead-zones. These options make games better for the people who need them, and don’t get in the way of the way others play their games. More people are able to play great games because of these options, so that’s a win.
