I LOVE RPG, especially when they are filled with magic, monsters, epic quests and brilliant stories!

So when I heard Obsidian and Xbox Studio, THE studios of accessibility, came together again to make something people compared to Skyrim, that peaked my interest!

But did they deliver? Well… Maybe? There are some fantastic accessibility wins in this game that made me so happy, but also some frustrating barriers that had me nearly rage-quit this game...

So let’s take a look at 3 things I love and the 3 things I hate about the accessibility in Avowed. And trust me… we really need to talk about this font situation.

Hi everyone, my name is Arevya and I’m a disabled and chronically ill gamer, and I once took an arrow to the knee and since then I have been hooked on RPGs. But sadly this genera is not known to be the most accessible, often relying on mods to make them playable for disabled gamers.

Which is why I got so excited when I realized that Xbox and Obsidian were teaming up again to bring us a new RPG; Avowed. Both studios have a solid track record of creativity and innovation in accessibility. Take Grounded, for example, which introduced brilliant features like marshmallow spiders to help players with arachnophobia. So, going into this game, my expectations were high, maybe a bit too high? And while Avowed delivered better than I could expect on some part about its accessibility, there were also some things that fell disappointingly short…

But before we start, since we should always be transparent in the work we do, so I’m just letting you all know that I did ask my contact at Xbox Nordic if they could send me a key for Xbox Game Pass so test out this game, and they did. But I have not been asked to say or do anything in return. And with that let’s jump into the first accessibility win for Avowed.

1. Information inside and outside the game

Right from the start of the game, even before reaching the title menu, you’re given access to the accessibility settings. And if you’ve ever tuned into one of my streams, you know how much I love a well-designed title menu. But getting accessibility settings before anything else? Chef’s kiss.

Why do I love this so much? Simple; ease of access! Yes, with me being an accessibility nerd I always go into any settings to check out what the game have to offer. But for most gamers? They just want to jump into the game they most like have been waiting hours to test out. This upfront screen ensures that players know the settings exist and have the chance to tweak them before gameplay even begins.

And why is this such an important design choice? Because a pop-up menu like this ensures that disabled gamers can access the settings, they need before the game even begins. If a game throws you straight into the action the moment you boot it up, without giving you any possibilities to adjust anything first, there is a big chance people will miss crucial parts of the story and experience.

Think about it: if subtitles aren’t enabled, you could miss important dialogue. If the text size is too small, key instructions might be unreadable. If controls can’t be adjusted upfront, the game might be unplayable from the get-go. Accessibility settings before gameplay prevent these barriers for ever even happening.

But this is also important for non-disabled gamers, because it is important to remember that a lot of people don’t look at themselves as disabled gamers, even though they might be, and even though they regularly encounter barriers in games. Because of this they might not even think about pausing the game, go to the settings and check the accessibility settings, even when facing barriers so severe that they hinder them from continuing the game. But a pop-up like this acts as a subtle nudge, making players aware of options they might not have considered. So this is a huge win for Avowed when it comes to accessibility

And being on the topic of good flow of information, this brings up to the first part of Avowed that I really didn’t like, and that is the general lack of accessibility information outside of this game.

And I promise you, I did try to find it! I did scroll through the developer’s webpage, checked their social media, and even did some trusty google searches and all I found was these two tag on xbox game store, and the last one isn’t even actually viable the game woomp sound yeah… that’s bad…

Good game accessibility starts with access to good information, before you have to spend money on the game. Being disabled or chronically ill already come with quite a higher cost of living, combined with often a lower income, the money we have to spend on games feels like a more finite resource for us than it might be for others. And with this context you can imagine how annoying it is spending your money on a game, waiting for the time it takes for it to download and UUUUR you cannot play the game anyways because it has quick time events and no controller support or some other barrier… Yes of course, you can almost always return the game, if you find the barrier within the first two hours, but this isn’t always the case, as things like quick time events and complicated puzzles can often be found deep in the game not to be seen for hours and hours. And even if the barriers are visible in a short amount of time, it still gives a sour taste in your mouth feeling you have spent all that time and money on something you can’t use, especially when it could be prevented so easily.

And it is not hard to do, it has been done before, and it has been done good! Look at companies like Rebellion Developments that already have all information about the accessibility in Atomfall, EVEN before the game is out! Or Ubisoft with Assassins creed Shadows, Warhorse studio with Kingdome Come Deliverance 2, you get the jest. And yes, you are allowed to play pirate and steal the format they are doing, and it doesn’t need to be complicated, a blog post that hits the correct SEO for accessibility is enough.

Xbox, Obsidian, you all have spend time, energy and money on implementing good accessibility options that will help millions of gamers to enjoy your game, so be proud of it, and shout about it from the top of your lungs. Give us all the information on all the platforms you can.

