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GAMES Evil Genius 2 ACCESSIBILITY REPORT
Evil Genius 2 Accessibility ReportWe've documented 39 accessibility features for Evil Genius 2, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Adjust Speed, Low Pressure, No Quick Reactions and Custom Difficulty. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Visual, Reading, Difficulty, Navigation 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, Jo Robertson, first checked Evil Genius 2 accessibility 20 months ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 17 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
The first time you start the game you are prompted to confirm some accessibility settings including colour-blind filter, brightness and auto-pause/auto-save.
The game can automatically pause when your character is attacked or when you start building your base to reduce time-pressure. While paused you can still execute commands without the clock ticking.
The game generally has good contrast and you can hover the cursor to highlight any object. Screen shake and flashes only occur in one instance - upon firing the doomsday device. You can disable Depth of Field to make the game kinder for motion sickness.
You can adjust how long Short, Medium and Long pop-up information stays on the screen.
You can't adjust the size of the user interface but you can make the cursor larger.
Game Details
Release Date: 30/03/2021
Out Now: Mac, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S
Content Rating: PEGI 12
Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Simulation, Strategy (Narrative and Puzzle)
Accessibility: 39 features
Components: 2D Overhead, Day and Night, Grid and Open World
Developer: Rebellion (@Rebellion)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
To complete the main campaign of the game you need to use a minimum of:
- PC: 17 keys, 1 mouse and 1 button.
- Xbox: 12 buttons, 2 triggers and 1 stick.
| Building | Xbox | PC | Notes | Required |
| Build Rotate Item | Y Button | R Key + Left Mouse Button + T Key | ✔ | |
| Build Place Item | A Button | Left Mouse Button | ✔ |
| General | Xbox | PC | Notes | Required |
| Interact | View Button + X Button | Left Mouse Button | ✔ | |
| Aim / Look / Camera | Left Stick | WASD Keys | ✔ | |
| Use Ability | Left Trigger + Right Trigger | High Alert (Hold Both) | ✔ | |
| Action Shortcuts | L Key + V Key + K Key + C Key + X Key | ✔ | ||
| Time - Pause | Left Stick Press | Spacebar | ✕ | |
| Time - Fast Forward | Right Stick Press | Period Key | ✕ | |
| Rotate Camera | Right Stick | E Key + Q Key | ✕ | |
| Zoom Aim | Left Trigger + Right Trigger | ✕ | ||
| Toggle UI | Y Key + T Key + R Key + L Key + M Key + O Key + G Key + Z Key | ✕ | ||
| Photo (Mode) | F4 Key | ✕ |
| Menu | Xbox | PC | Notes | Required |
| Pause / Menu | Menu Button | F7 Key | ✔ | |
| Menu - Open Menu | Y Button | B Key | ✔ | |
| Menu - Select/Advance | A Button | Left Mouse Button | ✔ | |
| Menu - Back/Undo | B Button | ✔ | ||
| Menu - Navigate | D-Pad | Mouse Movement | ✔ | |
| Menu - Previous Page | Left Bumper | Q Key | ✔ | |
| Map - Change Floor | Left Bumper + Right Bumper | Page Up + Page Down | ✔ | |
| Menu - Next Page | Right Bumper | E Key | ✔ |
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 Alone: Can play with just the mouse/mouse-button/mouse wheel.
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
Remap Controls
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
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.
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).
Controller Vibration
Vibration Optional: Controller vibration not used in the game or you can disable it.
Sensitivity
You can adjust
Adjust Mouse/Stick/Touch Sensitivity: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are.
Difficulty
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Difficulty in Evil Genius 2 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.
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 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.
Getting Started
We've documented 9 accessibility features for Getting Started in Evil Genius 2 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.
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.
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.
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.
No Jump Scares: No sudden loud noises or popping-up scary visuals that unexpectedly appear without warning, or the option to disable 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.
Reading
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Evil Genius 2 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 and their Tone: Textual captions indicate who is speaking and their tone (or there is only ever one person speaking). 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.
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 Evil Genius 2, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
Navigation
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Navigation in Evil Genius 2 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
Game Map: View a map of the game world during play, with the landscape, points of interest and missions highlighted throughout the entire game. This enables the orientation of the player and the world, confirming a direction of movement and the location of destinations or points of exploration.
Menu Navigation
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 Evil Genius 2, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
Visual
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Visual in Evil Genius 2 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 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.
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.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Evil Genius 2, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
Audio
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Audio in Evil Genius 2 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:
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, Jo Robertson and @CariWatterton
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Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships. |
