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Android
iOS
Mac
Switch
Wii
Wii U
PC
PS4
PS5
Xbox One
Xbox X|SWe've documented 28 accessibility features for Hades, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Guaranteed Progress, Control Assists, Custom Difficulty and No Button Combos. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Reading, Visual, Difficulty, Audio 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.
Our accessibility examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Hades accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Ben Kendall and updated 9 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
You need to repeatedly press the fire button in the game. However, there are some weapons with an autofire that can help this.
Subtitles are on by default but you can't adjust the size and although the contrast is good, they are on the small side.
Game Details
Release Date: 06/12/2018, updated in 2020
Out Now: Mac, PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One and Xbox X|S
Skill Rating: 11+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Action, Shooting (Fighting and Role-Play)
Accessibility: 28 features
Components: 2D Overhead and Pixels
Developer: Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 9 accessibility features for Controls in Hades 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 & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
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 Mouse and Keyboard: Can remap mouse and keyboard key bindings, on systems that support these controls.
Button Combinations
Specific button operation required to play
Holding Down Buttons Optional: Holding down buttons for prolonged periods (a second or more) is not required or can be switched to toggling the action on and off. This is in addition to the movement stick/button which is not considered a hold for this purpose.
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.
Informative Vibration: Controller vibration indicates events or interactions in the game, echoing visual and audio cues. This can provide additional information about progress, approaching enemies or hitting a target.
Sensitivity
You can adjust
Adjust Mouse/Stick/Touch Sensitivity, Deadzones and Thresholds: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are and the related deadzones and thresholds.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Hades, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Moonlighter (13 Controls Features)
- Minecraft Dungeons (12 Controls Features)
- Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (11 Controls Features)
- Crown Trick (11 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in Hades 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
Customise Difficulty: Customise different aspects of the game to create a challenge of an appropriate level. Adjusting elements individually enables you to tailor gameplay to suit your needs and style of play.
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.
Getting Started
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Getting Started in Hades 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.
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.
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.
Assistance With Controls: The game can automatically assist with aiming, steering, reloading, jumping, running etc. This reduces the challenge of certain aspects of play to remove barriers and make control of characters more accessible.
Assistance For Progressing
These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.
Guaranteed Progress With God Mode: There is no fail state for any game level, where you lose progress or have to start again. Or there are options to make failing impossible: infinite health or lives, unlimited time. Sometimes called God Mode or Unfailable.
Bank Progress With Frequent Checkpoints: If you fail you can retry that level or aspect of the game without losing a lot of progress (less than 5 minutes). This is often provided via Frequent Checkpoints combined with restarting without losing time, equipment or score.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Hades, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (8 Getting Started Features)
- ScourgeBringer (8 Getting Started Features)
- Crown Trick (7 Getting Started Features)
- Full Metal Furies (7 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Reading in Hades 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
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.
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.
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 Hades, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Space Marauder (7 Reading Features)
- Nobody Saves The World (6 Reading Features)
- Returnal (6 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in Hades 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
Audible Directional Cues: Additional in-game audio cues that indicate where to go next and how close you are to arriving. This is offered as a sonar-style ping with positional/stereo audio and volume to guide you in the right direction. This is useful for blind players.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Hades, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Minecraft Dungeons (10 Navigation Features)
- Crown Trick (8 Navigation Features)
- Rogue Lords (8 Navigation Features)
- Lake of Creatures (7 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Visual in Hades 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.
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.
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.
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 Hades, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Trifox (8 Visual Features)
- Thoth (7 Visual Features)
- Loot River (7 Visual Features)
- Disc Room (7 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Hades 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 Hades, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Dome Keeper (4 Audio Features)
- Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (3 Audio Features)
- Trifox (3 Audio Features)
- Vampire Survivors (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.
Xbox Series X|S
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.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Jonah Monaghan, Andy Robertson, @Ross_Minor@ and Ben Kendall
