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Designed with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Features

Video games are a medium that can be enjoyed by a diverse audience, but sometimes, Deaf or hard of hearing players can struggle to enjoy a game due to information not being conveyed to them properly. Audio cues without visual indicators or captions, spoken narrative or direction without subtitles, for example.

However, games that include well-illustrated subtitles or captions can enable these players to understand what's being spoken through dialogue, and what's going on in the surrounding area.

Providing subtitles and captions is a good first step. But also important is that subtitles are readable and stand out from the game. Some games do this by adding a background, or a heavy drop shadow behind the text while others use colours to separate different meanings. Metro Exodus, for example, will inform the player where an enemy is located in the world through captions.

Where audio is used to locate events in the game world, a visual representation of this information is helpful. Games such as Fortnite have an audio visualiser ring that identifies where key audio (and the related event) is coming from. Assassin's Creed Odyssey uses a similar feature to indicate nearby dangers.

Games that enable Deaf and hard of hearing players with subtitles, captions and visual indicators are hugely welcomed by the community, with wider accessibility benefits for other players who can opt to benefit from these interface enhancements as well.

This list includes 28 games from the last 18 years, with 812 likes. They come from a range of different genres and play-styles and are all good games if you want to play games with Deaf/HoH features.

List Details

PEGI Ratings: PEGI 3 to PEGI 18
ESRB Ratings: ESRB EVERYONE to ESRB MATURE 17+
Australian Ratings: G to R 18+
Genres: Action, Adventure, Battle, Brain Game, Collecting, Communication, Creative, Fighting, Narrative, Platform, Point-and-Click, Puzzle, Race, Rhythm, Role-Play, Sequencing, Shooting, Simulation, Stealth, Strategy and Traversal
Total Likes: 812

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Minecraft Dungeons

Release Date: 26/05/2020

Out Now: PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person and Blocks

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The Last Of Us Part II

Release Date: 19/06/2020

Out Now: PS4

Skill Rating: 16+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person and Day and Night

The Last of Us Part II is an action-adventure game set five years after The Last of Us. You control two characters in a post-apocalyptic United States. Ellie is out for revenge after suffering a tragedy, and Abby is a...

Fortnite

Release Date: 25/07/2017, updated in 2018

Out Now: Android, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One and iOS

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person, Cartoon and Open World

Fortnite rose to popularity via its Battle Royale mode where 100 players fight against each other in online battles to the death. While they play, using shooting, evasion and building skills to survive, a storm is closing in to make the playable area...

Overcooked! All You Can Eat

Release Date: 07/08/2018, updated in 2018

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

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead and Grid

Overcooked! All You Can Eat is part of a series of collaborative cooking games for up to 4 players. You must keep talking to other players to coordinate the various elements of the dishes. It starts simply enough but soon gets more complicated as you...

Lego

Lego (Series)

Release Date: 01/02/2005, updated in 2020

Out Now: 3DS and 2DS, Android, DS, GameCube, Mac, PC, PS Vita, PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP, Switch, Wii, Wii U, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One and iOS

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person, Blocks, Cartoon and Open World

Lego, a popular film franchise and a video game is a rich recipe for gaming fun. The series of Lego games has been developed since the first release on Nintendo DS. Not only do these games offer a chance to explore, destroy and fight in a world made of...

Life Is Strange

Life Is Strange (Series)

Release Date: 19/01/2016

Out Now: Android, PC, PS3, PS4, Stadia, Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and iOS

Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person and Cartoon

Life Is Strange is a click/tap-to-move adventure where you play a student at a high school in a sleepy American town. Despite the idyllic setting, you have a foreboding premonition of a disastrous storm. Along with this prophetic vision, you discover...

Scribble It

Release Date: 20/10/2020

Out Now: Mac and PC

Skill Rating: 6+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Hand-Made

Scribble It is a digital take on the classic board game Pictionary. You take turns drawing a word as the other players try to be the first one to guess it. The benefit is that you don't have to be in the same place to play. Also, there's the added...

Moving Out

Release Date: 29/04/2020

Out Now: Mac, PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead and Cartoon

Moving Out is an action-puzzle game where you play a removal company. With up to four players you work together to get items out of the house and into the van. Although this starts simply you soon find furniture that is an awkward shape or needs two...

Knack

Release Date: 15/09/2013

Out Now: PS4

Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person and Cartoon

Knack is a platform action series where you control a shape-shifting robot called Knack. Through beautiful arcade-style battles and worlds, you collect Relics that enable you to grow bigger and gain more powers.

Forza Horizon 4

Release Date: 25/09/2018

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

Skill Rating: 7+ year-olds

Components: 3D First-Person, 3D Third-Person, Day and Night, Open World and Weather

Forza Horizon 4 is a thrilling racing game where you race all manner of vehicles across a wide range of landscapes. This fourth iteration is set in the United Kingdom, with Edinburgh’s narrow streets, the Lake District’s hills and rainfall and the...

Cadence of Hyrule

Release Date: 13/06/2019

Out Now: Switch

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Components: 2D Overhead and Pixels

Cadence of Hyrule is a Zelda-infused version of a popular rhythm-action indie game called Crypt of the NecroDancer. Like the original, you go on an adventure viewed from above and progress by moving, attacking and dodging in time with the music.

Need For Speed

Need For Speed (Series)

Release Date: 08/11/2019

Out Now: PC, PS3, PS4 and Xbox One

Components: 3D Third-Person and Open World

Need for Speed: Heat is an open-world racing game. Races during the day are legally sanctioned street competitions where you try to win cash prizes. Races at night are illegal races where you aim to build a reputation. When racing at night, you need to...

