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Xbox X|SWe've documented 33 accessibility features for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Large Subtitles, Adjust Speed, Low Pressure and No Quick Reactions. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Reading, Visual, 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, Ben Kendall, first checked Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy accessibility 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 3 years ago.
Accessibility Notes
The difficulty can be set to one of three presets, but can also be customised to give you control over different elements, such as cool down, damage dealt, and more. During combat, you can enter guardians mode, which is where you can assign specific commands to each teammate. This mode offers a Lower Pressure experience slows down time in-game (to an adjustable degree, including a total stop), giving you time to think about your next move, should you need to.
Along with typical audio adjustment, you can set a peak volume level, which will reduce the soundness of sudden loud events and minimise peaks in the soundscape. You can also set it to prioritise the main sounds, such as dialogue and gameplay sounds to a higher degree than normal.
You can adjust whether all the dialogue is subtitled, or just the main dialogue, not including overheard dialogue between background characters, to make it easier to follow the narrative. While the subtitles are large, clear and in high contrast, some other text is not.
There are extensive features (that are gone through in-depth in the above article) that reduce reaction time, negate the need to quickly press buttons, and help with controls.
Game Details
Release Date: 26/10/2021
Out Now: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox X|S
Skill Rating: 13+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Action, Adventure (Fighting, Narrative, Shooting and Traversal)
Accessibility: 33 features
Components: 3D Third-Person
Developer: Eidos Montreal (@EidosMontreal)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
We've documented 8 accessibility features for Controls in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 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:
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.
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.
Controller Vibration
Vibration Optional: Controller vibration not used in the game or you can disable it.
Informative Vibration: Controller vibration indicates events or interactions in the game, echoing visual and audio cues. This can provide additional information about progress, approaching enemies or hitting a target.
Sensitivity
You can adjust
Adjust Mouse/Stick/Touch Sensitivity: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Bayonetta (10 Controls Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (10 Controls Features)
- Marvel's Avengers (10 Controls Features)
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (10 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Difficulty in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 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 8 accessibility features for Getting Started in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 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.
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.
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.
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.
Assistance For Progressing
These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.
Assisted Progress With Hints: The game notices if you get stuck (or you can press a button) and provides information to help you progress. This can offer hints or tutorials popping up during play. This includes hints after you have died, where it can suggest strategies or difficulty settings to adjust or offer to skip past problematic levels.
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 5 accessibility features for Reading in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 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
Large Clear Subtitles: Subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast. They are at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height of a landscape screen and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens, or can be adjusted to be. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters. Considered separately from the general text of the game, the subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast.
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
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 Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (6 Reading Features)
- Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (6 Reading Features)
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (6 Reading Features)
- Marvel's Spider-Man (6 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Navigation in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 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.
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 Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (9 Navigation Features)
- Marvel's Spider-Man (8 Navigation Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (7 Navigation Features)
- Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales (7 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Visual in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 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.
Interactive Elements
Outline Interactive Elements: Characters, platforms and enemies can be outlined or highlighted for visibility. This can be with a large border around the character or a special visual mode that adjust the colour to make characters more visible.
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 Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Visual accessibility:
- Marvel's Spider-Man 2 (7 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 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 Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (3 Audio Features)
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection (3 Audio Features)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (3 Audio Features)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.
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 Ben Kendall and Andy Robertson
