
DATABASE

We've documented 15 accessibility features for FTL: Faster Than Light, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), No Repeated Pressing, Play Without Hearing, Fully Subtitled (Or No Speech) and Moderate Reading. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Reading but it also has features in Visual, Getting Started, 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.
Our accessibility examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked FTL: Faster Than Light accessibility 20 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
The amount of information given to you, both on the HUD and in the menus, may be overwhelming at first to some players. Much of the text (and other in-game objects) can be small and not of high contrast to the background, making them difficult to see.
When an event occurs, you can make a delay occur before you can input your choice. This is so that if you are in the middle of using your keys to do something else, you don't accidentally select a choice you didn't want. However, you still need to be able to react quickly to in-game events.
Game Details
Release Date: 14/09/2012, updated in 2014
Out Now: Mac, PC and iOS
Content Rating: PEGI 12
Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Sequencing, Strategy (Collecting, Fighting, Role-Play, Shooting and Simulation)
Accessibility: 15 features
Components: 2D Overhead and Grid
Developer: Subset Games (@SubsetGames)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Controls in FTL: Faster Than Light 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 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.
Button Combinations
Specific button operation required to play
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play FTL: Faster Than Light, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
Difficulty
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in FTL: Faster Than Light 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 FTL: Faster Than Light, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
Getting Started
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Getting Started in FTL: Faster Than Light 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 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 FTL: Faster Than Light, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
Reading
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in FTL: Faster Than Light 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.
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 FTL: Faster Than Light, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
Navigation
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in FTL: Faster Than Light 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.
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 FTL: Faster Than Light, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
Visual
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in FTL: Faster Than Light 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 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.
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 FTL: Faster Than Light, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in FTL: Faster Than Light 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 FTL: Faster Than Light, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
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.
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 Ben Kendall