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Xbox X|SWe've documented 27 accessibility features for Upheaval, including Guaranteed Progress, Low Pressure, No Quick Reactions, Custom Difficulty and No Button Combos. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Visual but it also has features in Getting Started, Reading, Audio, Difficulty and Navigation 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 Upheaval accessibility 10 months ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 10 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
- Command Line Version: Everything is depicted with only text. Supports a screen reader and enables blind and low-vision players to play.
- Graphical Version: In addition to the textual description, progress is supplemented on maps and other visuals. Doesn't yet support text-to-speech.
Text in the regular, graphical version is all high in contrast, with the option for light text on a dark background or vice versa, but some of it is less than 1/20th the height of the screen. The backgrounds are typically static images but can be made grey.
There aren't specific Difficulty settings but you have as long as you need to make your decisions as time only passes when you select an action (each action has a set period of time it takes). If 30 days aren't enough time to do what you want, you can turn off that limit at the start of the game and instead give yourself 999 days.
The game doesn't rely on sound otherwise so deaf and hard-of-hearing players can also play through the game fully.
You can save all the text on the screen to be viewed again at any time by clicking on your journal. Objectives aren't stated as the game is all about the player creating their own story.
Game Details
Release Date: 03/10/2022, updated in 2023
Out Now: Android, Mac and PC
Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Adventure, Narrative and Point-and-Click
Accessibility: 27 features
Components: Day and Night and Text
Developer: Alex Leone Games (@AlexLeoneGames)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 7 accessibility features for Controls in Upheaval which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Keyboard Alone: Can play with just the keyboard.
Mouse Alone: Can play with just the mouse/mouse-button/mouse wheel.
Touchscreen
Can play with the following. Additional gestures may be required for games played with a screenreader like VoiceOver.
One Tap Targeted: Can play with touchscreen, tap in specific locations.
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).
Controller Vibration
Vibration Optional: Controller vibration not used in the game or you can disable it.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Upheaval, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Saltsea Chronicles (18 Controls Features)
- The Longing (12 Controls Features)
- That Dragon, Cancer (10 Controls Features)
- Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island (9 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Difficulty in Upheaval which deals 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
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play Upheaval, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Difficulty accessibility:
- Rainbow Billy (3 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Getting Started in Upheaval 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.
Assisted Recall for Narrative and Dialogue: The game enables you to review the history of conversations or provides highlights of the information you gather in a form you can review.
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 Upheaval, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Getting Started accessibility:
- Saltsea Chronicles (7 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in Upheaval 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.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading
If you want to play Upheaval, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Return to Monkey Island (7 Reading Features)
- A Dark Room (6 Reading Features)
- That Dragon, Cancer (6 Reading Features)
- The Password Game (5 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in Upheaval which deals 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.
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 Upheaval, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island (4 Navigation Features)
- Rainbow Billy (4 Navigation Features)
- A Memoir Blue (3 Navigation Features)
- A Dark Room (3 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 7 accessibility features for Visual in Upheaval 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
High Contrast: There is high contrast between elements that need to be distinguished from each other, such as characters, interactive objects and game environment, either by default or a high contrast mode. This is different to a slider that increases contrast or brightness between light and dark.
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.
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 Upheaval, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Visual accessibility:
- Ord (8 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Upheaval 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 Upheaval, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Audio accessibility:
- Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island (3 Audio Features)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
Android
Android has accessibility settings including ways to navigate and interact, although not all games support this.
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 and Andy Robertson
