Guerrilla Games has introduced several new accessibility features in a patch for Horizon Forbidden West. Patch 1.21 is exclusive to PlayStation 5 players and prepares the game for the new expansion called Burning Shores.
New accessibility features
The patch notes for patch 1.21 that Guerrilla Games shared on Reddit are limited. We’ve taken a closer look at the ones they mentioned. First up is an adjustment to the subtitle sizes that have been made larger. The sizes have not changed dramatically, so even the extra large setting for subtitles might still be too small for some.
Auto-pickup and auto camera
Auto-pickup is now an option, aside from manually picking up items (with or without a character animation). This may help prevent extraneous button presses for those with mobility issues. It can also help relieve some cognitive load when players don’t have to remember to pick items up.
Auto camera makes it so the camera will follow a player’s movement from the left stick. Enabling this prevents the need for players to control the camera with the right stick, something that could be very helpful for players with limited mobility.
Color blind modes and navigation assist
Color Blind Modes are available, and also shown during first start-up. Choices are between Protanopia, Deuteranopia, and Tritanopia. The strength of these colorblind modes are adjustable as well. A preview of the mode’s effect is shown on screen, which is always helpful.
Navigation assist in Focus Mode is new as well. With this navigation assist enabled, players can aim the camera towards the nearest waypoint by tapping L1. A great help for players experiencing visual or cognitive difficulties while finding their way around.
Thalassophobia relief
A novel feature is the Thalassophobia Relief feature. Thalassophobia is a strong fear of deep bodies of water like lakes, seas, and oceans. Horizon Forbidden West’s Thalassophobia Relief aims to ease the symptoms of this phobia by improving underwater visibility, and make breathing underwater indefinite.
The patch notes further simply mention “additional accessibility features” but sadly do not elaborate on what those are. The new expansion Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores will be playable starting April 19th. The accessibility features in patch 1.21 are available for all Horizon Forbidden West players.
