We've documented 19 accessibility features for Oxygen Not Included, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Adjust Speed, No Quick Reactions, Select Difficulty and No Button Combos. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Reading, Navigation, Visual, Audio and Difficulty 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, Ben Kendall, first checked Oxygen Not Included accessibility 17 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
There are lots of menus and interfaces, each one displaying lots of useful information. Sometimes, multiple of these can appear at once, which can become overwhelming. The text throughout the game is consistently fairly small and often low in contrast, and text can sometimes temporarily overlap, making it unreadable.
At the start, there are lots of clear objectives to complete which get you started, but these do stop in favour of player creativity later on. You can resize the user interface to make it larger and more easily readable.
The backgrounds are mostly static and aren't distracting. Some in-game elements and objects can be very small and difficult to identify. you need to be able to distinguish between different colours in order to comprehend the map that indicates oxygen levels in different parts of your base, which is important to note for colourblind players.
Game Details
Release Date: 30/07/2019
Out Now: Mac and PC
Skill Rating: 11+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Strategy, World Building (Creative, Sequencing and Simulation)
Accessibility: 19 features
Components: 2D Side-On, Day and Night and Pixels
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Controls in Oxygen Not Included which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.
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.
Button Combinations
Specific button operation required to play
Holding Down Buttons Optional: Holding down buttons for prolonged periods (a second or more) is not required or can be switched to toggling the action on and off. This is in addition to the movement stick/button which is not considered a hold for this purpose.
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.
No Simultaneous Buttons: Only one button or key required at a time, in addition to direction stick(s).
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Oxygen Not Included, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Evil Genius 2 (12 Controls Features)
- Stardew Valley (9 Controls Features)
- Humankind (8 Controls Features)
- Dice Legacy (7 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Difficulty in Oxygen Not Included which deals 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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play Oxygen Not Included, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:
- Evil Genius 2 (3 Difficulty Features)
- Stellaris (2 Difficulty Features)
- Timberborn (2 Difficulty Features)
- Terraria (2 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Getting Started in Oxygen Not Included 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.
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.
Adjust Speed: Adjust the speed of the game at critical moments or throughout, or rewind play for a second attempt, to ease reaction times. By slowing the game, you have more time to interpret what is happening and then execute your actions. It also reduces the pressure on getting things right quickly or the first time you attempt them.
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 Oxygen Not Included, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Lueur and the Dim Settlers (11 Getting Started Features)
- Evil Genius 2 (9 Getting Started Features)
- Satisfactory (7 Getting Started Features)
- Apico (6 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in Oxygen Not Included 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.
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.
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 Oxygen Not Included, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Apico (6 Reading Features)
- Satisfactory (6 Reading Features)
- Tharsis (5 Reading Features)
- The Simpsons: Tapped Out (5 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Navigation in Oxygen Not Included 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.
Clarity
Clear Mission Objectives: The game provides clear, structured missions with directional guidance and advice on which can be attempted next. This also indicates (ideally on maps where they are provided) which missions can't be attempted because you do not have the appropriate items yet.
Head-Up Display
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Oxygen Not Included, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Lueur and the Dim Settlers (4 Navigation Features)
- Apico (3 Navigation Features)
- Timberborn (3 Navigation Features)
- Evil Genius 2 (3 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Visual in Oxygen Not Included which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
Visual Distractions
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.
Motion Sickness Friendly
Motion Sickness Friendly: Doesn't have 3D movement elements that may trigger motion sickness, like motion blur, depth of field and field-of-vision. Or includes the ability to disable motion blur, depth of field and field-of-vision effects.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Oxygen Not Included, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Lueur and the Dim Settlers (6 Visual Features)
- Terraria (6 Visual Features)
- The Pale Beyond (5 Visual Features)
- The Simpsons: Tapped Out (5 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Oxygen Not Included 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.
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 Oxygen Not Included, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Loop Hero (3 Audio Features)
- Evil Genius 2 (3 Audio Features)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
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.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Ben Kendall