We've documented 29 accessibility features for Tangle Tower, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Large Subtitles, Guaranteed Progress, Low Pressure and No Quick Reactions. Its accessibility is strongest in Getting Started and Reading but it also has features in Controls, Visual, Navigation 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.
External examiner, Adam Kosakowski, first checked Tangle Tower accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Tom Vian and updated 11 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
Game Details
Release Date: 19/09/2019
Out Now: PC, Switch and iPhone, iPad
Players: 1
Genres: Point-and-Click (Brain Game, Narrative and Puzzle)
Accessibility: 29 features
Components: 2D Side-On and Hand-Made
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Controls in Tangle Tower 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:
1 Button & Single Stick: Can play with button and stick.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Mouse Alone: Can play with just the mouse/mouse-button/mouse wheel.
Touchscreen
Can play with the following. Additional gestures may be required for games played with a screenreader like VoiceOver.
One Tap Targeted: Can play with touchscreen, tap in specific locations.
Remap Controls
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
Swap Sticks: Can swap the sticks over so that you can use the opposite sticks to control the game.
Button Combinations
Specific button operation required to play
No Simultaneous Buttons: Only one button or key required at a time, in addition to direction stick(s).
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Tangle Tower, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Stories of Blossom (14 Controls Features)
- Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney (10 Controls Features)
- The Sexy Brutale (8 Controls Features)
- The Magister (7 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Tangle Tower 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 Tangle Tower, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
- The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (2 Difficulty Features)
- Return to Monkey Island (1 Difficulty Feature)
- Murder by Numbers (1 Difficulty Feature)
Getting Started
We've documented 10 accessibility features for Getting Started in Tangle Tower 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.
Onboarding Before Play
Before you are presented with the home screen, onboarding settings aim to aid you accessing the menus you need to adjust the game to your requirements. They can also provide an easier way of turning on important adjustments without digging through menus.
Onboarding: The first time you open the game, you are asked to confirm options for control, navigation and accessibility settings. Games can differ in what they present at this stage, but will count for this, provided they include a streamlined onboarding process.
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.
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.
Low Pressure: Game tasks aren't time-limited or there's a low-pressure mode. This avoids the pressure of being put on the clock for overarching missions, or failing tasks because you didn't reach a destination in time.
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.
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.
Assisted Progress With Hints: The game notices if you get stuck (or you can press a button) and provides information to help you progress. This can offer hints or tutorials popping up during play. This includes hints after you have died, where it can suggest strategies or difficulty settings to adjust or offer to skip past problematic levels.
Assisted Recall for Narrative and Dialogue: The game enables you to review the history of conversations or provides highlights of the information you gather in a form you can review.
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 Tangle Tower, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Getting Started accessibility:
- Stories of Blossom (13 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Reading in Tangle Tower 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
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.
Captions
Speaker Indicator and their Tone: Textual captions indicate who is speaking and their tone (or there is only ever one person speaking). This can also be indicated visually in the game with character icons or character expressions with 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 Tangle Tower, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- Return to Monkey Island (7 Reading Features)
- Stories of Blossom (7 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Navigation in Tangle Tower 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
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 Tangle Tower, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Stories of Blossom (7 Navigation Features)
- The Magister (6 Navigation Features)
- The Sexy Brutale (6 Navigation Features)
- Teach Your Monster: Number Skills (3 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Visual in Tangle Tower 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 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.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual
If you want to play Tangle Tower, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- Stories of Blossom (10 Visual Features)
- A Case of Distrust (7 Visual Features)
- Rivals (7 Visual Features)
- The Magister (6 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Tangle Tower 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 Tangle Tower, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Audio accessibility:
- The Sexy Brutale (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.
iOS Apple Arcade
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 @NEATWithAdam and Andy Robertson