Severed Steel Accessibility Report - PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S

Severed Steel Accessibility Report

We've documented 33 accessibility features for Severed Steel, including Large Text, Adjust Speed, Control Assists, Select Difficulty and No Holds. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Visual but it also has features in Navigation, Getting Started, Audio, Difficulty and Reading 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.

Severed Steel is a shooting game with a focus on movement. You charge through the destructible environments shooting and parrying attacks. You play as the one-armed protagonist, Steel, a nimble sharpshooter on a mission. It's like Doom meets Superhot by way of Mirror's Edge.

Our accessibility examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Severed Steel accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Antonio I. Martinez and updated 24 months ago.

Accessibility Notes

You can select from five difficulties. This adjusts how much ammo you have and how much you can slow down time. On the easiest setting, this lets you slow down play considerably (and as much as you like) and reduces the pressure of the game.

You can select hold for kick slide move (keyboard only) and slow-mo. There are some auto settings to make controls smoother. Autorun. Auto Pickup Weapon when no ammo left. Auto Kick when the enemy in range. Auto slow motion when in the stunt. Shooting enemies triggers throw.

Test is generally of a good side but there are quite a few occasions when it appears dark red on black and is hard to read.

You can adjust the Head-Up Display display to hide elements like Luck, Slow-Mo, Objection, Ammunition. This reduces information overload. You can see enemies and objectives through walls and important locations like the exits have a visible indicator of which direction they are from you. At the start of each level, you get one clear objective like "Kill them all", "Find the Prototype".

Severed Steel

ACCESSIBILITY REPORT

Game Details

Release Date: 17/09/2021, updated in 2022

Price: 70% off

Out Now: PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S

Content Rating: PEGI 16

Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Shooting, Traversal (Action and Race)

Accessibility: 33 features

Components: 3D First-Person and Open World

Developer: Digerati DM (@DigeratiDM)

Costs: Purchase cost

Controls

We've documented 11 accessibility features for Controls in Severed Steel 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 Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.

Swap Sticks: Can swap the sticks over so that you can use the opposite sticks to control the game.

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.

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.

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 Severed Steel, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

Halo Infinite

Heavenly Bodies

Difficulty

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Severed Steel 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.

Adjust After Setting

Adjustable Between Levels: You can adjust the difficulty between levels/rounds. Although you have to restart your checkpoint or level, this enables you to adjust the difficulty after selecting it at the beginning of the game.

Getting Started

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Severed Steel 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.

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.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Severed Steel, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

Reading

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Reading in Severed Steel 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

Large Clear Text: All essential text is large and clear or can be adjusted to be. The general text used throughout the game in menus, instructions and other key information (excluding subtitles that are assessed separately) is at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height on landscape screens and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play Severed Steel, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

Navigation

We've documented 5 accessibility features for Navigation in Severed Steel 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

Large Clear Navigation: The in-game navigation and maps are clear to read. They offer large text and offer markers that are large and of high contrast. Where text or information is small, there are settings to zoom-in and increase visibility.

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.

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.

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.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

If you want to play Severed Steel, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Navigation accessibility:

Halo Infinite

Visual

We've documented 7 accessibility features for Visual in Severed Steel 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

Large Game Elements: Game characters and other elements are large and distinguishable. Enemies and player characters are at least 1/6 of the height of the screen. Or there is a zoom feature to make them larger.

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 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.

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.

Audio

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Audio in Severed Steel 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.

Audio Events

Visual Cues for Audio Events: Text or other visual indicators of audio events. This mirrors audio indicators of progress in the game with a corresponding visual indication.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

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.