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Dragon
Age
19 Accessibility Features

We've documented 19 accessibility features for Dragon Age, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Large Subtitles, Adjust Speed, Select Difficulty and Remap Buttons. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Reading but it also has features in Getting Started, Visual, Difficulty, Navigation and Communication 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.

Dragon Age series are narrative-driven role-playing games with an emphasis on combat and player choices. You play the hero in the medieval fantasy world of Thedas, exploring the world and using your power to stop the impending darkness spread across the land. They are unusual for the scale and scope of the world, the amount of choice and character development offered to the player and the depth of its lore and world-building.

NotesAccessibility Notes

When you adjust the difficulty, which you can do at any time, you primarily change the intelligence of your opponents, not the amount of damage you deal. You can also pause the combat at any time and use the "tactical camera" to get a clearer picture of the threat, as well as give yourself a moment to think.

Although all the dialogue is voiced, the menus and other information is not. Although some of the text is backdropped by a contrasting colour, much of it is overlaid directly over the gameplay, meaning at times it can be quite hard to read, as well as being quite small at times. All dialogue is voiced, and you can select how much is subtitled, from just the main dialogue to background chatter, and it clearly indicates who is speaking.

You can remap any of the game's functions to any key or button on PC, and to any button on a controller.

You can turn off blood and dismemberment by deselecting the 'Enable Persistent Gore' option in the settings.

DetailsGame Details

Release Date: 03/11/2009, updated in 2014

Out Now: Android, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and iOS

Players: 1 (4 online)

Genres: Action, Role-Play (Adventure, Fighting, Narrative and Traversal)

Accessibility: 19 features

Components: 3D Third-Person

Developer: Bioware (@Bioware)

Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass

 

ControlsControls

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Controls in Dragon Age 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 Controller: Can play with mouse and controller simultaneously.

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 One Action to Multiple Buttons: Can remap multiple buttons to perform the same action to reduce the need to memorise buttons and make the action easier to access.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

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

DifficultyDifficulty

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Dragon Age 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.

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.

Adjust After Setting

Adjustable Anytime: You can adjust the difficulty while playing, without having to restart the level you are on. This enables you to quickly adjust the game to suit your needs and see the difference immediately.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty

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

Getting StartedGetting Started

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Dragon Age 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.

View Control Mapping: You can view a map of controls during play. This clearly displays the mappings of actions to buttons/keys/mouse/keyboard without having to leave the game. This includes games that always display buttons to press during play.

Adjust Speed: Adjust the speed of the game at critical moments or throughout, or rewind play for a second attempt, to ease reaction times. By slowing the game, you have more time to interpret what is happening and then execute your actions. It also reduces the pressure on getting things right quickly or the first time you attempt them.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

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

ReadingReading

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Dragon Age 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

All Dialogue is Voice Acted (Or No Speech In Game): All of the game dialogue and narrative can be voiced, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to read the dialogue and narrative text to play the game.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

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

NavigationNavigation

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Navigation in Dragon Age 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.

Head-Up Display

Head-Up Display Navigation: Indication of where to go next with overlaid arrows, minimaps and waypoint markers. This supplements in-game visual and audible cues with additional guidance about where you are and where you need to go.

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 Dragon Age, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:

VisualVisual

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in Dragon Age 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

Outline Interactive Elements: Characters, platforms and enemies can be outlined or highlighted for visibility. This can be with a large border around the character or a special visual mode that adjust the colour to make characters more visible.

Violence

Turn Off Blood: Reduce or disable graphic content of blood and gore.

Turn Off Dismemberment: Disable graphic depiction of dismembered bodies and corpses.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual

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

AudioAudio

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Audio in Dragon Age 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. The following games are similar to Dragon Age, and offer accessibility features for Audio:

CommunicationCommunication

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Communication in Dragon Age which deals 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.

Voice Chat: Chat to other players on your team or friends list by speaking with headset.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Communication

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

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.

VSC LogoAccessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Ben Kendall


Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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