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Android
iOS
Mac
Switch
Wii
Wii U
PC
PS4
PS5
Xbox One
Xbox X|SWe've documented 17 accessibility features for The Long Dark, including Control Assists, Select Difficulty, No Repeated Pressing, No Holds and Motion Aiming. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Reading but it also has features in Navigation, Visual, Difficulty, Getting Started 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, Andy Robertson, first checked The Long Dark accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Andy Robertson and updated 2 years ago.
Accessibility Notes
On Switch you can use gyro controls for the camera, and adjust this to suite your playstyle.
Game Details
Release Date: 22/09/2014
Price: 30% off
Out Now: PC, PS4, Switch and Xbox One
Skill Rating: 11+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Role-Play, Simulation (Adventure and Narrative)
Accessibility: 17 features
Components: 3D First-Person, Cartoon, Day and Night and Open World
Developer: Hinterland Games (@HinterlandGames)
Costs: Purchase cost
Controls
We've documented 7 accessibility features for Controls in The Long Dark 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.
Motion
Games that can be played with different sorts of motion controllers.
Motion Aiming: Can use small movements of the gamepad to fine-tune aiming or as the main aiming mechanism. This is sometimes known as Gyro-Aiming. This usually provides the ability to calibrate these controls to taste.
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.
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 The Long Dark, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Far Cry 6 (14 Controls Features)
- Tenderfoot Tactics (13 Controls Features)
- The Longing (12 Controls Features)
- The Last Of Us Part II (12 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Difficulty in The Long Dark which deals 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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty
If you want to play The Long Dark, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:
- The Last Of Us Part II (3 Difficulty Features)
- Ark: Survival Evolved (3 Difficulty Features)
- Climber: Sky is the Limit (2 Difficulty Features)
- Far Cry 6 (2 Difficulty Features)
Getting Started
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Getting Started in The Long Dark which deals 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.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play The Long Dark, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- The Last Of Us Part II (11 Getting Started Features)
- The Longing (6 Getting Started Features)
- Innocence Island (5 Getting Started Features)
- The Last Of Us Left Behind (5 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in The Long Dark 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
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 The Long Dark, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
- The Last Of Us Part II (7 Reading Features)
- Far Cry 6 (6 Reading Features)
- BedWars (5 Reading Features)
- Subnautica Below Zero (5 Reading Features)
Navigation
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Navigation in The Long Dark 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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play The Long Dark, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Far Cry 6 (9 Navigation Features)
- Grounded (8 Navigation Features)
- Days Gone (7 Navigation Features)
- Subnautica Below Zero (6 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Visual in The Long Dark 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.
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 The Long Dark, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:
- The Last Of Us Part II (7 Visual Features)
- Far Cry 6 (6 Visual Features)
- Tenderfoot Tactics (6 Visual Features)
- Sunless Sea (6 Visual Features)
Audio
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Audio in The Long Dark 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 The Long Dark, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
- BedWars (4 Audio Features)
- Far Cry 6 (4 Audio Features)
- Tenderfoot Tactics (3 Audio Features)
- The Last Of Us (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.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Andy Robertson
