The Last of Us Part II has sparked a lot of discussion on the internet, with everyone who plays it having a different opinion on the game. However, just as important is the discussion of who can play the game in the first place. According to reddit user SightlessKombat, The Last of Us II can be beaten without sight, and other games should pay attention to the features that make this possible.
SightlessKombat describes themselves as a “gamer without sight” to distinguish from legally blind people with limited vision. They do not have any sight, and never have. They played The Last of Us II from start to finish, clocking in at around 22 and a half hours. They did so only using the game’s accessibility features, without any sighted assistance from others.
Since sight affects nearly every aspect of the game, the accessibility features are comprehensive. SightlessKombat provided a non-exhaustive list of some of the accessibility features used in this playthrough. A text-to-speech option allowed for narration of the UI. Navigational Assistance allowed SightlessKombat to navigate the environment, and Enhanced Listen Mode used audio cues to find items and track enemies in that environment. The Target Lock/Auto-Aim function makes it easier to target enemies, and provides sound cues when an enemy is in the crosshairs. Additionally, a feature that gives unlimited invisibility while prone makes it easier to strategize during stealth segments.
While some other games do have accessibility options of one kind or another, this is the first time that they have been so comprehensively bundled into a single game. There aren’t only accessibility features for blind gamers, The Last of Us II includes features that allow deaf players and those with mobility disabilities to play as well.
These are things that should be standard. The Last of Us II does a good job making accessibility features that don’t treat accessibility as an afterthought. They identify the ways that aspects of their game that rely on being abled and include adaptations that include everyone while still keeping the core of the gameplay. Other games need to take a look at The Last of Us II and take notes. There is no reason to exclude a subset of players. When we all play, we all win.