We've documented 37 accessibility features for Back 4 Blood, including Environmental Captions, Large Subtitles, Large Text, Control Assists and Select Difficulty. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Reading, Visual, Communication, Navigation 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, Andy Robertson, first checked Back 4 Blood accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Tyler Brinkman and updated 7 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
For subtitles, you can specify how much is captioned, just the Dialogue, additional Ambience or Full. Different characters are indicated with colours that can be adjusted for colourblindness.
You can remap the keyboard (except the Pause menu that is locked to Escape) and pick mapping for the controller. You can switch between Toggles or Holds for Aim, Run, Crouch, Revive and accessing the Communication Wheel. There is an auto walk option. On the controller, the game has Aim Assist and Target Snap options to aid aiming. You can use mouse buttons extensively including extra buttons, mouse wheel up and down.
You can adjust brightness and contrast and turn on an outline enemies option. You can adjust the width and colour of this outline.
Thanks to Antonia I. Martinez who tweeted many of these details. More information is available in the official FAQ.
Control mapping are viewable in the system menu for the preset control schemes but these do not reflect any custom remapping. The amount of vibration feedback can be adjusted through a slider (Verified on PlayStation 5. Unknown if this feature is available on other consoles).
There is a variety of other adjustable camera feedback features including a camera acceleration toggle, a camera movement toggle (linear - same amount of feedback regardless of the amount of input and exponential - amount of feedback increases with the amount of input. The same setting is available for player movement as well).
There is a variety of subtitle options including cinematic subtitles and menu subtitles along with those listed previously. Text on ability cards is small though and cannot be adjusted.
There is a firing range in the main hub area that allows players to experiment with different guns and practice aiming. Training missions can be run with no consequence in order to familiarize the player with a given mission.
Guidance through a level is minimal with the occasional objective highlight when a button needs to be pressed or wheel needs turning.
Progress is saved once completing a level.
Game Details
Release Date: 12/10/2021
Out Now: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox X|S
Players: 1 (8 online)
Genres: Action, Shooting and Simulation
Accessibility: 37 features
Components: 3D Third-Person
Developer: Turtle Rock (@TurtleRock)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
We've documented 13 accessibility features for Controls in Back 4 Blood 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.
Swap Sticks: Can swap the sticks over so that you can use the opposite sticks to control the game.
Remap Mouse and Keyboard: Can remap mouse and keyboard key bindings, on systems that support these controls.
Remap Extra Mouse Buttons: Can remap additional buttons on mice that provide more than the two standard buttons, on systems that support these controls.
Remap Mouse Wheel: Can remap the mouse wheel to control aspects of the game when you move it up/down, on systems that support these controls.
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.
Controller Vibration
Vibration Optional: Controller vibration not used in the game or you can disable it.
Informative Vibration: Controller vibration indicates events or interactions in the game, echoing visual and audio cues. This can provide additional information about progress, approaching enemies or hitting a target.
Sensitivity
You can adjust
Adjust Mouse/Stick/Touch Sensitivity, Deadzones and Thresholds: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are and the related deadzones and thresholds.
Difficulty
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Difficulty in Back 4 Blood 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 Back 4 Blood, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:
- Redfall (2 Difficulty Features)
- Phasmophobia (2 Difficulty Features)
- Deep Rock Galactic (2 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Getting Started in Back 4 Blood 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.
Onboarding Before Play
Before you are presented with the home screen, onboarding settings aim to aid you accessing the menus you need to adjust the game to your requirements. They can also provide an easier way of turning on important adjustments without digging through menus.
Onboarding: The first time you open the game, you are asked to confirm options for control, navigation and accessibility settings. Games can differ in what they present at this stage, but will count for this, provided they include a streamlined onboarding process.
Low Vision Onboarding: The first time you open the game, the default text is high contrast and font size is at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height of the screen and in an easy to read font. This enables legally blind visually impaired players to get ready to play.
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.
Practice Area: You can practice freely without opponents or time pressures. This can be a specific practice option, or the ability to play levels with the easiest opponents to improve understanding and skill.
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 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.
Reading
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Reading in Back 4 Blood 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
Large Clear Subtitles: Subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast. They are at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height of a landscape screen and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens, or can be adjusted to be. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters. Considered separately from the general text of the game, the subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast.
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, their Tone and Environment Sounds: Captions indicate who is speaking (or there is only ever one person speaking) and their tone, game sound and music. This can also be indicated visually in the game with character icons or character expressions with text in speech bubbles next to the person speaking. Environmental sounds are provided as extra text within the subtitles.
Voice Acted
Some Dialogue is Voice Acted: Some of the game dialogue and narrative is voice acted. This reduces the pressure on reading all the dialogue text, although not everything is provided audibly.
Navigation
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Navigation in Back 4 Blood 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
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 Narrated: All of the game menus can be narrated for easier navigation. The game menus can therefore be navigated without reading text.
Game Choices Narrated: Player choices through textual user interface are narrated. This enables selections such as dialogue, weapon-choice or character upgrades to be made without reading text.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Back 4 Blood, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Navigation accessibility:
- Redfall (9 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Visual in Back 4 Blood which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
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.
Narration for Visual Elements
This is the audible narration of in-game text. Sometimes talk about as Text To Speech, although it may include the narration of no-textual elements. This is different to Text To Voice, which provides player-player textual communication audibly.
Menu Narrated: All of the game menus can be narrated for easier navigation. The game menus can therefore be navigated without reading text.
Game Choices Narrated: Player choices through textual user interface are narrated. This enables selections such as dialogue, weapon-choice or character upgrades to be made without reading text.
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.
Colour Options
Colour Adjustments: Adjust colours of characters or game elements for greater visibility. Includes the ability to select which type of colour blind mode you require.
Audio
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Audio in Back 4 Blood 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. The following games are similar to Back 4 Blood, and offer accessibility features for Audio:
- Smalland (4 Audio Features)
- Redfall (3 Audio Features)
- Dead by Daylight (3 Audio Features)
- Resident Evil Village (2 Audio Features)
Communication
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Communication in Back 4 Blood which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction.
Player-to-Player Online Communication
This is how players communicate with each other in online games. This can be to plan strategy, chat as they play or co-ordinate resources.
Voice Chat: Chat to other players on your team or friends list by speaking with headset.
Proximity Chat: Chat to other players who are near you in the game, whether or not they are friends or on your team, by speaking with headset.
Filtered Chat: Option to filter out profanity and/or sharing of personal information from online chat.
Online Communication Assistance
Ping Communication: Send quick preset messages to teammates as safer alternative to open communication.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Communication
If you want to play Back 4 Blood, but it doesn't offer the Communication accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Communication accessibility:
- Sea of Thieves (6 Communication 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.
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 Andy Robertson and @TylerBrinkman23