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Xbox X|SWe've documented 30 accessibility features for Periphery Synthetic, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Guaranteed Progress, Low Pressure, No Quick Reactions and No Button Combos. Its accessibility is strongest in Visual and Controls but it also has features in Getting Started, Reading, 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 Periphery Synthetic accessibility 9 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
You can adjust stick sensitivity and dead zones, but not thresholds.
There is no tutorial, but there is an extensive "How To Play" section in the menu, which covers all aspects of the game in great detail. The text in this, and on other menus, is high in contrast but far less than 1/20th of screen height.
As navigating is the primary challenge of the game, it is not always clear where to go, but you can walk over most hills and ridges without interruption, and as the game is procedurally generated, you will eventually find something in any direction you go. When playing with the screen on, nearby resources appear in white and can be seen through the terrain. Some areas can be low in contrast, but resources are generally obvious against the background provided you're close enough.
Some audio effects do not have a corresponding visual cue, such as the ping from your sonar bouncing off resources. Sound (stereo at least, but surround sound ideally) is essential to play.
Game Details
Release Date: 22/08/2024
Out Now: PC
Skill Rating: 6+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Collecting and Traversal
Accessibility: 30 features
Components: 3D First-Person and Open World
Developer: Aislinn Hon (@Aislinn_Hon)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 7 accessibility features for Controls in Periphery Synthetic 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:
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).
Sensitivity
You can adjust
Adjust Mouse/Stick/Touch Sensitivity, Deadzones and Thresholds: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are and the related deadzones and thresholds.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Periphery Synthetic, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Flock (8 Controls Features)
- Paradise Marsh (8 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Periphery Synthetic 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 Periphery Synthetic, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
- Flock (2 Difficulty Features)
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (2 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Getting Started in Periphery Synthetic 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.
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.
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.
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.
Bank Progress With Frequent Checkpoints: If you fail you can retry that level or aspect of the game without losing a lot of progress (less than 5 minutes). This is often provided via Frequent Checkpoints combined with restarting without losing time, equipment or score.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Periphery Synthetic, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Wilderless (10 Getting Started Features)
- Lost and Hound (8 Getting Started Features)
- Feather (8 Getting Started Features)
- The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (6 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Periphery Synthetic 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.
No Reading: No reading is required, other than simple menus. The game either has no text or can communicate textual content with visuals and interactions. If reading isn't required because the text is voiced the All Dialogue is Voiced feature indicates this.
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.
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 Periphery Synthetic, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Reading accessibility:
- Paradise Marsh (5 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Navigation in Periphery Synthetic 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
Visual Directional Cues: Additional in-game visual cues that signpost where to go next and how close you are to arriving. This can be with camera movement to focus on your destination or important items. It can use light, breadcrumb trails, in-world pointers to identify your mission's target location.
Audible Directional Cues: Additional in-game audio cues that indicate where to go next and how close you are to arriving. This is offered as a sonar-style ping with positional/stereo audio and volume to guide you in the right direction. This is useful for blind players.
Head-Up Display
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.
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 Periphery Synthetic, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Lost and Hound (6 Navigation Features)
- Paradise Marsh (5 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 9 accessibility features for Visual in Periphery Synthetic which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
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.
Visual Distractions
No Flashes: No flashing strobe effects or you can disable them. This includes the absence of flashing from dramatic visual effects, explosions or weather effects like lightning.
No Screen Shake: No screen shake effect or it is included but it can be disabled. This includes the absence of screen shake for dramatic effect as well as to indicate hits on a target.
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.
Audio Depiction of Event Location: Indication with positional/stereo audio of where directional events are on the screen for things like damage, footsteps, environmental elements. 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.
Play Without Sight
Play Without Sight: The game can be played without sight. Positional/stereo sounds and haptic feedback enable play without the need to see the screen. This is useful for blind low-vision and sightless players.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Periphery Synthetic, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Visual accessibility:
- Lost and Hound (10 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in Periphery Synthetic which deals 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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio
If you want to play Periphery Synthetic, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Lost and Hound (4 Audio Features)
- Flock (3 Audio Features)
- Paradise Marsh (3 Audio Features)
- Feather (3 Audio Features)
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
