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Xbox X|SWe've documented 32 accessibility features for Heroes of Hammerwatch II, including Low Pressure, Control Assists, No Button Combos, No Holds and Remap Buttons. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Navigation but it also has features in Reading, Visual, Getting Started, Audio and Communication 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 Heroes of Hammerwatch II accessibility 2 weeks ago.
Accessibility Notes
Text in the game is high on contrast and can be increased in size, but even at its largest is still less than 1/20th of screen height. Additionally, the pixellated font can be somewhat difficult to read.
You can extensively customise the HUD, adjusting opacity, size, and the information contained within (such as player and enemy information).
Game Details
Release Date: 14/01/2025
Price: 35% Off
Out Now: PC
Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds
Players: 1 (4 online)
Genres: Fighting, Role-Play (Adventure, Creative, Shooting and Strategy)
Accessibility: 32 features
Components: 2D Overhead and Pixels
Developer: Real Crackshell (@RealCrackshell)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 10 accessibility features for Controls in Heroes of Hammerwatch II 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:
Keyboard Alone: Can play with just the keyboard.
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
Remap Controls
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
Remap Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.
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.
Remap One Action to Multiple Buttons: Can remap multiple buttons to perform the same action to reduce the need to memorise buttons and make the action easier to access.
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).
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Heroes of Hammerwatch II, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Controls accessibility:
- Moonlighter (13 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Heroes of Hammerwatch II 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 Heroes of Hammerwatch II, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
- Moonlighter (2 Difficulty Features)
- Vampire Survivors (2 Difficulty Features)
- Hades (2 Difficulty Features)
- Tinkerlands (1 Difficulty Feature)
Getting Started
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Heroes of Hammerwatch II 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.
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 Heroes of Hammerwatch II, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Hades (5 Getting Started Features)
- Tinkerlands (4 Getting Started Features)
- Lake of Creatures (4 Getting Started Features)
- Moonlighter (4 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Reading in Heroes of Hammerwatch II 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
High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.
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
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 6 accessibility features for Navigation in Heroes of Hammerwatch II 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
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.
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.
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 Heroes of Hammerwatch II, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Navigation accessibility:
- Lake of Creatures (7 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Visual in Heroes of Hammerwatch II 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 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 Heroes of Hammerwatch II, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Visual accessibility:
- Rotwood (6 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Heroes of Hammerwatch II 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 Heroes of Hammerwatch II, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Audio accessibility:
- Vampire Survivors (3 Audio Features)
Communication
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Communication in Heroes of Hammerwatch II which deals 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.
No Online Chat (Or Preset Phrases Only): Game is played online but no verbal or textual player communication. This includes games that offer no communication or communication with word-less icons, sounds or preset phrases.
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
