We've documented 26 accessibility features for Vampire Survivors, including Custom Difficulty, No Button Combos, No Repeated Pressing, No Holds and One Motion Targeted. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Visual but it also has features in Navigation, Audio, Difficulty, Reading and Getting Started 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.
External examiner, Tyler Brinkman, first checked Vampire Survivors accessibility 16 months ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 16 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
You can't select difficulty but you can make the game easier by toggling on/off the "Arcana" power-ups that you collect. Some of these can also make the game harder to achieve more experience and gold.
Although you can't save your progress on a run. You can bank your item, character and stage unlocks that are then available after you have died (or completed a run).
Players must actively react to oncoming threats, dodging and weaving in order to survive. This gets progressively more challenging as more time passes. In order to clear a stage the player must survive for 30 minutes. Some players may feel pressure when attempting to accomplish this.
Visual directional cues are provided for dropped chests if they are off-screen. Once the map is unlocked, items can be enabled and viewed on the map to see roughly how far away they are. Chests are indicated with a floating arrow and items have a slight rainbow flash effect around them. However, the map is not useful for navigating a stage.
There are unique audio cues for when the player picks up different floor items (experience, health, gold etc.) There are visual Damage numbers that can be enabled to provide visual cues for damage, crits, and healing.
The game gives the option to disable flashing effects. However, the nature of the game means that the screen is still full of bright and dark pulsating areas and intense visual effects. This is especially hectic in late-game scenarios.
Game Details
Release Date: 17/12/2021
Out Now: Android, Mac, PC, Switch, Xbox One and iOS
Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds
Players: 1-4
Genres: Shooting, Traversal (Action, Fighting and Simulation)
Accessibility: 26 features
Components: 2D Overhead
Developer: Poncle Soft (@Poncle_Soft)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
We've documented 8 accessibility features for Controls in Vampire Survivors 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:
1 Button & Single Stick: Can play with button and stick.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Keyboard Alone: Can play with just the keyboard.
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
Mouse and Controller: Can play with mouse and controller simultaneously.
Touchscreen
Can play with the following. Additional gestures may be required for games played with a screenreader like VoiceOver.
One Motion Targeted: Can play with touchscreen, tap and swipe or hold gesture.
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 Vampire Survivors, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Roto Force (12 Controls Features)
- Minecraft Dungeons (12 Controls Features)
- Bleak Sword DX (10 Controls Features)
- Barbearian (10 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Vampire Survivors 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
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.
Adjust After Setting
Adjustable Between Levels: You can adjust the difficulty between levels/rounds. Although you have to restart your checkpoint or level, this enables you to adjust the difficulty after selecting it at the beginning of the game.
Getting Started
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Getting Started in Vampire Survivors which deals 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.
No Jump Scares: No sudden loud noises or popping-up scary visuals that unexpectedly appear without warning, or the option to disable them.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Vampire Survivors, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Roto Force (6 Getting Started Features)
- Space Marauder (6 Getting Started Features)
- Barbearian (6 Getting Started Features)
- Minecraft Dungeons (6 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Reading in Vampire Survivors 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.
Simple Minimal Reading: Minimal reading is required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a primary/elementary student (9-year-old) could understand.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading
If you want to play Vampire Survivors, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Space Marauder (7 Reading Features)
- Roto Force (6 Reading Features)
- Returnal (6 Reading Features)
- Voltaire: The Vegan Vampire (5 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Navigation in Vampire Survivors 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
Visual Directional Cues: Additional in-game visual cues that signpost where to go next and how close you are to arriving. This can be with camera movement to focus on your destination or important items. It can use light, breadcrumb trails, in-world pointers to identify your mission's target location.
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.
Menu Navigation
Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.
Digital Menu Navigation: Menu choices with Gamepad can be made without using an analogue stick to guide a cursor to a selection. For example, using D-Pad, buttons or the Stick to change menu selection in a single action.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Vampire Survivors, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Minecraft Dungeons (10 Navigation Features)
- Lake of Creatures (7 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Visual in Vampire Survivors 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.
Visual Distractions
No Flashes: No flashing strobe effects or you can disable them. This includes the absence of flashing from dramatic visual effects, explosions or weather effects like lightning.
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.
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.
Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.
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 Vampire Survivors, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Thoth (7 Visual Features)
- Minecraft Dungeons (7 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Audio in Vampire Survivors 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.
Play Without Hearing
Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.
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.
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.
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 @TylerBrinkman23 and Andy Robertson