We've documented 28 accessibility features for Black Desert, including Large Subtitles, Remap Buttons, High Contrast, Partially Voiced and Fully Subtitled (Or No Speech). Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Visual but it also has features in Reading, Navigation, Getting Started, Communication and Audio 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.
Our accessibility examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Black Desert accessibility 2 years ago.
Accessibility Notes
While the subtitles can be made large and are clear (but it is very small as default and need to be made large in the settings by changing the UI scaling), some of the other text in the game can be hard to distinguish.
Some of the combat requires quick button presses and reaction times, sometimes having to use multiple buttons at the same time.
Game Details
Release Date: 03/03/2015, updated in 2019
Out Now: Android, PC, PS4, Xbox One and iOS
Skill Rating: 12+ year-olds
Players: 1 (100 online)
Genres: Fighting, Role-Play (Action, Adventure and Simulation)
Accessibility: 28 features
Components: 3D First-Person, Day and Night, Open World and Weather
Developer: Play Black Desert (@PlayBlackDesert)
Costs: Purchase cost and In-Game Loot Boxes
Controls
We've documented 9 accessibility features for Controls in Black Desert which deal 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 & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
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.
Two Motions Targeted: Can play with touchscreen, two simultaneous taps, swipes or hold gestures.
Remap Controls
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
Remap Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.
Remap Sticks: Can remap the stick controls to controller buttons for easier access of direction controls.
Remap Mouse and Keyboard: Can remap mouse and keyboard key bindings, on systems that support these controls.
Remap Extra Mouse Buttons: Can remap additional buttons on mice that provide more than the two standard buttons, on systems that support these controls.
Invert X/Y Axis: Can invert the direction required to control looking and aiming. This enables you to match your instinctive orientation when looking.
Sensitivity
You can adjust
Adjust Mouse/Stick/Touch Sensitivity: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Black Desert, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Red Dead Redemption 2 (11 Controls Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (10 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Black Desert 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 Black Desert, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
- Horizon Forbidden West (3 Difficulty Features)
- Ark: Survival Evolved (3 Difficulty Features)
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (2 Difficulty Features)
- Stellaris (2 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Black Desert 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.
Practice Area: You can practice freely without opponents or time pressures. This can be a specific practice option, or the ability to play levels with the easiest opponents to improve understanding and skill.
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 Black Desert, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- No Man's Sky (6 Getting Started Features)
- Stellaris (5 Getting Started Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (5 Getting Started Features)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (5 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Black Desert 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.
Subtitles
Large Clear Subtitles: Subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast. They are at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height of a landscape screen and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens, or can be adjusted to be. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters. Considered separately from the general text of the game, the subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast.
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.
Voice Acted
Some Dialogue is Voice Acted: Some of the game dialogue and narrative is voice acted. This reduces the pressure on reading all the dialogue text, although not everything is provided audibly.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading
If you want to play Black Desert, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (6 Reading Features)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (6 Reading Features)
- Lego Star Wars: Castaways (5 Reading Features)
- Horizon Zero Dawn The Frozen Wilds (5 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Navigation in Black Desert 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.
Head-Up Display
Adjust Head-Up Display: Resize and adjust the content of the head-up display. This enables it to be made more visible. It can also enable the removal of too much information that can be distracting or confusing.
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.
Menu Navigation
Menus Don't Wrap: Menus don't wrap and stop the cursor at the bottom of the list if you press down. Or menus do wrap but make it clear that you are back at the top of the list with sound or narration.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Black Desert, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (8 Navigation Features)
- Horizon Forbidden West (7 Navigation Features)
- Lost Ark (6 Navigation Features)
- Lego Star Wars: Castaways (5 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Visual in Black Desert 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
High Contrast: There is high contrast between elements that need to be distinguished from each other, such as characters, interactive objects and game environment, either by default or a high contrast mode. This is different to a slider that increases contrast or brightness between light and dark.
Visual Distractions
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.
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.
Colour Options
Colour Adjustments: Adjust colours of characters or game elements for greater visibility. Includes the ability to select which type of colour blind mode you require.
Violence
Turn Off Blood: Reduce or disable graphic content of blood and gore.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Black Desert, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Visual accessibility:
- Warsim: The Realm of Aslona (7 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in Black Desert which deals 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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio
If you want to play Black Desert, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Star Wars: The Old Republic (3 Audio Features)
- Horizon Zero Dawn (3 Audio Features)
- Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord (2 Audio Features)
- Stellaris (2 Audio Features)
Communication
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Communication in Black Desert which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction.
Player-to-Player Online Communication
This is how players communicate with each other in online games. This can be to plan strategy, chat as they play or co-ordinate resources.
Text Chat: Chat to other players by typing text.
Filtered Chat: Option to filter out profanity and/or sharing of personal information from online chat.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Communication
If you want to play Black Desert, but it doesn't offer the Communication accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Communication accessibility:
- Stellaris (4 Communication Features)
- Foxhole (3 Communication Features)
- Monster Hunter (3 Communication Features)
- Ark: Survival Evolved (3 Communication Features)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
Android
Android has accessibility settings including ways to navigate and interact, although not all games support this.
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.
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 Ben Kendall