Frequency Missing

Release Date: 07/11/2018

Out Now: Android and iOS

Components: 2D Side-On

Frequency Missing is a point-and-click adventure. You play young radio reporter Patricia who has just started her first job at a radio station. However, strange things are happening. Richard, her friend who got her the job has vanished and someone is...

Lost and Hound

Release Date: 17/08/2022

Out Now: PC and Switch

Components: 3D Third-Person, Day and Night and Hand-Made

Lost and Hound is an adventure puzzle game where you play as a scent-tracking rescue dogs, Corgi and Biscuit. You use your sense of smell to find things and solve mysteries. Your heightened hearing and senses enable you to find your goals, eventually...

Home Quest

Release Date: 05/09/2021

Out Now: Android and iOS

Components: 2D Side-On and Text

Home Quest is a strategy game where you incrementally build a town, recruit an army and manage your economy. Like other idle games, it's a familiar set-up where you tap buttons to assign resources and then wait for the results. However, the unusual...

Disc Room

Release Date: 22/10/2020

Out Now: PC, Switch and Xbox One

Components: 2D Overhead and Hand-Made

Disc Room is an action survival game set in a sprawling intergalactic slaughterhouse. You are a scientist from the future exploring the facility and must get through each room that is filled with sharp discs by running and dodging. You have special...

Gears 5

Gears 5 (Series)

Release Date: 07/11/2006, updated in 2019

Out Now: PC and Xbox One

Components: 3D Third-Person

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Void Bastards

Release Date: 29/05/2019

Out Now: Mac, PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Components: 3D First-Person and Cartoon

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Wildfire

Release Date: 26/05/2020, updated in 2020

Out Now: PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On and Pixels

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Release Date: 26/05/2021

Out Now: iOS

Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds

Components: 2D Side-On

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Release Date: 31/08/2020, updated in 2020

Out Now: PC

Components: 2D Overhead and Hand-Made

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Out Now: PC, PS4 and Switch

Components: 3D First-Person and Open World

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Out Now: iOS

Components: 2D Overhead and Grid

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Out Now: PC and Xbox One

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Out Now: Android, Mac, PC and iOS

Components: 2D Side-On and Text

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Out Now: iOS

Components: 2D Side-On and Text

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Out Now: Mac and PC

Components: 3D Third-Person

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Knack 2

Release Date: 05/09/2017

Out Now: PS4

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Components: 3D Third-Person and Cartoon

Knack 2 is an action-adventure where you control a shape-shifting robot called Knack. Following the original game, you battle your way through Pixar-style enemies and solve simple puzzles using your size-shifting abilities. It's familiar territory but...

Curated lists:
Game genre:
Style of Play:
Components:

How long to play:
User-generated content:	No
Accessibility features:	Yes

Controls
Gamepad:
Mouse And Keyboard:
Touchscreen:
Motion:	Motion Aiming Motion Pointing Motion Tilting Motion Gesture Motion Camera
Remap Controls:
Button Combinations:	Holding Down Buttons Optional Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional No Simultaneous Buttons
Controller Vibration:
Sensitivity:

Getting Started
Onboarding Before Play:
Assistance Getting Starting:	Tutorials Practice Area View Control Mapping Assistance With Controls Reaction-Time Not Critical Low Pressure Adjust Speed No Jump Scares
Assistance For Progressing:	Guaranteed Progress With God Mode Bank Progress With Frequent Checkpoints Assisted Progress With Boosts Assisted Progress With Hints Assisted Recall for Characters Assisted Recall for Narrative and Dialogue Save Progress Anytime

Reading
Reading Level:
Text Visibility:	Large Clear Text High Contrast Text
Subtitles:
Captions:
Voice Acted:

Navigation
Clarity:
Head-Up Display:
Menu Navigation:

Visual
Contrast:
Interactive Elements:
Visual Distractions:
Audio Cues for Visual Events:
Narration for Visual Elements:
	Motion Sickness Friendly
Colour Options:
Play Without Sight:
Violence:

Audio
	Balance Audio Levels
Audio Events:
	Play Without Hearing

Communication
Player-to-Player Online Communication:
Online Communication Assistance:

Difficulty
Difficulty Options:	Simple and Full Version No Memorisation Advantage No Hidden Information No Deceit Advantage No Colour Advantage No Mathematics Advantage No Weighing Decisions

Getting Started
Assistance Getting Started:	Clear Manual Electronic Version of Manual Electronic Version of Manual for Screen Readers Getting Started Video Digital Version Reference Aid
Assistance Progressing:	Play Order Tokens (Or play order doesn’t change) Reaction-Time Not Critical Low Pressure Low Impact Catch Up Rule

Reading
Reading Level:
Necessary Text Visibility:	Large Clear Text on Board (Or no text required) Large Clear Text on Cards (Or no text required) High Contrast Text (Or no text required) QR Code For Text (Or no text required) Primary and Secondary Text Distinguishable (Or no text required) Information Orientation Clear Icons

Physical
Pieces:	Components are Distinguishable by Touch Components are Replaceable No Non-Standard Dice (Or No Dice) No Tiny Pieces No Paper Money No Sprawl
Cards:	Large Card Size Standard Card Shape Limited Hand Management No Excessive Card Shuffling No Right-Handed Advantage
Placement:	No Unbound Placement Player Components Not Shared No Fiddly Placement Easily Verbalised Actions

Visual
Printed Visibility:	Colour Blind Friendly Design Double-Coding Colour High Contrast Colours
Component Identifiability:	Outline Key Elements No Busy Backgrounds Easily Verbalised Game State No Close Inspection Disadvantage Playable Without Sight

Audio
Communication:	Audio Cues Mirrored Visually (Or no critical audio signals) No Pressured Reveals No Pressured Communication Playable Without Hearing

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Gender and Sexuality Choices:
Gender Representation:
Sexual Orientation Representation:

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