Hoa Accessibility Report - Mac, PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One

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Hoa

Accessibility Report

17 Accessibility Features

We've documented 17 accessibility features for Hoa, including Large Text, Low Pressure, Play Without Hearing, Visual Cues and Audio Cues. Its accessibility is strongest in Visual and Reading but it also has features in Navigation, Getting Started, Audio and Controls to reduce unintended barriers.

This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.

Hoa is an adventure game where you walk and jump through a hand-painted world as the mysterious main character. You solve environmental puzzles and meet magical creatures while trying to find your way back home. It's unusual because of its handcrafted visuals and design that creates a warm and surprisingly relaxing experience.

Our accessibility examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Hoa accessibility 2 years ago.

Accessibility Notes

There are no difficulty settings but you can't fail the game, you just restart the section you are on.

Game Details

Release Date: 24/08/2021

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

Skill Rating: 8+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Adventure, Platform (Narrative and Puzzle)

Accessibility: 17 features

Components: 2D Side-On and Cartoon

Developer: Hoa The Game (@HoaTheGame)

Costs: Purchase cost

Controls

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Controls in Hoa which deals with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.

Gamepad

Can play with the following:

Multiple Buttons & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play Hoa, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

Greak: Memories of Azur (10 Controls Features)
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (9 Controls Features)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (8 Controls Features)
Stray (7 Controls Features)

Difficulty

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Hoa which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play. The following games are similar to Hoa, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:

The Snowgardens (2 Difficulty Features)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (2 Difficulty Features)
Greak: Memories of Azur (1 Difficulty Feature)
Lost Ember (1 Difficulty Feature)

Getting Started

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Getting Started in Hoa which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.

Assistance Getting Starting

These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.

Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.

Low Pressure: Game tasks aren't time-limited or there's a low-pressure mode. This avoids the pressure of being put on the clock for overarching missions, or failing tasks because you didn't reach a destination in time.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Hoa, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

Skye Tales (8 Getting Started Features)
Ensamey (7 Getting Started Features)
Unravel Two (6 Getting Started Features)
Flower (6 Getting Started Features)

Reading

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Hoa which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.

Reading Level

How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.

Simple Minimal Reading: Minimal reading is required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a primary/elementary student (9-year-old) could understand.

Text Visibility

Large Clear Text: All essential text is large and clear or can be adjusted to be. The general text used throughout the game in menus, instructions and other key information (excluding subtitles that are assessed separately) is at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height on landscape screens and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters.

High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.

Subtitles

All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play Hoa, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

Greak: Memories of Azur (6 Reading Features)
Ensamey (6 Reading Features)
Skye Tales (5 Reading Features)
Hollow Knight (5 Reading Features)

Navigation

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Navigation in Hoa which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.

Clarity

Large Clear Navigation: The in-game navigation and maps are clear to read. They offer large text and offer markers that are large and of high contrast. Where text or information is small, there are settings to zoom-in and increase visibility.

Clear Mission Objectives: The game provides clear, structured missions with directional guidance and advice on which can be attempted next. This also indicates (ideally on maps where they are provided) which missions can't be attempted because you do not have the appropriate items yet.

Head-Up Display

Game Map: View a map of the game world during play, with the landscape, points of interest and missions highlighted throughout the entire game. This enables the orientation of the player and the world, confirming a direction of movement and the location of destinations or points of exploration.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

If you want to play Hoa, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:

Skye Tales (6 Navigation Features)
Greak: Memories of Azur (6 Navigation Features)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (6 Navigation Features)
Ensamey (4 Navigation Features)

Visual

We've documented 5 accessibility features for Visual in Hoa which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.

Contrast

Medium Contrast: Game uses generally well contrasting and bright visuals, or has a slider to make this the case.

Interactive Elements

Large Game Elements: Game characters and other elements are large and distinguishable. Enemies and player characters are at least 1/6 of the height of the screen. Or there is a zoom feature to make them larger.

Visual Distractions

No Busy Backgrounds: No distracting backgrounds or you can make them static or blank. This includes the absence of other movement elements in the background that might distract or confuse the action. Where foreground contrast is high, this includes games with some movement in the background that doesn't make it overly difficult to distinguish what is happening.

Audio Cues for Visual Events

Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.

Motion Sickness Friendly

Motion Sickness Friendly: Doesn't have 3D movement elements that may trigger motion sickness, like motion blur, depth of field and field-of-vision. Or includes the ability to disable motion blur, depth of field and field-of-vision effects.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual

If you want to play Hoa, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Visual accessibility:

Skye Tales (8 Visual Features)

Audio

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Hoa which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.

Audio Events

Visual Cues for Audio Events: Text or other visual indicators of audio events. This mirrors audio indicators of progress in the game with a corresponding visual indication.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio

If you want to play Hoa, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Audio accessibility:

Skye Tales (3 Audio Features)

System Accessibility Settings

In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:

Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.

PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.

PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping).

Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.

Read more about system accessibility settings.