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Uncharted 4:
A Thief's End
35 Accessibility Features

We've documented 35 accessibility features for Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Large Subtitles, Control Assists, Custom Difficulty and Select Difficulty. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Visual but it also has features in Getting Started, Reading, Audio, Difficulty 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.

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is an action-adventure game set several years after the events of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. You play Nathan Drake, a happily married former treasure hunter coaxed out of retirement by his brother. This leads into another final adventure for Nate and stretches his commitment and relationship with Elena.

Our accessibility examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Uncharted 4: A Thief's End accessibility 2 years ago. It was re-examined by Ben Kendall and updated 9 months ago.

NotesAccessibility Notes

Uncharted 4 on PlayStation 5
Uncharted 4 in Legacy of Thieves Collection on PS5 offers some additional enhancements. Onboarding is provided for setting when the game starts. You can also select Mono Audio and Persistent Dot Reticule.

The game uses the Dual Sense haptics to indicate a lot of interactions: shooting, environment and climbing. This can offer some additional indication of visual feedback, although it is intense and includes incidental aspects like vibrating when it's raining.

You can opt to use either tap or holds for moments that require these interactions. However, you still need to time button presses for jumps in-game sequences.

Uncharted 4 on PlayStation 4
Here are the notes for Uncharted 4 on PlayStation 4 that also apply to the PlayStation 5 game. While earlier Uncharted games required the use of motion controls, fine control of two joysticks and quick button presses during combat and cut-scenes, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End is designed to be more accessible.

There is a wide range of difficulty settings, although it's still quite hard on the easiest. Tips appear in the game if you get stuck on a puzzle or the direction of travel.

There's a "Lock-on" option to automatically target enemies when you press aim. You can adjust how strongly this is applied. There are different shooting modes that don't require holding buttons. You can disable the need for rapidly pressing buttons. You can control how the camera moves and use "Camera Assist" to help you look in the right direction.

As this GameAccess article says: "By having the stick functions as default and sticks while aiming as flipped, the need for the right stick is reduced greatly, so you can play through most of the game by using a single stick. However, if you are wanting to play with a single stick, then your character would not be able to walk around whilst in aim mode."

Enemies are highlighted with tags and colours. You can control contrast. There are unlockable game visual effects that enable you to apply a high contrast and other effects that (aren't designed for this purpose but) aid the visibility of the game greatly. In the same way, you can unlock slow-motion or infinite ammo enhancements, but to unlock them you need to first play without them. When you get shot, not only does the surround sound indicate where the shot came from, but a red indicator points towards the direction of the shooter and moves as you move the camera, although it can be difficult to distinguish it from the other red blood effects that appear on the screen.

You can disable or select the intensity of motion blur in the settings.

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DetailsGame Details

Release Date: 19/11/2016, updated in 2017

Out Now: PS3 and PS4

Skill Rating: 13+ year-olds

Players: 1 (10 online)

Genres: Adventure, Narrative (Action, Fighting, Puzzle, Shooting, Stealth and Traversal)

Accessibility: 35 features

Components: 3D Third-Person

Developer: Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog)

Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass

 

ControlsControls

We've documented 10 accessibility features for Controls in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 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.

Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.

Remap Controls

Can customise the controls for the game as follows:

Select Preset Controller Mappings: You can select preset button layouts from options provided by the developer.

Swap Sticks: Can swap the sticks over so that you can use the opposite sticks to control the game.

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.

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: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

DifficultyDifficulty

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Difficulty in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 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

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.

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 StartedGetting Started

We've documented 5 accessibility features for Getting Started in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 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.

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.

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.

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.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

ReadingReading

We've documented 5 accessibility features for Reading in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 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.

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 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

NavigationNavigation

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Navigation in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 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.

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.

Menu Navigation

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.

 

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

If you want to play Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:

VisualVisual

We've documented 6 accessibility features for Visual in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 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.

Interactive Elements

Large Game Elements: Game characters and other elements are large and distinguishable. Enemies and player characters are at least 1/6 of the height of the screen. Or there is a zoom feature to make them larger.

Outline Interactive Elements: Characters, platforms and enemies can be outlined or highlighted for visibility. This can be with a large border around the character or a special visual mode that adjust the colour to make characters more visible.

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.

Audio Depiction of Event Location: Indication with positional/stereo audio of where directional events are on the screen for things like damage, footsteps, environmental elements. 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 Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:

AudioAudio

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Audio in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End 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.

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.

Visual Depiction of Directional Audio: Indication on-screen with arrows, icons, located colour splashes and the like, to show where directional audio for damage, footsteps, environmental or way-finding sounds are coming from.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

CommunicationCommunication

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Communication in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction. The following games are similar to Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and offer accessibility features for Communication:

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).
 
Read more about system accessibility settings.

VSC LogoAccessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Andy Robertson, Ben Kendall and Jo Robertson


Taming Gaming Book Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.

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