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GAMES Dreams The Snowgardens ACCESSIBILITY REPORT
The Snowgardens (Dreams) Accessibility Report
We've documented 24 accessibility features for The Snowgardens in the Controls, Difficulty, Getting Started, Reading, Navigation, Visual and Audio areas to aid enjoyment of the game for different players. 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.
The Snowgardens is a running, jumping and exploration game where you are a child stranded on a beautiful archipelago. Once the home to an ancient time-altering civilisation but now abandoned, leaving strange technology for you to operate to progress.
Accessibility Notes
There aren't difficulty levels but you can opt to play in Exploration mode where all doors are open and everything is unlocked. So you can easily access the whole game. Playing in this mode means you never lose any progress (although you can't see the climax animation of the game).
Between islands a map is provided that offers hints on next objectives and where to go.
There are no full screen strobe effects, but the game does quickly cycle through bright colours of lights at a couple of points.
You can shoot the arrow you can either tap or hold a button. Holding provides a helpful targeting line.
Dreams Settings: You can turn down screen shake, motion blur. You can disable vibration.
The Snowgardens
Game Details
Release Date: 14/07/2020, updated in 2021
Price: Free
Platforms: PS4 and PS5
Expected Content Rating: PEGI 7
Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds
Players: 1
Genres: Narrative, Traversal (Platform and Puzzle)
Accessibility: 24 features
Components: 2D Overhead
Costs: Free
Controls
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Controls in The Snowgardens 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
Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.
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.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play The Snowgardens, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
Difficulty
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Difficulty in The Snowgardens 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 Between Levels: You can adjust the difficulty between levels/rounds. Although you have to restart your checkpoint or level, this enables you to adjust the difficulty after selecting it at the beginning of the game.
Getting Started
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Getting Started in The Snowgardens 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.
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.
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.
Reading
We've documented 3 accessibility features for Reading in The Snowgardens 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. This doesn't include subtitles as required reading if they are fully voiced.
No Reading: No reading is required, other than simple menus. The game either has no text or can communicate textual content with visuals and interactions. If reading isn't required because the text is voiced the All Dialogue is Voiced feature indicates this.
Text Visibility
Large Clear Text: All essential text is large and clear or can be adjusted to be. The general text used throughout the game in menus, instructions and other key information (excluding subtitles that are assessed separately) is at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height on landscape screens and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens.
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading
If you want to play The Snowgardens, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:
Navigation
We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in The Snowgardens 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
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.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play The Snowgardens, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
Visual
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Visual in The Snowgardens which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
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.
No Busy Backgrounds: No distracting backgrounds or you can make them static or blank. This includes the absence of other movement elements in the background that might distract or confuse the action.
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 Snowgardens, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, this similar game extends the Visual accessibility:
Audio
We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in The Snowgardens 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.
Audio Events
Visual Cues for Audio Events: Text or other visual indicators of audio events. This mirrors audio indicators of progress in the game with a corresponding visual indication.
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 The Snowgardens, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 has a range of accessibility settings. Some are system only, some work in games (invert colours and button mapping).
PlayStation 5
PlayStation 5 has a range of system-wide accessibility settings.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors @GeekDadGamer