2. "Dialogue history & lore" and no popup for the text

Bringing us to the second accessibility I LOVE in Avowed, and something that the developers should be REALLY proud of, and that is the 'Dialogue History & Lore' button. This is a feature similar to what Obsidian have used in previous games, like Pillars of Eternity, and it is great to see they keep reusing previous wins. It is such a simple tool, yet it makes a huge difference for cognitive accessibility.

"Dialogue history & lore" is a button you can press whenever you are talking to an NPC, which brings up this feature where you can scroll through the conversation and take a look at highlighted words form the dialogue. It’s so easy and yet SO brilliant, as it is a great help for gamers who have cognitive issues, like memory problems or problems with processing information. It is also a great help for anyone who didn’t catch what was said due to distractions in real life.

But not only that, this feature is also a great tool for developers. Since the highlighted words are tied to the game’s lore, they help introduce the universe in a more natural way, especially for players unfamiliar with the games that precede Avowed. This also means developers don’t have to rely on awkward, forced NPC conversations that explain basic lore elements your character should already know, given they’ve supposedly lived here their whole life. It eliminates some of the clunky workarounds other games attempt (and often fail) to use when trying to bring players up to speed, without the need to baby us as a gamer.

It has its limitations though, as it only shows the history of the conversation you are apart of right now, so this is not a tool to look up decisions you have taken throughout your game.

What I think would help bring this up to a 10/10 accessibility feature would be if we could change the colour of the lore words you can look up, as it sometimes is a bit hard to see when sitting away from the screen, but now I’m being nitpicky, as this is actually a really well made tool I used a lot during my gameplay.

And talking about things that are hard to see, it is time to go from the part I loved the most with the accessibility in Avowed, to part of the game that was so inaccessible for me it almost rage quit this game. And honestly, I’m shocked this even made it through playtesting, and especially when it is something so simple as the font in the game. Yeah, I’m not kidding.

Thrououg Avowed you will find many books, scrolls and letters you can read to learn more about the worlds lore, character and monsters, and also tips and hints to help you with quests in the area. Some of the books and notes you can take with you, and others is just there to read. But my problem is that the font used on anything written is so narrow that when I’m not sitting THIS close to my screen, cannot see it. This is a HUGE oversight in a game from Xbox, the literal company that have given us the Xboc console which has games meant to be played while sitting in the sofa, far away from your screen!

And what is so weird with this barrier is that I feel like they already have considered this to be a problem, and tried to fix it, because you can set the font to be large in the settings! But the problem is that this only make the font feel taller, not thicker, so when you are sitting away from the screen it is still impossible to see what is written!

I know showing the video here might not accurately convey how bad this is if you are not close to your screen, so I tried to take a picture with my phone that somewhat simulates what I see when siting in my sofa playing this game on my Xbox. The letters are tall, but due to how narrow they are, they just fuse into the white background on some parts.

Even my husband, who has 20/20 eyesight and no need for any glasses, struggled to read what was on the screen, so this is a barrier which affects both disabled and able gamers alike.

And to be honest I’m actually quite disappointed that this is something that got overlooked in play testing. Both Obsidian and Xbox as studios are well known for their accessibility, and to let something as basic as this through the cracks just feels rushed and wrong, and it casts a big shadow over the positive things with this game. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still impressed by all they have manage to add, but the font problems just make me go; “Why?”

And the reason why I think this rubs me the wrong way so much is that this barrier has taken away a bit of the fun in the game for me. One of the reasons why I was so happy this game was an Xbox product was because that meant I could use the same save file and play the game both when I was in good health and could sit by my PC, but also when I was confined to my bed or the sofa, by playing it on my Xbox. But due to this barrier, I just can’t continue playing it on my Xbox, as I’m missing out on too much of the game when I can’t read anything. Yes, everything that is important for main story is read out loud to you through speaking with NPCs, but what is fun with RPGs is to melt into the world and the situation, and that is a bit lost here.

Luckly this is an easy and quick fix that can be patched in in late updates. Either give us an option to turn on a thicker font, or do as so many other games does and give us a possibility to pop out the text and get it in clear white font on black backgrounds. Easy Peacy quick fix!

Heyåh! Editing Arevya here. There has actually been an update in this matter. A day after recording this, and ca two days before me editing, on March the 13th, there was an patch note out that included a thicker font for letters and books. I quote 

"High Contrast Documents: New option increases font size and applies bold styling to all documents, tutorials, in-game pop-ups, and the ledger’s quest tab." 

I have decided to keep my little rant about the font in the video, as I still stand with the fact that I find the game going through game testing and being shipped without this setting to be quite disappointing, BUT I am really glad to see that they have fixed it in an update! Two thumbs up for that! That's it! Back to the video you go!

3. Difficulty settings and First/third person mode

And on the topic about easy, let’s take at the third accessibility love I have for Avowed, and that is the difficulty settings.

