Ubisoft shared a few accessibility features for Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR in a video on X (formerly Twitter). These features in this upcoming VR title focus on player comfort. Nausea is a common problem in VR, where what a player sees does not match what their inner-ear senses. Especially in the fast moving and often vertical gameplay of Assassin’s Creed this could quickly become an issue.
Meta rates the game as comfortable according to the Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR page on Meta. This rating indicates how suitable a VR experience is for different players. The page also notes support for both sitting and standing playing modes.
Comfort settings
While moving it’s possible to apply a vignette to the game. This effect makes it look similar to having tunnel vision. Reducing the peripheral vision in virtual reality to make movement more comfortable is a common feature. Ubisoft’s earlier constantly moving VR title Eagle Flight used this as well. Players can also choose to move by teleportation. Teleporting from point to point avoids the continued motion players would otherwise experience while navigating the world.
A signature feature of Assassin’s Creed games is of course the Leap of Faith. This involves jumping from great height into a handily placed haystack. Obviously this fast falling can induce motion sickness, but could also impact players uncomfortable with heights. Helping prevent this, Ubisoft implemented fear of heights feature. This feature projects a grid in the virtual environment, to show where the floor is in the player’s own surroundings.
Players can customize these comfort features, but there are also several presets available. These give quick access to predetermined settings in Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR matching a player’s accessibility and comfort needs.
Comfort and accessibility in VR is important. Not only for the short term playability of games, but to avoid potential and unknown long term effects as well. It’s good to see these features in a game that could easily prove to be overwhelming to players. Players looking to dive into Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR don’t have to wait long, as it releases on November 16th.
