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Xbox X|SWe've documented 23 accessibility features for Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), No Repeated Pressing, Play Without Hearing, Colour Blind Friendly and Audio Cues. Its accessibility is strongest in Visual and Controls but it also has features in Reading, Navigation, Getting Started 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 Verne: The Shape of Fantasy accessibility 4 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
Some of the puzzles can be quite difficult to solve and there are no optional hints available.
Text is high in contrast but often quite small. You can change the font from the standard pixellated font to OpenDyslexic. This affects everything in the game apart from button prompts, which remain in the pixellated font.
There is an option in the settings to enable Sound Representation, which displays a textual explanation of sound effects. However, this text is quite small and only appears for a short time, so isn't particularly helpful. That said, sound effects aren't necessary to play the game, provided you can read the subtitles.
Game Details
Release Date: 14/08/2023
Out Now: Mac and PC
Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Narrative, Point-and-Click, Puzzle (Adventure, Stealth and Traversal)
Accessibility: 23 features
Components: 2D Side-On and Pixels
Developer: Verne Game (@VerneGame)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Controls in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 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 & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Keyboard Alone: Can play with just the keyboard.
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.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney (10 Controls Features)
- Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (6 Controls Features)
- Wayward Strand (6 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 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 Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
- Return to Monkey Island (1 Difficulty Feature)
Getting Started
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Getting Started in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 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 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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Strange Horticulture (6 Getting Started Features)
- Return to Monkey Island (5 Getting Started Features)
- Wayward Strand (4 Getting Started Features)
- Aviary Attorney (4 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Reading in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 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.
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 Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, 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)
- Wayward Strand (7 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Navigation in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 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
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.
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 Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (4 Navigation Features)
- Wayward Strand (4 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Visual in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 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.
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.
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.
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 2 accessibility features for Audio in Verne: The Shape of Fantasy 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 Verne: The Shape of Fantasy, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Audio accessibility:
- Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (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
