Ubisoft expands Assassin’s Creed accessibility with comprehensive features

Ubisoft‘s upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows is set to introduce an extensive suite of accessibility features, marking a significant advancement for the franchise. The game, scheduled for release on March 20, incorporates more than two dozen customization options spanning multiple aspects of gameplay.

The new accessibility suite covers navigation, controls, visuals, and audio components. Players will find standard features like colorblind modes and screen narration, alongside a fully customizable HUD system that allows for opacity adjustment and element repositioning.

One notable innovation is the implementation of audio cues for environmental navigation and path discovery. These toggleable cues come with a detailed glossary to help players understand different sound indicators. The game also maintains a comprehensive Codex menu that stores all encountered tutorials, while automatically highlighting new menu mechanics as they become available.

Building on previous titles, Assassin’s Creed Shadows retains both Guided and Exploration modes. The Guided option provides a straightforward experience with clear map markers, while Exploration mode challenges players with descriptive clues about destinations. The game introduces a new scouting system, allowing players to reveal foggy map regions by spending resources to locate specific areas.

Combat and stealth systems feature four distinct difficulty settings, giving players precise control over enemy behavior, including their resilience, damage output, and awareness levels. The game offers two melee attack modes, including a simplified version that consolidates multiple button combinations into single inputs. Quick-time events can be similarly simplified or completely disabled to accommodate different player needs.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows detailed accessibility options

Visual features include comprehensive colorblind settings, screen narration for menus and HUD elements, and extensive HUD customization options. Players can adjust opacity, text size, and icon dimensions, or add backgrounds to enhance readability. The game also allows toggling screen shake effects.

Audio accessibility encompasses enhanced subtitles with directional indicators and emotional context, gameplay captions that identify sound sources, and audio descriptions for cinematics. The game provides separate audio sliders for precise sound control.

Navigation assistance includes a first-time user experience flow, guided gameplay options, and an accessible tutorial system. Players can access a complete conversation log and receive notifications about new menu functions. The control scheme supports full input remapping, multiple input devices, and various camera options including axis inversion and lock-on targeting.

Additional gameplay features include separate difficulty settings for stealth and combat, a canon mode for automated story choices, and four levels of aim assistance. These options work together to create a highly customizable experience that can adapt to various player needs and preferences.