Highlights from the Access-Ability Showcase

The annual Access-Ability Showcase, hosted by LauraKBuzz, highlights games made with a focus on accessibility and by developer teams that include disabled individuals. This year, the showcase featured 16 games that covered a wide variety of styles both in gameplay and art style. You can check out the full showcase right here. Information and demos can be found for the games featured on Steam, where you can also wishlist the items.  Check out some of the highlights from the Access Ability Showcase down below. 

Penny Larceny: Gig Economy Super Villian

From the Steam description:

A comic book adventure of freelance supervillainy, petting cats, and/or destroying capitalism in which your choices determine success in a series of daring heists and capers. Penny Larceny is a game that can be played without any sighted assistance through the use of text-to-speech, descriptive speech, and sound cues

Space Boat

Space Boat is a humor-based investigative narrative game that is appropriately set on an intergalactic cruise ship inhabited by various alien lifeforms. Players assume the role of Inspector Domino, a space cat detective, tasked with uncovering a shapeshifting thief. 

Space Boat Is designed so it does not rely on audio and can be fully enjoyed by players who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Upheaval 

From the Steam description:

Upheaval is a text-based open-world roguelike adventure. Match wits with a world-hopping Magician as you explore the wilds around your remote village, track down magic treasures, and aid or disrupt factions.

Upheaval harkens back to the early days of gaming with a text-driven interphase that may remind gamers of a certain age of the Sierra On-Line games of the early 90s. The subject and the setting is perfect for this style of storytelling.

This game checks quite a few of the accessibility boxes including setting to assist those with motor control issues, being colorblind friendly, and having no reliance on audio to be able to play the game.

The Darkest File 

The Darkest Files is a historical investigation and courtroom game based on true crimes that occurred during WWII. Players will investigate cold cases, search for clues, interrogate witnesses, and more. The game will undoubtedly immerse you in the crimes as you defend your case in court to bring the perps to justice.

The Darkest Files includes settings to adjust font readability and cognitive accessibility.

Dawnfolk – Access Ability Showcase 2024

From the Steam description:

Dawnfolk is a charmingly dark minimalist survival city-builder. Collect resources and rebuild your realm one tile at a time as you protect your settlers from oppressive shadows.

Dawnfolk includes settings to assist with cognitive and readability assistance.

Fishbowl 

Fishbowl is a coming-of-age story. The events of the game occur over the span of a month. Players can video call loved ones, work from home, sort through puzzles to rediscover childhood memories, do care tasks, and get to know the protagonist better, one day at a time.

Amongst other settings, Fisbowl includes content warnings in the game itself for events that may be upsetting to some players.

Elsie – Access Ability Showcase 2024

Elsie is a technicolor, bullet hell, rogue-like action platformer filled with procedurally generated levels. Players will take on an army of robots, and wield a wide scope of items and weaponry to make each run unique.

Information and demos can be found for the games featured on Steam, where you can also wishlist the items.