The second annual video game accessibility awards nominations have been revealed, featuring a wide variety of titles. From big triple-A games such as Halo Infinite and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, to indie hits like Boyfriend Dungeon and It Takes Two, games of all genres are celebrated for their accessibility features, showing how much the industry has been progressing in this field at long last.
In numerous categories, games will be awarded based on their ability to remap controls, reduce the number of inputs required to play, and offer AI assistance through challenges that some may be unable to complete. The winners will be revealed March 12.
Back 4 Blood has the most nominations, featuring in three separate categories. In joint second, there's Unpacking, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Before Your Eyes, It Takes Two, and Halo Infinite.
On top of this entire awards show dedicated to video game accessibility, The Game Awards also now features a category that celebrates titles that take steps to be as inclusive as possible. This year's winner was Forza Horizon 5, which was highlighted for its implementation of sign language.
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The full list of nominations are as follows (courtesy of IGN):
- Before Your Eyes
- Unpacking
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Boyfriend Dungeon
- Loop Hero
- Halo Infinite
- Fights in Tight Spaces
- Escape From Tarkov
- Forza Horizon 5
- Far Cry 6
- Psychonauts 2
- Chivalry 2
- Back 4 Blood -
- It Takes Two
- Age of Empires 4
- Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart
- Final Fantasy 14: Endwalker
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Life Is Strange: True Colors
Sadly, there have been some notable disappointments when it comes to accessibility this year. As our news and photo editor James Troughton noted earlier in 2021, Resident Evil Village launched with some huge accessibility oversights. Subtitles were often difficult to read, with no way of changing the font, colour, or even adding a dark background behind the text to make it more legible. They also didn't make it clear who was speaking, locking many players out from understanding the story.
What is promising, however, is that accessibility is increasingly becoming part of a game's advertising. As we've seen recently, Horizon Forbidden West has already had its accessibility features revealed, and the Sifu devs have pledged to make the game more inclusive with future updates.