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Xbox X|SWe've documented 19 accessibility features for Papers, Please, including No Quick Reactions, Select Difficulty, No Button Combos, No Repeated Pressing and One Motion Targeted. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Visual but it also has features in Reading, Getting Started, Audio, Difficulty and Navigation 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.
External examiner, Jonah Monaghan, first checked Papers, Please accessibility 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jonah Monaghan and updated 3 years ago.
Accessibility Notes
Touch screen computers are compatible with the game.
Game Details
Release Date: 08/08/2013, updated in 2017
Out Now: Mac, PC, PS Vita and iOS
Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Narrative, Puzzle (Point-and-Click and Simulation)
Accessibility: 19 features
Components: 2D Side-On and Pixels
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Controls in Papers, Please which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Mouse Alone: Can play with just the mouse/mouse-button/mouse wheel.
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
Touchscreen
Can play with the following. Additional gestures may be required for games played with a screenreader like VoiceOver.
One Motion Targeted: Can play with touchscreen, tap and swipe or hold gesture.
Button Combinations
Specific button operation required to play
Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing (more than 2 times a second) is not required, can be skipped or switched to holding a button to trigger a repeated action.
No Simultaneous Buttons: Only one button or key required at a time, in addition to direction stick(s).
Controller Vibration
Vibration Optional: Controller vibration not used in the game or you can disable it.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Papers, Please, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Hypnospace Outlaw (14 Controls Features)
- Luck Be A Landlord (11 Controls Features)
- Monorail Stories (7 Controls Features)
- Carrion (7 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Difficulty in Papers, Please which deals with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play.
Difficulty Options
Select Difficulty: Select the level of difficulty from a range of presets. This not only offers a way to adjust the challenge of a game but enables you to do so without dealing with individual criteria.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play Papers, Please, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:
- Monorail Stories (2 Difficulty Features)
- Among Us (2 Difficulty Features)
- Beyond: Two Souls (2 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Getting Started in Papers, Please 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.
Reaction-Time Not Critical: Individual game actions don’t need quick reactions, or there are settings to lower the requirement for quick reactions. This means you don't need to quickly press a button in response to an on-screen prompt, target a fast-moving target or skillfully complete a scenario against the clock.
Assistance For Progressing
These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.
Save Progress Anytime: The game automatically saves progress or you can save any time. This doesn’t mean you never lose progress, but it does mean you can stop whenever you want (without having to get to a save point) without losing progress.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Papers, Please, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Lil’ Guardsman (9 Getting Started Features)
- Hypnospace Outlaw (8 Getting Started Features)
- Monorail Stories (6 Getting Started Features)
- Beyond: Two Souls (6 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in Papers, Please 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.
Moderate Reading: Moderate reading required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a high school student (14-year-old) would appreciate.
Text Visibility
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.
Captions
Speaker Indicator: Textual captions indicate who is speaking (or there is only ever one person speaking). This can also be indicated visually in the game with character icons or placing text in speech bubbles next to the person speaking.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading
If you want to play Papers, Please, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Lil’ Guardsman (7 Reading Features)
- Monorail Stories (7 Reading Features)
- Dot's Home (6 Reading Features)
- Pentiment (6 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in Papers, Please which deals 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
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Papers, Please, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Lil’ Guardsman (5 Navigation Features)
- Monorail Stories (5 Navigation Features)
- The Tomorrow Children (4 Navigation Features)
- Suzerain (4 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Visual in Papers, Please which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
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 Flashes: No flashing strobe effects or you can disable them. This includes the absence of flashing from dramatic visual effects, explosions or weather effects like lightning.
No Screen Shake: No screen shake effect or it is included but it can be disabled. This includes the absence of screen shake for dramatic effect as well as to indicate hits on a target.
Colour Options
Colour Blind Friendly: Game doesn’t rely on colour or can switch to colour blind friendly mode with double coding or similar way to avoid colour dependance.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Papers, Please, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Lil’ Guardsman (8 Visual Features)
- Democratic Socialism Simulator (7 Visual Features)
- Suzerain (7 Visual Features)
- Dot's Home (6 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Papers, Please 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.
Adjustable Audio
Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.
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 Papers, Please, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Lil’ Guardsman (3 Audio Features)
- Carrion (3 Audio Features)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
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.
iOS
iOS has a very extensive suite of accessibility settings including ways to navigate with voice and comprehensive screen reading, though most of the features don't work with games.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors @JonahMonaghan and Jonah Monaghan
