Blind Gamers Can Beat God Of War Ragnarok With Almost Zero Help

God of War Ragnarok has once again proved its extensive development. The game allows visually impaired people to enjoy it perfectly while being almost completely unassisted. An entirely blind gamer has recently been reported enjoying God of War Ragnarok almost fully on his own due to the title’s extensive accessibility options. 

Gaming is a passionate sector right now. Gaming studios are trying their level best to reach out to everyone and make their games as accessible as possible.

People with physical impairments are no more limited from trying their hands on consoles. Despite that, visually impaired people still need assistance to a certain extent to access the game entirely. But God of War Ragnarok’s team said no more.

Major Takeaways:

• An entirely blind gamer says he has been playing God of War Ragnarok without any sighted aid.
• SightlessKombat, a blind gamer has helped Santa Monica Studio in improving the game’s accessibility options.
• God of War Ragnarok also won the “Innovation In Accessibility” award at The Game Awards 2022.
  

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A legally blind gamer has recently talked to Sky News, expressed his thoughts about being a visually impaired gamer, and how God of War Ragnarok has opened new doors of in-game accessibility for him.

Ben, widely known as SightlessKombat claims he has never had any sight whatsoever. He says he goes by the label “legally blind” to exclude himself from people who have had any sort of usable or residual vision.

Ben further explained that he has been a gamer for a long time and was able to play God of War (2018) with “sighted assistance,” which required a player who could see the game to provide guidance.

He says he hasn’t been able to play classics like the original Halo trilogy, Call Of Duty franchise, or other iconic staples of gaming, not without “massive amounts of help.”

But God of War Ragnarok changed the game for him. Ben’s gameplay streams caught the attention of Santa Monica, who then requested a demonstration of his playing techniques and sought his advice on what elements would enable him to play games independently.

Sightless Kombat then worked in collaboration with Santa Monica studio regarding God of War Ragnarok’s accessibility features. The game later won the “Innovation In Accessibility” award at The Game Awards 2022. 

So proud to have been involved in (and credited for) #accessibility work on this award-winning title!
As a #gamerWithoutSight, @SonySantaMonica, thank you for letting me be a part of this amazing journey! This is a fantastic win!
The future is bright! #AllGamesHaveNoLimits https://t.co/SoXeFGETRP

— SightlessKombat, Happy New Year 2023 (@sightlessKombat) December 9, 2022

There are a number of features that Ben finds helpful.

Among these are motor accessibility settings, which automate operations to lessen fatigue and the complexity of button inputs; visual accessibility settings, which can change camera angles and up the contrast to make characters and prompts stand out as well as the capacity to entirely remap the controller.

All of these factors combined allow Ben to play “large stretches of the game without any need for secondary input,” which he describes as a “brilliantly freeing experience.” The only situation that limits Ben is puzzles and some menu navigation that need sighted assistance or alternative solutions.

Furthermore, SightlessKombat explained in a Reddit comment section that he also has trouble navigating skill trees and menus and needs sighted assistance. However, he is hopeful that a future patch may include a solution.

In light of everything mentioned above, it’s clear that PlayStation is putting in a lot of effort to make its games as accessible as possible.

God of War Ragnarok’s team explains in a YouTube demonstration video that they ended the last God of War with the understanding that there had been major problems with their way of designing accessibility.

The team took to community feedback and incorporated a number of new features in God of War Ragnarok. Mila Pavlin, the Lead UX Designer said they took inspiration from The Last of Us Part II and their accessibility techniques.

If you’re interested in getting better insight into SightlessKombat’s gaming style. Go through his Twitch streaming channel.

Have you tried any of the accessibility features in God of War Ragnarok? Which ones are your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments below.