Topic: Blind accessible Switch games

Some of you may have seen my recent messages about going blind. For those who missed it, my vision is deteriorating rapdly and permanentsly, starting about three weeks ago. IAt this point, I do not have a final diagnosis yet, but the optic nerve in my one formerly working eye s dying, most likely from something called Ischemic Optic Neuropathy. This is an irreversible process and, while we don't know how far it will go, I am already considered blind, it's only a question of whether I will see anything at all when it stops. Most likely Iwill.

Currently I have extremely limited and patchy vision in about a ten degree field outside of which I see only large blocks of shadow and light.

What this means in gaming terms is, when I'm looking at a TV I can see that there IS a TV there, but I only small foggy patches of the picture it's displaying. The same thing, more or less, goes for handheld mode, smartphones and computer screens.

(For those who are curious, I learned to touch type decades ago and it is a life-saving skill. I am currently using a Bluetooth keyboard to type this while a program called Talkback reads what Itype back to me. I am usig a screen reader to get around on my phone, and while it is infuriating sometimes, it is the only thing allowing me to use the phone at all.

The Switch, alas, does not have a screen reader. Sony and Microsoft have been making great strides in accessibility recently, and their newer systems are loaded with functions to help blind and visually impaired gamers have a better experience, from high-def haptic feedback to 3D sound to screen readers to effortless online co-op play that allows blind gamers to enlist the help of sighted comrades to help them navigate.

Yes, I am thinking about getting a PS5. It's the ONLY item on my birthday list. Well, that and a game or two.

But many of you will know that I LOVE my Switch. I have fairly capable gaming PC and a PS4 Pro, but in the last five years virtually all of my gaming has happened on the Switch. I have around 200 games on the Switch - and every one I've checked so far has been unplayable - with the sole exception of Mortal Kombat 11, which is sort of playable.

MK11 was actually developed with the input of blind players and has a lot of things going for it. It is fully voiced with rich sounscape of effects, voices and ambient noises that help you navigate, and the menus are narrated with that full cheesy Mortal Kombat narration. It's cheesy, but invaluable. Unfortunately, its best features don't really show on the Switch. Also unfortunately, I completely suck at Mortal Kombat. Still, it is thus far the only game I've been able to do anything in since my blindness passed a certain point. And when I say "do anything in", what I mean is I was able to beat the first enemy in the game, mostly by sheer luck. I'm going to keep trying it, though, because a game I suck at is bettter than no game at all.

(But also, I'm probably going to make my kid give me back my PS4 so I can try MK11 and ohther games on it.

But I'd still love to be playing something on the Switch.. So I'm wondering if anybody has knowledge of games that are fully accessible to blind gamers. I know there are some that are considered accessible to vision-impaired folks, but while I'm not 100% blind I'm beyond vision-impaired.

WHat a game would need to have to be playable.:

1. Full menu narration

2. in-game narration, fully voiced dialogue or really rich sound design.

3. Ideally it would use HD Rumble extensively for the best tactile experience.

4. turn-based games preferred , high-speed action games just aren't going to work unless I develop some Daredevil kung-fu reflexes somehow.

I've always been an RPG fan, have been racking my brain to think of an RPG that fit..

I've also been wondering about visual novels. Are there any that are fully voiced, including menu narration?

If anybody can think of anything, I'd love to hear it and spread the word amongst other blind gamers. Believe it or not, people ask about this all the time in the blind forums I've been frequenting.

Minecraft has narration, this is a tricky question. Imma go looking for some for you ok.

@JasmineDragon my sincere apologies, for your current condition. Much kudos for gaming on. I hear 1 2 switch is great.

Found these sites:
https://caniplaythat.com/category/accessibility-reviews/visua...

https://www.taminggaming.com/en-us/search/category/Designed+F...

Thanks, I appreciate you looking around! I've heard some talk about Minecraft in the blind/VI groups. It seems a lot of VI folks really love Minecraft as it does have all the assets needed to be technically accessible to all. But I've heard at least one blind gamer whose comment on the subject was "and what am I going to build?" The VI gamer who was talking to her said enthusiasticaly, "well, you can build anything you want!" To which she responded, "I mean, I'm blind" and the conversation just died.

I do have some vision so it's possible Minecraft would work for me, and we do have it in the household, so I'll check it out. But I suspect it will be one of those things that are technically accessible but too frustrating for me to deal with.

Stil a good suggestion though, so thank you again!

@JasmineDragon I did some more looking and it's oddly hard to find games for the blind even though a program exists for programmers that does the heavy work for them.

@PhhhCough Thanks for the thoughts and the websites. I just discovered Can I Play That but haven't been able to look around there much, and that filter is very useful. Simply reading a website is pretty easy thanks to the screen reader on my phone, but navigating around and searching for things is still a huge struggle for me. There is definitely a learning curve to using assistive tech.

The other site is new to me, so I'll look there too.

Thanks for the help!

@Kermit1 Yeah, it's been massively frustrating. I keep thinking, "wait, what about (Game X)? That's GOT to be accessible!!" But none of them are.

Really appreciate you taking the time to look. The search continues...

@JasmineDragon it seems PC and XBOX is where it's at for blind gaming.

@JasmineDragon I'm really sorry to hear about this, I don't have any game suggestions for you but I wanted to comment anyway so I could see how you get on with your search.

