Baladins Accessibility Report - PC - Family Gaming Database

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Baladins

Accessibility Report

16 Accessibility Features

We've documented 16 accessibility features for Baladins, including Low Pressure, No Quick Reactions, No Button Combos, No Repeated Pressing and No Holds. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Reading, Visual, Audio and Navigation 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.

Baladins is a narrative role-play game where you play a troupe of entertainers wandering through the countryside. You visit towns, talk to the locals and complete quests over your a short span of weeks, then start again and have a new adventure. It stands out for how different characters allow you to play in different ways and how each time you play, you uncover new twists and paths to take.

Our accessibility examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Baladins accessibility 10 months ago.

Accessibility Notes

As the game is not released, the developer is still working on accessibility features. The report represents those features that they have a plan to implement and are confident of including but is subject to change.

There is never any need for quick reactions or good timing, and most of the gameplay occurs via text. While most of this text is high in contrast, some of it isn't, and lots of it is less than 1/20^th the height of the screen.

Some parts of the game can be low in contrast, and there is a very significant depth-of-field effect on the overworld, which you use to move from one interaction to the next by clicking on specific areas to go.

Game Details

Release Date: Coming soon

Coming Soon: PC

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Players: 1-4 (4 online)

Genres: Narrative, Role-Play (Adventure, Communication, Point-and-Click, Sequencing and Traversal)

Accessibility: 16 features

Components: 2D Side-On

Developer: Seed By Seed Games (@SeedBySeedGames)

Costs: Purchase cost

Controls

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Controls in Baladins 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 Alone: Can play with just the mouse/mouse-button/mouse wheel.

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 Baladins, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

Wildermyth (11 Controls Features)
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island (9 Controls Features)
West of Loathing (9 Controls Features)
Upheaval (7 Controls Features)

Difficulty

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Baladins 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 Baladins, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:

Wildermyth (3 Difficulty Features)
Monorail Stories (2 Difficulty Features)
Upheaval (1 Difficulty Feature)

Getting Started

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

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.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

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

West of Loathing (9 Getting Started Features)
Animal Crossing: Wild World (6 Getting Started Features)
Animal Crossing (6 Getting Started Features)
Upheaval (6 Getting Started Features)

Reading

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in Baladins 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.

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.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

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

Monorail Stories (7 Reading Features)
The Kingdom of Istyald (6 Reading Features)
Animal Crossing (5 Reading Features)
Animal Crossing: Wild World (4 Reading Features)

Navigation

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in Baladins which deals 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

Large Clear Navigation: The in-game navigation and maps are clear to read. They offer large text and offer markers that are large and of high contrast. Where text or information is small, there are settings to zoom-in and increase visibility.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

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

Monorail Stories (5 Navigation Features)
Wildermyth (5 Navigation Features)
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island (4 Navigation Features)
West of Loathing (3 Navigation Features)

Visual

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in Baladins 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 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.

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.

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 Baladins, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:

Ord (8 Visual Features)
Upheaval (7 Visual Features)
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island (7 Visual Features)
West of Loathing (7 Visual Features)

Audio

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Baladins 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 Baladins, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:

Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island (3 Audio Features)
Wildermyth (3 Audio Features)
The Kingdom of Istyald (3 Audio Features)

Communication

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Communication in Baladins which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction. The following games are similar to Baladins, and offer accessibility features for Communication:

Animal Crossing (1 Communication Feature)
Monorail Stories (1 Communication Feature)

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