And yes, yes, I know—I’ve heard it all before. People saying; ‘Difficulty settings aren’t accessibility!’ And to some degree, I actually do agree; difficulty settings are not the be-all and end-all of accessibility. But I do firmly believe they have a place in accessibility, just like any other feature. And that is because it help players like me, who face both motor and cognitive barriers in games. Lowering an enemy’s health can reduce the strain on my hands by minimizing repetitive actions, while decreasing the damage done to the character can help avoid the frustration of constantly dealing with the consequences of dying. When I’m stressed and overwhelmed, my brain can sometimes feel like it’s lagging, and I will do “dumb” mistakes just because my brain freezes, and in cases like that easy mode are God sent for me when it comes to accessibility.

Which is why I absolutely love that Avowed gives us five different difficulty settings, that goes all the way from story time and easy mode, that are made for people mostly interested in story and exploration with minimal want for strategizing, all the way to hard mode and “Path of the Damned” that is for the hard core RPG players looking for a challenge, and to get good!

And the best thing with this all? Avowed gives us the possibility to change the difficulty settings whenever you want, and this is SO important! I cannot tell you how frustrated it is when games lock you into one difficulty setting pr save. When I play games, I want to switch this around given how I’m feeling that particular day. On good days where I know I can put more energy into the game, I love to test it on normal or hard mode, but as soon as I have a bad day with lots of pain, I will need to turn it down to easy mode or story mode. If this is not possible to do whenever, there is a big chance I will just loose interest in the game as soon as I experience any barriers, especially if my pain period prolongs for a long period of time. Because by the time my body and hands are ready to tackle normal or hard mode again, I have most likely lost interest and gone over to a game that match my playstyle a bit better.

So seeing Avowed giving you the possibility to change the difficulty setting whenever is a win win, and a feature that I have both used and misused more than once in my gameplay! And no one can stop me eheh.

And with that we have now come to my last point of this video, and that is the barrier surrounding use of third person mode. Avowed is first and foremost a first person game, and there is no hiding that from the developers, as nearly all promotion material we have seen from the studios before the release have been heavily focused on this.

There is nothing wrong with having a game that only offers first person mode, but it is a barrier for some people, especially those who can experience motion sickness while playing games. Put it simple, motion sickness can often occur when there is a mismatch between what is happening on the screen and what is happening with your body. When playing in first person mode, your eyes is telling your brain that “hey we are moving”, but you body tells your brain “No, we are sitting completely still”, and for some people that mismatch can cause seriously nausea that can linger for hours.

To combat this problem, some games might offer you to play in third party mode, where you no longer see the game through the protagonist eyes, but rather from a “camera” fixed behind and/or above the character. Which is something Avowed gives you the possibility to do, and is something that should be a good thing for accessibility, right?

Well yes, normally I would be hyped up for this, as I normally love when games add anything close to accessibility, but problem is that it doesn’t work?

At first glance you will see in the settings you can turn on third person mode, but if you look really close you will also see this text: “May affect spatial awareness in combat or close-quarters situations.” And there is the problem.

I first saw this, I had to admit I though “naaa it surely can’t be THAT bad” but I was wrong, because I can’t with confidence say that this mode is playable, and it not just the combat. Even doing something so simple as picking things up is SO finicky… Where you need to put your character sort of next to things to pick it up, and you might still not get to do the action, and this happens with almost anything you are about to interact with.

And here’s the question I’m left with; “why add this in as an accessibility setting in the first place, when there is so many other things you can add to the game to prevent motion sickness?”.

Like, the game already have some pretty good things, like crosshair and the possibility to turn off head bobbing, things that will absolutely help anyone that experience motion sickness. And to be honest, I wish they had focused on improving these settings even more, like giving us different colours and size for the crosshair.

The third party mode seems to be something they sort of have just given up on, or something they just had to put in “just because”… And this might not have anything to do with the developers, it can just as easy be a decision taken on a higher level in a way of “all modern RPG needs a third person view, and so should we”, but that is just me speculating, and of course not something I know if it true or not. What I mean is that the third party mode in this game doesn’t feel to be in line with the quality of the other things we have seen they have delivered so far, so it was just… disappointing.

4. All in all

All in all I have to say Xbox Studios and Obsidian does deliver on the accessibility in Avowed! I love to see how proud they seem on their work inside the game, especially the "Dialogue history & lore” which is a huge win for cognitive accessibility!

But sadly, those win get a bit overshadowed with bad implemented options like the book fonts and third person mode. RPG is all about story and world building, and when there is time after time barriers that keep you from being involved on a level I expect from the genre, it make me loose a bit of my interest in the game… And sadly I have not been playing the game for a while, though I still have some hope that a future update will fix the more simple things like the font size. Because if that happens, I will be back!

But what do you all think? What accessibility did you love in the game, and was there any barrier you met I should have talked about? Let me know in the comments, and I will see you all next time!

Byyye