At the end of his internship with GameInformer magazine, Josh Straub graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University with a degree in creative writing and history. His earliest gaming memories are of looking over his father’s shoulder while he played Warcraft 2. While these experiences gave him a deep appreciation for the RTS genre, Josh seeks to play games across all genres and platforms due to his interest in game accessibility for the disabled. This interest stems from too many experiences in which he has hurled his controller across the room after finding out that a game was inaccessible due to his Cerebral Palsy. Because of his wide exposure and interest in games, Josh appreciates the story of a game more than any other element, especially because the stories of the games of his childhood provided him with an invaluable sense of escape from his disability.
Elden Ring is a masterpiece, and that’s putting it mildly. Tight, addictive game design, haunting visuals and soundtrack, and an open-world system that’s downright compelling will probably mean it’s one of the greatest games of this generation, which is why it’s so heartbreaking seeing the levels of toxicity coming from corners of the game accessibility […]
It’s that time of year again, another wildly accessible Pokémon game. Honestly, that’s all you need to know. If you’re a hardcore Pokémon fan, you’ll be happy to know that Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are just as accessible as they’ve always been. Yes, it is true that the game keeps some of the motion […]
Mario Party is a perennial franchise that has been ending friendships and causing fun family game nights for almost 23 years. The latest version, Mario Party Superstars, is being hailed as a return to form for the best parts of the franchise. Mario Party Superstars is a compilation of the best boards and the best […]
Biomutant is a weird game, and I mean that in the best sort of way. It’s this strange mash-up of Fallout and Ghost of Tsushima with a dash of the Redwall books thrown in for good measure. These are all things I love, so I thought that I would love Biomutant, but I don’t. Unfortunately, […]
Mario Golf: Super Rush is the latest installment in the perennial Mario Sports family. Like previous Mario Golf games, it simulates golf through the use of a QTE to set the power of each swing as well as the desired arc and distance. Traditionally, Mario Golf games have been very accessible to most physically impaired […]
It used to be, when a game was created using the same engine technology and characters as its predecessor, we would call it an expansion. On the surface, that’s what some have called Spider-Man Miles Morales. However, this label is misleading. Insomniac has not given us merely an expansion but rather a fully fleshed-out game […]
Ghost of Tsushima is a spiritual successor to the Assassin’s Creed franchise and a love letter to classic Samurai sagas, both of which hold a special place in my heart. I was pumped for this release, but I was prepared for disappointment. I didn’t expect to be able to play Ghost, but that wasn’t going […]
I came to Animal Crossing: New Horizons with absolutely no prior knowledge of the franchise. Friends who are fans told me that they didn’t expect I would like it. Its laid-back nature and limited actions mean it’s more akin to a virtual interactive diorama than other more action-heavy city simulators. New Horizons gives every player […]
Doom Eternal is the latest entry in the franchise that can rightly be considered the godfather of the first-person shooter genre. As a follow up to 2016’s Doom, it follows the chronicles of the Slayer as he seeks to cleanse the planet of an otherworldly scourge. From an accessibility standpoint, this game represents both high […]
In my continued quest to stave off boredom in this time of quarantine, I have stumbled across yet another highly accessible and incredibly polished indie gem. Developed by 6 Eyes Studio, Fell Seal: Arbiter’s Mark is a spiritual successor to Final Fantasy Tactics that is available on all major platforms. Players control a squad of […]
Quarantining during COVID-19 is especially tough when it means I have limited access to my local used games store, so more and more I’ve found myself plumbing the depths of Steam looking for inexpensive accessible games that are worth playing, and I do believe I found one. Produced by Grizzly Games, Islanders bills itself as […]
If you have been reading this site for very long, you will notice that I tend to really enjoy tactical turn-based RPGs. This is because not only do they tend to be highly accessible, but they offer a depth of gameplay that gives not only high levels of enjoyment, but also massive replayability that justifies […]
The team over at EA was gracious enough to send me a PS4 review code for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order as part of an accessibility study they were running. I have fond childhood memories of playing Star Wars: Jedi Knight, another melee combat game for the PC, so I eagerly jumped at the chance […]
As a company, Nintendo seems to value innovation above all, which has often meant accessibility is omitted in the development process, probably most prominently in the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. So, when I heard that they were rereleasing Link’s Awakening in full 3D glory, with graphics and controls optimized […]
It wasn’t too long ago that the future looked bleak for one of the most historically accessible franchises in video games. When Game Freak released the Let’s Go series of Pokémon games, it was a disappointment to see how inaccessible they were to many players with disabilities, but fans waited with bated breath, because we […]
The more things change, the more they stay the same. This was my predominant feeling at the end of my time playing Borderlands 3. Developer Gear Box seems to have gone with the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality and have simply provided players with more of what they loved in the previous […]
