GEARS 5 HAS AN IMPRESSIVE SUITE OF ACCESSIBILITY FEATURES

Though, some of the features require you to play on the easiest difficulty.

Players participating in Gears 5’s recent multiplayer tech test have noticed the game is sporting an impressive suite of accessibility features. As showcased by Ablegamers program director and community specialist Craig Kaufman on Twitter, Gears 5’s accessibility reach is extensive compared to most games.

To start, Gears 5 has several features that are becoming more common among AAA games, like color blind modes and enhanced aim assist (here it’s a “target lock”). Though, it also has features that are still pretty rare, like options to adjust the size of subtitles and make button mashing moments require a hold instead.

It even has both speech-to-text and text-to-speech for multiplayer chat. I’m very curious to know how user friendly and accurate the program is, but it’s cool to see it included at all.

It’s also worth mentioning the options to swap the analog sticks while aimed and move all movement to a single stick. Players with particular needs require unique control functions depending on their situation. If, for instance, you’re more dexterous and precise with your left hand, being able to smoothly transition to running and aiming on the left stick could make all the difference.