We've documented 25 accessibility features for Terraria, including Large Text, Guaranteed Progress, Custom Difficulty, Select Difficulty and No Repeated Pressing. Its accessibility is strongest in Visual and Controls but it also has features in Reading, Getting Started, Navigation, Difficulty and Audio to reduce unintended barriers.
This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.
Our accessibility examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Terraria accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 3 weeks ago.
Accessibility Notes
There is a lot of reading of small text in the game that pops up to tell you what you can do with items. You can make the text bigger via the UI Scale in the pause menu, but this also makes other visual guidance bigger.
You can remap the keys and buttons. You can change the cursor colour and border. Can access Smart Cursor by tapping rather than holding. Quick Wall Replace and Quick Trash options reduce the number of presses to build or dispose of items. On Switch, you can use the touch-screen to use items and access inventory/map.
New items are highlighted with a bright border. You can disable the background images and visual effects like storms. You can disable the map. You can turn off gore. You can scale the UI up to double the size and specify a zoom via the menu. On console, you can use the left/right triggers to set a zoom while paused. On Switch, you can pinch on the touch screen to zoom in.
You can change the volume of music, game sounds and environmental sounds.
Game Details
Release Date: 25/11/2013, updated in 2019
Out Now: 3DS and 2DS, Amazon Fire, Android, Mac, PC, PS Vita, PS3, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One and iOS
Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds
Players: 1-4 (8 online)
Genres: Adventure, Strategy (Action, Collecting, Fighting, Platform, Shooting, Simulation and World Building)
Accessibility: 25 features
Components: 2D Side-On, Blocks, Day and Night, Persistant World, Pixels and Weather
Developer: Terraria Logic (@Terraria_Logic)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
To complete the main campaign of the game you need to use a minimum of:
- PC: 6 keys, 2 buttons and 1 mouse.
- Nintendo: 3 buttons, 2 triggers and 1 stick.
- Xbox: 4 buttons and 2 sticks.
- PlayStation: 4 buttons, 1 trigger and 1 stick.
Action | PlayStation | Xbox | Nintendo | PC | Notes | Required |
Drop | ◻ Square | X Button | T Key | Unbound by default on Switch. | ✔ | |
Throw Item / Grenade | ◻ Square | X Button | T Key | Unbound by default on Switch. | ✔ | |
Jump / Vault | ✕ Cross | A Button | ZL Trigger | Spacebar | ✔ | |
Interact | ◯ Circle | B Button | B Button | Right Mouse Button | ✔ | |
Use Item | R2 Right Trigger | Right Bumper | ZR Trigger | Left Mouse Button | ✔ | |
Movement | D-Pad Down | Left Stick | Left Stick | WASD Keys | ✔ | |
Aim / Look / Camera | Right Stick | Right Stick | D-Pad Up + + Button | Mouse Movement | ✔ | |
Map | Share Button | View Button | - Button | M Key | Toggle. | ✕ |
Pause / Menu | Options Button | Menu Button | + Button | Escape | ✕ | |
View Inventory | △ Triangle | Y Button | X Button | Escape | ✕ | |
Aim Zoom | Touchpad Movement | Right Trigger + Left Trigger | ZL Trigger + ZR Trigger | Minus (-) key + Plus (+) Key + Shift (Left) Key | Switch requires Pause to zoom | ✕ |
Gamepad
Can play with the following:
Multiple Buttons & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
Remap Controls
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
Remap Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.
Remap Mouse and Keyboard: Can remap mouse and keyboard key bindings, on systems that support these controls.
Button Combinations
Specific button operation required to play
Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing (more than 2 times a second) is not required, can be skipped or switched to holding a button to trigger a repeated action.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Terraria, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Lego Fortnite (11 Controls Features)
- Dome Keeper (11 Controls Features)
- Minecraft (11 Controls Features)
- Wildmender (10 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Terraria which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play.
Difficulty Options
Select Difficulty: Select the level of difficulty from a range of presets. This not only offers a way to adjust the challenge of a game but enables you to do so without dealing with individual criteria.
Customise Difficulty: Customise different aspects of the game to create a challenge of an appropriate level. Adjusting elements individually enables you to tailor gameplay to suit your needs and style of play.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play Terraria, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:
- Wildmender (3 Difficulty Features)
- Minecraft (3 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Terraria which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.
Assistance Getting Starting
These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.
Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.
