Abzu Accessibility Report - PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Android

iOS

Mac

Switch

Wii

Wii U

PS4

PS5

Xbox One

Xbox X|S

Abzu

Accessibility Report

10 Accessibility Features

We've documented 10 accessibility features for Abzu, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Low Pressure, No Quick Reactions, Play Without Hearing and Multiple Buttons & Single Stick. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Reading 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.

Abzu is an adventure in a lush underwater world. You descend into the heart of the ocean to find ancient secrets and encounter majestic creatures. This combines the beautiful weightlessness of diving with an ancient story of finding meaning and your place in the world.

External examiner, Tyler Brinkman, first checked Abzu accessibility 16 months ago. It was re-examined by Tyler Brinkman and updated 16 months ago.

Accessibility Notes

Interactable objects are highlighted with an orange arrow above them as the player approaches them. In order to achieve maximum speed the player must time boost button presses in a triple jump sequence that does require a degree of timing. This is not required to play the game but it does influence the experience.

Game Details

Release Date: 02/11/2016, updated in 2018

Out Now: PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Adventure, Narrative (Communication, Puzzle and Traversal)

Accessibility: 10 features

Components: 3D Third-Person

Developer: Giant Squidology (@GiantSquidology)

Costs: Purchase cost

Controls

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Controls in Abzu which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.

Gamepad

Can play with the following:

Multiple Buttons & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.

Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.

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:

Invert X/Y Axis: Can invert the direction required to control looking and aiming. This enables you to match your instinctive orientation when looking.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play Abzu, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

Submerged Hidden Depths (17 Controls Features)
The Gecko Gods (13 Controls Features)
Boomerang X (12 Controls Features)
Beasts of Maravilla Island (11 Controls Features)

Difficulty

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Abzu 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. The following games are similar to Abzu, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:

Boomerang X (3 Difficulty Features)
Neva (2 Difficulty Features)
Lost Ember (1 Difficulty Feature)

Getting Started

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Abzu 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.

Reaction-Time Not Critical: Individual game actions don’t need quick reactions, or there are settings to lower the requirement for quick reactions. This means you don't need to quickly press a button in response to an on-screen prompt, target a fast-moving target or skillfully complete a scenario against the clock.

Low Pressure: Game tasks aren't time-limited or there's a low-pressure mode. This avoids the pressure of being put on the clock for overarching missions, or failing tasks because you didn't reach a destination in time.

Assistance For Progressing

These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.

Save Progress Anytime: The game automatically saves progress or you can save any time. This doesn’t mean you never lose progress, but it does mean you can stop whenever you want (without having to get to a save point) without losing progress.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Abzu, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

Wilderless (10 Getting Started Features)
Submerged Hidden Depths (9 Getting Started Features)
Skye Tales (8 Getting Started Features)
Miska (8 Getting Started Features)

Reading

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Reading in Abzu 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.

No Reading: No reading is required, other than simple menus. The game either has no text or can communicate textual content with visuals and interactions. If reading isn't required because the text is voiced the All Dialogue is Voiced feature indicates this.

Voice Acted

All Dialogue is Voice Acted (Or No Speech In Game): All of the game dialogue and narrative can be voiced, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to read the dialogue and narrative text to play the game.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play Abzu, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

Beasts of Maravilla Island (7 Reading Features)
Season: A Letter to the Future (7 Reading Features)
The Gecko Gods (6 Reading Features)
Neva (5 Reading Features)

Navigation

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Navigation in Abzu 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. The following games are similar to Abzu, and offer accessibility features for Navigation:

Of Salt & Solace (7 Navigation Features)
Submerged Hidden Depths (7 Navigation Features)
Skye Tales (6 Navigation Features)
Caravan SandWitch (5 Navigation Features)

Visual

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Visual in Abzu which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game. The following games are similar to Abzu, and offer accessibility features for Visual:

Periphery Synthetic (9 Visual Features)
Skye Tales (8 Visual Features)
Moonglow Bay (7 Visual Features)
The Gecko Gods (6 Visual Features)

Audio

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in Abzu which deals 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.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio

If you want to play Abzu, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:

Skye Tales (3 Audio Features)
Paradise Marsh (3 Audio Features)
Beasts of Maravilla Island (3 Audio Features)
Moonglow Bay (3 Audio Features)

System Accessibility Settings

In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:

Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.

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).

Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.

Read more about system accessibility settings.