Get Started...
Android
iOS
Mac
Switch
Wii
Wii U
PC
PS4
PS5
Xbox One
Xbox X|SWe've documented 32 accessibility features for Starfield, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Control Assists, Select Difficulty, No Button Combos and No Repeated Pressing. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Navigation but it also has features in Getting Started, Reading, Difficulty, Visual 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, Andy Robertson, first checked Starfield accessibility 8 months ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 7 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
You can adjust the motion blur and film grain options to aid motion sickness but you can't adjust Field of Vision on both console and PC. You can adjust the size of the interface font. Although this resizes the text in the game it doesn't make it big enough to meet our 1/20 screen height criteria. A lot of the text in the game has a low contrast and you can't put a background on it.
The game offers a map, however, this is quite complex and can be hard to navigate. It works better in conjunction with the comprehensive mission log that can be filtered into the Main, Faction, Miscellaneous and other quests. You can select an item in your log and Set Course to get to that location. That takes you to the planet and then provides a quest marker dot to get you where you need to go. You can use your scanner to highlight interactive objects and non-player characters in the world these are added to your compass. While the scanner is up it also offers a cookie trail direction to your current waypoint - however, this only stays visible for a few seconds before disappearing.
There is a Quickslot wheel that slows time when it is open and provides a quick way to access the weapons you need to access quickly. You can access a range of assists like stealth indication and auto lock targeting but these have to be earned in the game rather than selected from a menu. When playing with control there is some aim assist by default. Some menus offer navigation by moving a cursor with a Joystick, however, the majority of these can also be navigated via the D-Pad.
If using the mouse, you can select to click once and then move, rather than click and hold to move. You can also opt for Iron Sights which provides aiming as a toggle instead of a hold. Still, there are lots of holds required to play including using flashlights, scanning, and sprinting. On PC with mouse and keyboard, you can use a key to switch between always run and always walk.
When remapping buttons the game helpfully identifies conflict (but you then have to assign the conflicting button elsewhere rather than remove the binding).
Although you can adjust the audio in multiple ways, because the ambient environmental sounds are grouped with general sound effects this greatly limits the usefulness of these adjustments.
Game Details
Release Date: 06/09/2023
Out Now: PC and Xbox X|S
Skill Rating: 14+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Adventure, Role-Play (Action, Fighting, Narrative, Shooting and Simulation)
Accessibility: 32 features
Components: 3D First-Person, 3D Third-Person, Day and Night and Open World
Developer: Bethesda Studios (@BethesdaStudios)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
We've documented 13 accessibility features for Controls in Starfield 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.
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.
Remap Game Menu Access: Can remap buttons to pause, access and navigate the game menu. This enables you to specify which buttons pop-up the game menu.Whether you can remap menu navigation buttons isn't considered here.
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
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).
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, Deadzones and Thresholds: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are and the related deadzones and thresholds.
Difficulty
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Starfield 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 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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play Starfield, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:
- Baldur's Gate 3 (3 Difficulty Features)
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (3 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Getting Started in Starfield 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.
View Control Mapping: You can view a map of controls during play. This clearly displays the mappings of actions to buttons/keys/mouse/keyboard without having to leave the game. This includes games that always display buttons to press during play.
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.
Assistance For Progressing
These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.
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.
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 Starfield, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Baldur's Gate 3 (9 Getting Started Features)
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (8 Getting Started Features)
- Biomutant (6 Getting Started Features)
- No Man's Sky (6 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Starfield 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.
Extensive Complex Reading: Extensive reading required. The quantity and complexity of reading is suitable for someone who loves long books and enjoys extended dialogue or narrative descriptions.
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 and their Tone: Textual captions indicate who is speaking and their tone (or there is only ever one person speaking). This can also be indicated visually in the game with character icons or character expressions with 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 Starfield, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Fallout 4 (7 Reading Features)
- The Outer Worlds (7 Reading Features)
- Biomutant (7 Reading Features)
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (7 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 7 accessibility features for Navigation in Starfield 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.
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.
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
Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.
Remap Game Menu Access: Can remap buttons to pause, access and navigate the game menu. This enables you to specify which buttons pop-up the game menu.Whether you can remap menu navigation buttons isn't considered here.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Starfield, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Baldur's Gate 3 (9 Navigation Features)
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (8 Navigation Features)
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (8 Navigation Features)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (8 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Visual in Starfield 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.
Audio Cues for Visual Events
Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Starfield, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Baldur's Gate 3 (6 Visual Features)
- World of Warcraft (6 Visual Features)
- Biomutant (5 Visual Features)
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla (5 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in Starfield 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 Starfield, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (3 Audio Features)
- Assassin's Creed Odyssey (3 Audio Features)
- X4: Foundations (2 Audio Features)
- Dark Souls III (2 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.
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 Andy Robertson and @TylerBrinkman23
