Journey Accessibility Report - PC, PS3, PS4 and iOS

Journey Accessibility Report

We've documented 8 accessibility features for Journey, including Guaranteed Progress, Low Pressure, Save Anytime, Tutorials and Select Preset Controls. Its accessibility is strongest in Getting Started and Controls but it also has features in 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.

Journey is an adventure game set in a desert. Exploring the eerie sandscape, you discover a world abandoned by the race that created it. The sense of space and scale evokes feelings of aloneness and being lost. But then the game pairs you with other players, one at a time, who appear on the horizon. You can communicate only using wordless chirps but it’s enough to create a camaraderie to take on the wild, vast landscape. This creates a beautiful journey from sand to snow and water that creates an unusual appreciation of help from unknown others.

Our accessibility examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Journey accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 23 months ago.

Accessibility Notes

You can tilt the controller to control the camera position rather than using the stick.

Journey

ACCESSIBILITY REPORT

Game Details

Release Date: 14/03/2012, updated in 2019

Out Now: PC, PS3, PS4 and iOS

Content Rating: PEGI 7

Skill Rating: 11+ year-olds

Players: 1 (2 online)

Genres: Adventure, Narrative (Communication, Platform, Puzzle and Traversal)

Accessibility: 8 features

Components: 3D Third-Person and Open World

Developer: That Game Company (@ThatGameCompany)

Costs: Purchase cost

Controls

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Controls in Journey 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.

Motion

Games that can be played with different sorts of motion controllers.

Motion Tilting: Can use movements of the controller to replace steering or simple movement otherwise controlled by left/right movement of a stick.

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.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play Journey, 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 Journey 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 Journey, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:

Ynglet

The Snowgardens

Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Getting Started

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Getting Started in Journey 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.

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.

Assistance For Progressing

These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.

Guaranteed Progress With God Mode: There is no fail state for any game level, where you lose progress or have to start again. Or there are options to make failing impossible: infinite health or lives, unlimited time. Sometimes called God Mode or Unfailable.

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 Journey, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

Reading

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Reading in Journey 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. The following games are similar to Journey, and offer accessibility features for Reading:

Navigation

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Navigation in Journey 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. The following games are similar to Journey, and offer accessibility features for Navigation:

Visual

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Visual in Journey which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game. The following games are similar to Journey, and offer accessibility features for Visual:

Audio

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Audio in Journey 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 Journey, and offer accessibility features for Audio:

Communication

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Communication in Journey 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.

PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping).

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 Andy Robertson