When Horizon Forbidden West launches next week, it will come with a plethora of accessibility options to make sure the game can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. There will be several difficulty levels, gameplay assists, and options for audio, visual and controller customization. In addition to these, Guerrilla Games will be monitoring player feedback with the aim of adding more ways to make the game accessible in the future.
Horizon Forbidden West accessibility options
When players start the game, subtitles are automatically enabled. Players can change their size and background while there are also options for the preferred language of subtitles and the game’s audio. Of course, there’s also the option to turn the subtitles off too. Other visual aids include altering camera shake and motion blur, as well as the option to display as much or as little as you want in the game’s HUD.
The volume of music, speech, and sound effects can all be controlled individually, while those who have hearing impairments can switch to Mono Audio feedback. There is also the ability to remove sound effects like machine shrieks that are similar to Tinnitus sounds. Those who play on PS5 have some extra options for adjusting the volume of machine sounds, ambient sounds, and weapon and explosion sounds.
There are five different difficulty settings including a Story Mode that reduces combat and brings the story to the forefront. Alternatively, Very Hard cranks combat up to the most demanding and difficult test for Aloy. As well as the default options, players can customize things like the amount of damage Aloy receives as well as how effective her strikes are so combat can be finely tuned to a player’s preference. The Easy Loot option removes the need for players to detach components from machines to have them added to their inventory making looting for upgrade components a bit easier.
While there are controller presets, including one for left-handed support, all of the gameplay controls can be fully remapped. There are the expected options to invert the X and Y axes, as well as to Toggle or Hold buttons. The DualSense accelerometer and gyroscope can be used to make adjustments for aiming shots while sliders can change sensitivity of movement and analog stick Dead Zones. Controller vibration can be adjusted to suit while the Adaptive Triggers can be turned off.
To assist players who have more severe visual impairments, there is a Co-pilot system that’s been designed with the help of a sightless accessibility consultant. This allows for a second controller with mirrored controls to access the game alongside the main player.As well as a second DualSense or DualShock 4 controller, a second profile is required for this.
Other gameplay assists allow players to adjust aim assist, Concentration duration, the speed of the game while the weapon wheel is active, climbing annotations, exploration markers and guidance, sprinting, healing, Shieldwing deployment, and popup options. Finally, for those who may forget some of the tutorial instructions or controller settings throughout the game, there’s a Notebook that can be accessed from the game menu at any time. This gives useful information on NPC characters, machines, and datapoints too.
All of the above options will launch with the game on February 18. Guerrilla has said they “will continue to look at ways to make Horizon Forbidden West even more accessible” in the future, so if there’s something you need in the game and it isn’t there, be sure to let them know.
In other news, Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition Remaster will arrive on PS4. The edition will include improved visuals, illustrations, and music for both Chrono Cross and Radical Dreamers – Le Trésor Interdit. Elsewhere, the director of the Uncharted movie has confirmed he’s working on a movie adaptation of Jak and Daxter, although whether Tom Holland is involved remains to be seen.
