Deaf Game Review – Just Cause 4

Just Cause 4 Deaf Accessibility

All in all, the only Deaf accessibility feature that needs some attention to make this game 100% playable for Deaf/hoh players are the subtitles. Yes the lack of enemy location indication makes the game a bit harder than it may be for hearing players, but it doesn't render it impossible, and the explosion visuals are lovely and satisfying, and isn't that why we play Just Cause games anyway?

Score

5.5 out of 10

The one thing you should know, if you played Just Cause 3, is that Just Cause 4 is essentially the same game given a new number at the end of the title. And this is true for the gameplay, the story, and the Deaf accessibility.

This is not to say it’s not a fun game. Blowing up all the things is satisfying. The bigger the explosion the better. In fact, I’d argue that it’s the lack of much of a story that makes this playground of explosion as fun as it is. Who wants to have to worry about the consequences while trying to blow up a chain of four gas tanks, a satellite dish, and the three SUVs parked nearby? Not me. I just want to feel that explosion vibrate the controller in my little pyromaniac hands and watch the sky light up with fire. I’m not here for the story, I’m here to blow shit up and zip along on my tether thingy.

It’s a good thing that the story is sorely lacking substance because the Deaf accessibility, well, it’s not great.

Above you see the sound options for the game. You can toggle various volume aspects and turn subtitles on or off and choose your language. Unfortunately, you can’t do the one thing that would solve one of the bigger accessibility issues:

See these tiny subtitles? You can’t resize them, so, unless you’re sitting on top of your TV, you likely can’t read them. There are speaker labels, which is nice considering there are still so many games that neglect them, but those don’t help much if you can’t read any of the text anyway.

Also lacking in this game is any indication of enemy location or from where you’re being shot at if the enemy isn’t directly in your line of sight. There’s no helpful minimap to show enemy location either, making the combat sometimes overwhelming if you aren’t able to listen for enemy gunfire.

The mission objective text and control tutorial text is clear and easy to read (easier than the subtitles are anyway) and important info like weapon selection and amount of bullets you have remaining are also clearly indicated.

All in all, the only Deaf accessibility feature that needs some attention to make this game 100% playable for Deaf/hoh players are the subtitles. Yes the lack of enemy location indication makes the game a bit harder than it may be for hearing players, but it doesn’t render it impossible, and the explosion visuals are lovely and satisfying, and isn’t that why we play Just Cause games anyway?