Let's talk about Naughty Dog's accessibility features.

The change that was necessary.

Naughty Dog has been my favorite gaming studio ever since I picked up my Playstation 1 controller and started playing Crash Bandicoot. I remember being literally amazed by the gameplay structure and the way you had to run through a level, camera position-wise though, it's been really difficult to adjust. Yet, I continued playing, even if I wasn't able to break every box and collect all the apples in each level.

Reading a story about how Naughty Dog was inspired to improve the accessibility features made me appreciate their work more and more each time I was scrolling down the settings menu in one of their games. I'm positive that every gamer must have the right to enjoy a game because gaming is for everyone and as technology is evolving, development studios are keen on creating new ways to ensure that everyone gets to experience the story and gameplay the same way. One of the quotes that i really liked came from a former Game Informer intern who found inaccessible controls as he couldn't use the controller to ”smash through doors”.

“What developers need to realize is that these games do more than just entertain the disabled. First of all, they provide an escape from sort of the doldrums of being disabled." - Josh Straub, former Game Informer intern

His words alone were enough to convince the developers to work harder on Uncharted 4's accessibility features and it was the beginning of something incredible. It inspired studios across the gaming industry to actually contemplate the importance of equal experience for all gamers, in all games.

Property of Playstation Studios and Naughty Dog - The Last of Us Part one.

One of the Naughty Dog games that really pushed the boundaries was The Last of Us Part 2, the award-winning accessibility features were so overwhelmingly embraced by the audience that the team improved on them in The Last of Us Part 1 (as seen in the video above). Vision accessibility is one of the most unique aspects, as it introduces us to navigation assistants and the enhanced listen mode which enables the gameplay to be accessible to blind and low-vision players. Games become more complex and realistic and developers do indeed put more effort into becoming more inclusive for those with disabilities, which is captivating and encouraging, considering accessibility features are growing and spreading across multiple disability categories, categories that aren't confronted yet in video games. Things are changing for the better.

The Last of Us Part 1 is coming out on September 2 on Playstation 5 and is also in development for PC.