We've documented 27 accessibility features for Star Wars: Republic Commando, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Large Text, Control Assists, Select Difficulty and No Button Combos. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Reading but it also has features in Navigation, Getting Started, Visual, 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, Ben Kendall, first checked Star Wars: Republic Commando accessibility 2 years ago.
Accessibility Notes
Aside from menus and subtitles, the only text in the game is on your HUD. It is largely translucent and often does not contrast particularly well with the background, and can often get lost in the action, making it quite difficult to read at times. It is, however, quite large. The subtitles themselves are of a similar size but likewise can get lost in the background.
On consoles, you can change buttons to select presets, but on PC, you are free to change the controls to whatever you wish.
The game, like most from its era, does not use a particularly vibrant set of colours or contrast particularly well, with many parts of the game appearing washed out and bland. While you can adjust the overall brightness of the game, this does not completely remedy the issue. Many times, the screen will shake and flash, and the screen may be momentarily be covered with gore from aliens, but, like rain, will be wiped away by a laser that crosses your HUD, which takes up the entire screen to replicate the look of being inside a Clone Trooper helmet. While the gore and subsequent laser are over your HUD, your vision will be temporarily restricted. Many aspects of the HUD can be toggled on and off.
Game Details
Release Date: 28/02/2005, updated in 2021
Price: 75% off
Out Now: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Xbox X|S
Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Action, Shooting (Adventure, Fighting and Role-Play)
Accessibility: 27 features
Components: 3D First-Person
Developer: Aspyr Media (@AspyrMedia)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 8 accessibility features for Controls in Star Wars: Republic Commando 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 & 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:
Select Preset Controller Mappings: You can select preset button layouts from options provided by the developer.
Remap Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.
Invert X/Y Axis: Can invert the direction required to control looking and aiming. This enables you to match your instinctive orientation when looking.
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.
No Simultaneous Buttons: Only one button or key required at a time, in addition to direction stick(s).
Sensitivity
You can adjust
Adjust Mouse/Stick/Touch Sensitivity: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Star Wars: Republic Commando, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Aliens: Dark Descent (10 Controls Features)
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (10 Controls Features)
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (10 Controls Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (10 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Star Wars: Republic Commando 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.
Adjust After Setting
Adjustable Anytime: You can adjust the difficulty while playing, without having to restart the level you are on. This enables you to quickly adjust the game to suit your needs and see the difference immediately.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play Star Wars: Republic Commando, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (3 Difficulty Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (3 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Star Wars: Republic Commando 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.
Assistance With Controls: The game can automatically assist with aiming, steering, reloading, jumping, running etc. This reduces the challenge of certain aspects of play to remove barriers and make control of characters more accessible.
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 Star Wars: Republic Commando, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (8 Getting Started Features)
- Aliens: Dark Descent (5 Getting Started Features)
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (5 Getting Started Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (5 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Reading in Star Wars: Republic Commando 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.
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.
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 Star Wars: Republic Commando, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (6 Reading Features)
- Star Wars: Squadrons (6 Reading Features)
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (6 Reading Features)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (6 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Navigation in Star Wars: Republic Commando 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.
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
Menus Don't Wrap: Menus don't wrap and stop the cursor at the bottom of the list if you press down. Or menus do wrap but make it clear that you are back at the top of the list with sound or narration.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Star Wars: Republic Commando, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (8 Navigation Features)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (8 Navigation Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (7 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in Star Wars: Republic Commando 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.
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 Star Wars: Republic Commando, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Fortnite (6 Visual Features)
- My Friend Pedro (5 Visual Features)
- Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy (5 Visual Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (5 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in Star Wars: Republic Commando 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.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio
If you want to play Star Wars: Republic Commando, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Star Wars: Squadrons (4 Audio Features)
- Fortnite (4 Audio Features)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (3 Audio Features)
- Due Process (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).
PlayStation 5
PlayStation 5 has a range of system-wide accessibility settings.
Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.
Xbox Series X|S
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.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Ben Kendall