Why 2022 Signaled a Bright Future for Accessibility in Games
Accessibility is not a trend. With over 400 million disabled players globally, studios are actively working to ensure their games include features and design practices that benefit disabled individuals. From changing key bindings to adjusting subtitle size, accessibility understanding continues to grow with each passing year and 2022 was no exception.
Last year saw the release of multiple titles that put accessibility at the forefront, not only revolutionizing the industry but demonstrating that not every option needs to be innovative. Part of the reason why 2022 was so successful for disabled players was because developers refined many of the tools that are now commonplace across genres and systems. Not every game needs to reinvent the accessibility wheel, but rather keep polishing and improving current options and designs. For me, 2022’s accessibility offerings proved that a single setting or design decision could open entire worlds. Let’s examine some of my favorites and explore what made them so entertaining and accessible.
FromSoftware titles are notorious amongst the disabled community for being inaccessible nightmares. Even me listing this as one of my favorites has the potential to draw immense criticism from my disabled peers. In terms of options, Elden Ring’s selection is relatively bare. There are no settings aside from brightness adjusters for blind/low vision players, subtitles are only available for spoken words, and physically disabled players like me can’t even rebind every key. But the levels of choice people have within The Lands Between are so vast that Elden Ring perfectly encapsulates the notion that a game can be accessible without extensive menus.
Although Elden Ring's accessibility options are
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