View Control Mapping: You can view a map of controls during play. This clearly displays the mappings of actions to buttons/keys/mouse/keyboard without having to leave the game. This includes games that always display buttons to press during play.
Assistance For Progressing
These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.
Guaranteed Progress With God Mode: There is no fail state for any game level, where you lose progress or have to start again. Or there are options to make failing impossible: infinite health or lives, unlimited time. Sometimes called God Mode or Unfailable.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Terraria, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Pikmin 4 (11 Getting Started Features)
- Staxel (7 Getting Started Features)
- Carto (7 Getting Started Features)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (7 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Terraria which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.
Reading Level
How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.
Moderate Reading: Moderate reading required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a high school student (14-year-old) would appreciate.
Text Visibility
Large Clear Text: All essential text is large and clear or can be adjusted to be. The general text used throughout the game in menus, instructions and other key information (excluding subtitles that are assessed separately) is at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height on landscape screens and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters.
Subtitles
All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.
Captions
Speaker Indicator: Textual captions indicate who is speaking (or there is only ever one person speaking). This can also be indicated visually in the game with character icons or placing text in speech bubbles next to the person speaking.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading
If you want to play Terraria, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Animal Crossing: New Leaf (6 Reading Features)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (6 Reading Features)
- Rootown (5 Reading Features)
- Wildmender (5 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Navigation in Terraria which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.
Head-Up Display
Head-Up Display Navigation: Indication of where to go next with overlaid arrows, minimaps and waypoint markers. This supplements in-game visual and audible cues with additional guidance about where you are and where you need to go.
Adjust Head-Up Display: Resize and adjust the content of the head-up display. This enables it to be made more visible. It can also enable the removal of too much information that can be distracting or confusing.
Game Map: View a map of the game world during play, with the landscape, points of interest and missions highlighted throughout the entire game. This enables the orientation of the player and the world, confirming a direction of movement and the location of destinations or points of exploration.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Terraria, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Wildmender (8 Navigation Features)
- Minecraft (7 Navigation Features)
- Subnautica Below Zero (6 Navigation Features)
- Lego Fortnite (5 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Visual in Terraria which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
Contrast
Medium Contrast: Game uses generally well contrasting and bright visuals, or has a slider to make this the case.
Interactive Elements
Outline Interactive Elements: Characters, platforms and enemies can be outlined or highlighted for visibility. This can be with a large border around the character or a special visual mode that adjust the colour to make characters more visible.
Visual Distractions
No Screen Shake: No screen shake effect or it is included but it can be disabled. This includes the absence of screen shake for dramatic effect as well as to indicate hits on a target.
No Busy Backgrounds: No distracting backgrounds or you can make them static or blank. This includes the absence of other movement elements in the background that might distract or confuse the action. Where foreground contrast is high, this includes games with some movement in the background that doesn't make it overly difficult to distinguish what is happening.
Audio Cues for Visual Events
Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.
Colour Options
Colour Blind Friendly: Game doesn’t rely on colour or can switch to colour blind friendly mode with double coding or similar way to avoid colour dependance.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Terraria, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Rootown (8 Visual Features)
- Carto (7 Visual Features)
- Spiritfarer (7 Visual Features)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons (7 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Terraria which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.
Adjustable Audio
Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.
Audio Events
Visual Cues for Audio Events: Text or other visual indicators of audio events. This mirrors audio indicators of progress in the game with a corresponding visual indication.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio
If you want to play Terraria, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Lego Fortnite (4 Audio Features)
- Dome Keeper (4 Audio Features)
- Skyblock (4 Audio Features)
- BedWars (4 Audio Features)
Communication
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Communication in Terraria which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction. The following games are similar to Terraria, and offer accessibility features for Communication:
- Barotrauma (3 Communication Features)
- Wildmender (3 Communication Features)
- Minecraft (3 Communication Features)
- Lego Fortnite (2 Communication Features)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
Android
Android has accessibility settings including ways to navigate and interact, although not all games support this.
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.
Nintendo Wii U
The Wii U has some limited settings, such as disabling rumble and selecting mono audio.
PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping).
Stadia
Stadia offers some system accessibility features. Tandem enables you to use two controllers to play one character. This also enables you to connect other controllers like the Xbox Adaptive Controller.
Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.
iOS
iOS has a very extensive suite of accessibility settings including ways to navigate with voice and comprehensive screen reading, though most of the features don't work with games.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Andy Robertson