More and more big studios are doing their bit to embrace the concept of accessibility and make their games playable for people who would otherwise be left out. This is such an important facet of game development that has been under implemented by too many studios for too long. Thankfully, some big names like Sony are leading the charge, and others are starting to follow suit. Call of Duty Vanguard has a decent suite of accessibility options, in fact the options menu has an accessibility filter making it even easier to find the relevant options. so let’s take a quick run through them!
Visual Options
Interface
First off, we have the crucial interface options. This primarily relates to subtitles, but Call of Duty Vanguard has more features here than many games include. You get full control over the size and appearance of the subtitles. You can also adjust the size of menu text, all on-screen text can be made more readable. The last option here is for turning cross-hair bobbing on and off, a handy option for anyone prone to motion sickness.
Graphics
We’re working off the PS5 version of the game, so our graphics options might not be as numerous as the PC release. However, in terms of accessibility, there are plenty of choices. You have the expected options like brightness, motion blur and the intensity of the camera movement. Graphic content can be switched on or off here, important because this is a GRAPHIC Call of Duty game. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been blown literally to bits in multiplayer.
The big addition here is in colour options. Colour blindness is a broad and complicated issue. I can’t claim to know much as it’s not something I deal with personally. Recently, I helped buy a pair of colour corrective glasses for a friend who does deal with colour blindness, and I got a glimpse of the complexity. Thankfully, there is a large swathe of colour changing options in Call of Duty Vanguard. Hopefully, there’s enough customisation here to accommodate everyone.
Text Chat
Lastly in the visual section, we have text chat options. Text chat can be turned on or off, you can adjust the opacity of the text box and the size of the text. There’s a profanity filter here, arguably a vital addition to any Call of Duty.
Audio
Sound options are pretty standard. You can adjust the volume of the various sound sources; effects, dialogue and music. Voice chat options are here as well. You can turn it on or off or set either push-to-talk or always-on chat for PC.
Controller
There are a few options in the controller section that can help make the game more approachable for some folks. The standard options like sensitivity and vibration are here, as well as the usual slew of alternate button layouts. The buttons are not fully remappable in-game, unfortunately. There are a few more helpful options here, though, such as an interesting option to adjust controller orientation. This changes what the controller considers forward, back and sides on the sticks. Meaning, the controller can be used at different angles and adjusted to suit the player.
One of the best additions to accessibility is that several actions can either be made automatic or done by a single button press. Mantling, sprinting, sliding, moving forward, aiming, even firing can be simplified for those who need it.
As someone who doesn’t need many of these options to play Call of Duty Vanguard, I don’t feel it’s my place to comment on their effectiveness. It seems to me like they made a decent effort, at least these are steps in the right direction. I hope these options make the game more playable to those who would have struggled to play it before, and that developers continue to make forward strides in accessibility.
That is our breakdown of Call of Duty Vanguard accessibility. For more tips on how to get started in Vanguard, check out our other guides! For more gear tips, check out our guides for the best assault rifle, SMG, LMG, marksman rifle, shotgun and sniper loadouts in Call of Duty Vanguard. If you want to know what to load alongside those weapons, check our guides for the best equipment and perks in the game.
Be sure to also check out our review of Call of Duty Vanguard here.
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Featured Image Credit: Activision