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How to check accessibility before you buy a game

A practical checklist for checking store tags, official documentation, and player experience reports before you buy.

Topics:
  • General guide
  • Before buying
  • Steam
  • Xbox
  • PlayStation

Key points

  • Type: Buying checklist
  • Best for: blind and low-vision players
  • Time needed: 5–15 minutes before buying

Category: General guide

Store tags are useful, but they are not a guarantee that a game will work for you. Use them as a first check, and confirm with more than one source when possible.

Step by step

  1. Write down your minimum requirements. For fully non-visual play, look for terms such as menu narration, screen reader support, playable without vision, clear audio cues, separate volume controls, and keyboard or controller options you can use.
  2. Check PC games on Steam. Steam explains that developers can show accessibility features on store pages and in search filters. Look for the Accessibility Features section on a game’s store page. Note that Steam says the tags are not an exhaustive list of everything a game may support.
  3. Check Xbox games with accessibility tags. Xbox lets players filter and explore games with accessibility features. Microsoft’s developer documentation describes criteria for tags, including narrated menus and audio features.
  4. Check PS5 games in PlayStation Store. PlayStation Support says you can open a game in PlayStation Store from Games home, open the game hub, and press the triangle button or select the side panel to view the game’s accessibility features.
  5. Read at least one practical assessment. Search for the game name together with “blind”, “low vision”, “screen reader”, “audio cues”, or “accessibility review”. Useful sources may include specialist sites, the developer’s own accessibility notes, and reports from blind players.
  6. Test safely if you are still unsure. Use a demo, trial, subscription, or refund option where available. First test the main menu, settings, tutorial, saving, audio mixer, controller layout, and whether important alerts are provided with sound or speech.
  7. Write down what is missing. If a store tag says something is supported but the game still does not work for you, record exactly where the problem happens. That makes it easier to ask the developer, request a refund, or help other players.

Short checklist

Store tags first, official documentation next, independent experience reports last. Do not buy expensive content only because one tag looks promising.

Sources