I know it's not ideal, as I'm aware you are looking for a game you are unrestricted in, but would minecraft be a good suggestion as a game you and your kid could play together? That way they could help you with parts you find difficult and you'd be getting to spend some quality time with them doing something you both enjoy.

I will keep my ear to the ground for you anyway. Best of luck

@JasmineDragon I did pick up on some of your troubles in a What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? article recently, but I was unable to comment then. I'm very sorry to read this; I can relate on the legally blind front pre-lasik and am at risk for retinal detachment, but I'm still a far cry from actually losing my vision.

I can't really offer anything different from the other posts in this topic at this time, but I will look into researching Switch game accessibility. Apologies if this has been mentioned, but apparently the Switch does have a zoom feature? Though obviously this pertains to visual impairment and not true blindness. To pull the relevant text from the article (link here):

Off topic, but I do hope you're still able to pursue your knitting! I never commented on it as it isn't a hobby I have much interest in, but I found your updates neat to read.

You'll want to contact Nintendo support and ask them for more game choices for your situation.

@Kermit1 Yeah, PC, XBox and PS5. Iactually hear so much praise for the PS5's accessibility features and DualSense controllers especially, most of the blind people I've talked to say it blows every other gaming experience out of the water.. I've never had my hands on one, but it's something I'm dying to try.

@JoeM103 I would actually love to play Minecraft with my kids, but one is living on her own now and the younger one is in that stage where playing games with her parents is completely and utterly inconceivable. She barely speaks to me these days, might be a couple of years before we can talk about gaming together. (I hope...) Would have been cool a couple of years ago, and she actually loves Minecraft.

@Tyranexx I hope Lasik works out for you!

I have actually used the Switch's zoom feature many times when my eyes were just bad, it was a real godsend for several year. But now I depend on screen readers and audio description for everything. I can get a very vague idea of what's on a screen and read things about three inches away, but that's it.

I can actually crochet pretty well and I'm glad I learned to do it so many years ago, because it's literally kept me sane during the last few weeks. I do it by muscle memory and touch, and while I can't do all the fancy lacework I used to do I still do some decent work. I'm about halfway through making a blanket right now, and when I'm done with it I plan to try some more complicated things and see how far I can go without vision. Knitting is a little more difficult for me than crochet as I don't have the same muscle memory for it, but I plan to try that soon, too. Luckily I have plenty of time to practice, lol.

THanks for the kind thoughts, and best of luck with your own vision issues!

@JasmineDragon Thanks! Though my previous post was a bit misleading. I've already had Lasik and should've phrased that differently; it's been a little over three years now. Before getting the procedure, I was borderline severely nearsighted (about -6 in each eye; I could get my hands a few inches from my face, then they'd start fuzzing out). The nearsightedness was mostly corrected. The problem is my eyes have changed a little again, so now I'm mildly farsighted, developed a smidge of astigmatism, and need glasses for easier up close work and general evening use (It doesn't help that my job involves computers, never mind my hobbies lol). I knew I'd need glasses again eventually, but I was hoping it wouldn't be until at least age 50 or so when the eyes naturally change anyway.

I'm glad you've been able to get ample use out of the Switch's zoom feature. As I feared, it seems you're mostly past the point of its usefulness. I did some searching and did find a site that has a small blind/low vision game review section, but it's for multiple platforms and is by no means comprehensive.

Link: https://www.gameaccessibilitynexus.com/blog/category/reviews/...

The other results I've found so far have already been suggested.

Oh, my apologies, that was crochet! Whoops! I'm aware of a couple of the differences between that and knitting, but admittedly I've not studied up much on either. I wasn't exposed to either, though my mother knows how to do a bit of sewing and cross-stitch. I have a coworker who works phone support and knits as a pastime when she doesn't need to field calls. She's made several sweaters, blankets, hats, etc. that way. In any case, I'm glad you have a hobby that doesn't just require vision to help pass the time.

@JasmineDragon I don't know much about the subject, but Sony games are often praised for their accessibility options. But it depends if you're into them. The Last of Us 2 has an impressive list of option I recall.

The DualSense is amazing when it comes to rumble and feedback. Makes you wonder what the fuss about HD Rumble even was. I hope you get to try it out some day, hopefully it works for you!

I am so sorry to hear about your condition. I've always wondered why they never came up with a switch for the blind im sure other companies have done things.

I'm a blind gamer myself and have played many great games. I've played across many platforms, from the pc with very accessible games to the ds and 3ds. Those 2 nentendo systems are mainly iused for rhythm heaven for me. The issue is that Nentendo has not helped blind an dvisuallyb challenged users much at all. The wii and 3ds were mostly usable for comon things, but now you have to learn to work with fewer audio indications on the switch and stuff. There are many great options for pc, and learning to move around an emulated game of rhythm tengoku for the gba or really any of the other rhythm heaven games, accept maby the DS one, wouldn't be that hard. ONce you learn the lay out of those games, it's easy to get around them with no screen reading feedback.

hello, let me introduce myself, my name is Agus from Indonesia. I am completely blind and here I am also looking for games that can be accessed by the blind. So far I have only played football manager games. Sorry if you don't understand my English, because I use Google Translate.@JasmineDragon

This topic is a hard find here as one might have to get help searching the internet for such games. A simple search even harder to figure since there is so limited game selections that this is hard to know. But I would still say it's best to contact Nintendo support as they would have the best contact to find what games listed in their system to show their listing for games for the blind with help of another person to navigate this limited system.