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Xbox X|SWe've documented 26 accessibility features for Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, including No Quick Reactions, No Button Combos, No Repeated Pressing, No Holds and Play Without Hearing. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Navigation but it also has features in Getting Started, Reading, Visual, Audio 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.
Our accessibility examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet accessibility 17 months ago. It was re-examined by Ben Kendall and updated a year ago.
Accessibility Notes
At any point you can head back to the opening area and practice against the low-level wild Pokémon you find there. When moving about the open world, you can sometimes need to quickly react to wild Pokémon appearing. There are some sections of the game where you need to complete an objective in a certain amount of time.
Text throughout the game is high in contrast, but often quite small and difficult to read on occasion. when you set a waypoint on the map, when you exit the map you are automatically oriented towards your objective, and can check back on the map at any point.
The game is often quite low contrast and this, in addition with the low resolution and draw distance, can make some objects difficult to distinguish. In addition, some Pokémon are very small and can be hard to spot when moving about the world. Other Pokémon blend in with the grass and so you can often accidentally walk into them and start a battle unintentionally. The backgrounds can be distracting due to moving elements and flashing lights, and the depth-of-field, low resolution, low framerate of faraway objects and characters, and uneven frame rates and slowdowns can become quite nauseating and induce motion sickness.
There is a Helping Functions assist option that, when active, creates a prompt when you fall from a high distance to ask if you would like to be moved back up to where you fell from.
Game Details
Release Date: 18/11/2022
Out Now: Switch
Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds
Players: 1 (4 online)
Genres: Battle, Collecting (Action, Adventure, Fighting and Role-Play)
Accessibility: 26 features
Components: 3D Third-Person, Cartoon, Day and Night and Open World
Developer: Nintendo America (@NintendoAmerica)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Controls in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet 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.
Remap Controls
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
Invert X/Y Axis: Can invert the direction required to control looking and aiming. This enables you to match your instinctive orientation when looking.
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.
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 Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Craftopia (11 Controls Features)
- Slime Rancher 2 (8 Controls Features)
- Palworld (8 Controls Features)
- Paradise Marsh (8 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet 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 Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
- Palworld (3 Difficulty Features)
- Craftopia (2 Difficulty Features)
- Cassette Beasts (2 Difficulty Features)
- Slime Rancher 2 (1 Difficulty Feature)
Getting Started
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Getting Started in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet 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.
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.
No Jump Scares: No sudden loud noises or popping-up scary visuals that unexpectedly appear without warning, or the option to disable them.
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 Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Beastieball (7 Getting Started Features)
- Penko Park (6 Getting Started Features)
- Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (6 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet 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.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading
If you want to play Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Pokémon Unite (6 Reading Features)
- New Pokemon Snap (6 Reading Features)
- Pokémon Cafe Mix (6 Reading Features)
- Beastieball (5 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Navigation in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet 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.
Visual Directional Cues: Additional in-game visual cues that signpost where to go next and how close you are to arriving. This can be with camera movement to focus on your destination or important items. It can use light, breadcrumb trails, in-world pointers to identify your mission's target location.
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.
Menu Navigation
Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.
Digital Menu Navigation: Menu choices with Gamepad can be made without using an analogue stick to guide a cursor to a selection. For example, using D-Pad, buttons or the Stick to change menu selection in a single action.
Visual
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
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.
Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.
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 Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Pokémon Sleep (7 Visual Features)
- Pokémon Unite (6 Visual Features)
- Penko Park (6 Visual Features)
- Pokémon Cafe Mix (6 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet 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 Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- Paradise Marsh (3 Audio Features)
- Alba: A Wildlife Adventure (3 Audio Features)
Communication
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Communication in Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet 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.
No Online Chat (Or Preset Phrases Only): Game is played online but no verbal or textual player communication. This includes games that offer no communication or communication with word-less icons, sounds or preset phrases.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Communication
If you want to play Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, but it doesn't offer the Communication accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Communication accessibility:
- Pokémon Unite (2 Communication 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.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Ben Kendall and @growingupgamers
