[GameSpot] - PSA: Starfield's Accessibility Options Are Very Limited

[343iBot]

Bethesda Game Studios' space RPG Starfield has many people excited to jump into the game and explore the final frontier for themselves. Unfortunately, doing this may be difficult for some disabled gamers because of the lack of accessibility options.

The analysis comes from an accessibility review by Steve Saylor, a blind gamer who has consulted on various games for accessibility options. He criticized the game because of the limited options disabled gamers can pick from. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to say:

"I wanted to love #Starfield, and I did have a blast with it. But its lack of accessibility is extremely disappointing. I didn't know when Todd Howard said on @KindaFunnyVids that they would have Big Font Mode that was all they would have. "

I wanted to love #Starfield and I did have a blast with it. But its lack of accessibility is extremely disappointing.
I didn't know when Todd Howard said on @KindaFunnyVids that they would have Big Font Mode that was all they would have.
Full review: https://t.co/nuBvxZ4rB6 pic.twitter.com/IusOU7RtM4

— Steve Saylor (@stevesaylor) August 31, 2023

Alongside their post is a small clip of them explaining how excited they were to play, but the lack of accessibility options made it very difficult to do so. GameSpot can confirm that Starfield doesn't have a lot of options to pick from. Xbox players can only adjust the following:

• General Subtitles
• Dialogue Subtitles
• Toggle Ironsights
• Large Menu Fonts

In addition, PC players can adjust all of the settings mentioned above and even the "Item Rotation Hold and Drag." Although there aren't a lot of options to pick from right now, Saylor does mention in their video that "it is still possible that solutions can be added in post-launch. Heck, Deathloop, Dead Cells, and even The Outer Worlds did." But as of right now, there's a lack of competent accessibility options.

Be sure to check out our Starfield review, where Michael Higham wrote, "Starfield has its moments, for sure. Its satisfying gunplay makes combat exciting, especially when it's integrated into setpieces within its better, more captivating questlines. And although limited in its conception of space exploration, there's a novelty in poking around the galaxy to see star systems up close and personal, and occasionally finding side content worth chasing."

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