Even though Starfield has been one of the most popular titles of the year, there are still some issues that need to be addressed by Bethesda’s developers, one of which is the game’s lack of accessibility options.
Many supporters called out the studio for its lack of options on release, after discovering that it only came with five options for accessibility: General subtitles, dialogue subtitles, item rotation hold and drag, toggle iron sights, and larger menu fonts. Compared to other triple-A titles, these don’t even scratch the surface of options that help those who need them.
As a result, players are forced to wait and see if any new accessibility options will be added to the game in future updates. In the meantime, here are some possible additions that could be added in upcoming patches.
Accessibility options that should be added to Starfield
Font and subtitle changes
For any starfarers who have trouble with their eyesight, Starfield desperately needs more options to help those who aren’t able to read some of the various subtitles and fonts featured in the game.
Even though users can increase the size of the font, it would be even better if subtitle fonts and font color could be adjusted as well. An option to add a background to text so it doesn’t get lost during any important sequences could be useful too.
Text-to-speech
For those who have difficulties reading the various text in the game, from expansive UI and menus to in-world text, an option to activate text-to-speech would have been a great way to ensure that all important messages and text are seen and understood by every player.
Combat modifiers
Unlike Bethesda’s other super-popular RPG title Fallout, Starfield doesn’t come with the VATS system, which previously allowed players to slow down time and lock onto different body parts of their enemies before firing their weapons. This was a great system for players who have reflex issues since they don’t need to worry too much about fighting multiple foes on such a fast and furious battlefield.
Starfield brings a ton of variety to battle, whether you’re flying around on a jetpack with your blaster or zooming across the cosmos in your spaceship. And no matter how peaceful you wish to be, sooner or later, you’ll have to pull out a weapon to defend yourself during your travels among the stars.
As a result, the game needed some sort of combat modifier options to help alleviate some of the difficulty that some gamers might be dealing with. Better visual cues in battle would be really useful for those who are hearing impaired since they won’t be able to respond to sound cues in a timely manner.
Better item identification outlines
Looting is a massive part of Starfield, and the game is sorely lacking in better item identification for those who are visually impaired. There are so many different items that can be highlighted in the game’s Scanner Mode, but there is no way to single out important items like weapons or health items among the various miscellaneous clutter scattered across every world.
It would help immensely if players could, at the very least, change the color of the item outline so these key items stand out among the junk.
