ORIGINALLY POSTED: 5/11/2023
To begin, this is an informal critique of the UI and Accessibility settings within the 2022 PlayStation exclusive, Horizon: Forbidden West.
Simply put: the accessibility options for Forbidden West are disappointing and lacking. As someone who doesn't have many accessibility concerns, I still find this game absolutely enraging to play.
In my opinion, PlayStation games are usually the strongest when it comes to Accessibility features. I feel like [Playstation games] are usually revered as the standard for Accessibility goals within the Gaming industry. I personally have had many accessibility conversations (in different studios and other professional settings) where we looked solely at Playstation Exclusives as reference.
Personally, my go-to example for accessibility in video games is the PlayStation Exclusive: The Last of Us Part II. This game has so much going for it: a webpage listing all accessibility options and features, multiple cognitive, auditory, visual, and physical accessibility features- it's beautiful.
So where is this care and standard for Horizon: Forbidden West?
Yes, development is housed in two different Studios (Guerrilla Games & Naughty Dog), but why isn't PlayStation creating a standard for all of their studios to adhere to?
This is something I'm hoping to get more out of with any studio I work for. I'd like for there to be a better standard with our games. Having more accessibility features results in more players. Who wouldn't want that?
So this brings me back to the focus of this blog entry: the problems I have with Horizon: Forbidden West. Accessibility-wise, of course.
It's an amazing game, don't get me wrong... But it's really hard to look at. I've noticed this in the first installment, too.
Sorry- this blog post is about to completely switch writing styles and will become more of a rapid-fire list of qualms.
The visuals hurt my eyes and brain.
Simply put: there is too much going on. The textures, while nice and detailed, make it difficult to see the main character. Trying to make out Aloy from the background has literally given me a headache every time I play.
There was a point where I found a shaded spot of trees and stepped in. Note, the contrast. You can easily differentiate what's in the foreground and what's in the background. There's DEPTH, there's CLARITY. I just think "fudging" something like this in-engine with shaders may be a viable solution.
Or, another solution, have a setting to turn down texture fidelity.
I would rather be able to see my character (and not get overwhelmed by my surroundings) than feel like I'm in a picturesque world.
I know it breaks the vision of the creative team, a majority of which are photographers, but! A game is not a photo! It is not a movie. It is a game. It is a different medium. Treat it as such. Use what you know about photography to make something beautiful and compelling, but still make it work as a game.
To make matters worse, there are so many color blindness concerns! I'd really like to see Guerilla take a stab at some color blindness or color slider options. I think that this is the game that needs color sliders the most.
Now, rapid-fire problems and solutions!
2. Text on the HUD is hard to see. In total, I noticed around 4-5 different text-shadow treatments at different times. I personally think that only one or two of them work and are strong enough.
The text should all have either the same black gradient behind, or a thicker, wider drop shadow behind their text. I also vote that they keep it consistent.
3. Button cues!
This game has a new Valor System that I've never used. I have a slight cognitive disability, learning new things can be tedious, so using this system was hard.
See that full purple/pink bar on the bottom right of the HUD? That was full for my entire year of gameplay. Why? There were no button prompts or reminders. Not in the frontend, nor in the menus! I never re-learned which button to hit, so I never used it.
This leads into another lacking feature: button mapping.
4. There is no custom button mapping. This is HORRIBLE as an accessibility concern. They at LEAST let you change button mapping presets, but that doesn't fix the situation of someone missing an appendage and not being able to use certain buttons.
All in all, there are a lot of accessibility concerns that need to be addressed within Horizon: Forbidden West. I hope that these items get fixed within the foreseeable future.
[5/01/2023 UDATE]
A LOT OF THESE ISSUES HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED!
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