With The Last of Us Part I releasing next week, September 2, Naughty Dog is excited to share a comprehensive overview of the game’s accessibility features. The studio has taken the features established in The Last of Us Part II as a baseline, and then evolved these options even further.
“We’re expecting this to be an accessible experience for blind players, for deaf players, for players with motor accessibility needs,” explains Game Director Matthew Gallant. “The biggest new feature we have are audio descriptions for cinematics. We partnered with Descriptive Video Works, a professional service whose background is TV, movies and video game trailers, and integrated it into the cutscenes and across all our localized languages.
“Another, which started as a prototype but ended up being really successful during playtesting is a feature that plays dialogue through the PS5 DualSense controller as haptic feedback. That way a deaf player can feel the way a line is delivered, can feel the emphasis, along with the subtitles to give some sense of how that line is delivered.”
Play Video
Below, you can find the accessibility options in full.
Accessibility Presets
As with The Last of Us Part II, many of the accessibility features were built to work in concert with one another. As such, there are three accessibility presets that configure all the recommended settings for vision, hearing, and motor accessibility. You’re free to customize these presets further to better suit your needs.
Alternative controls
You are able to fully customize your PS5 DualSense controller options, remapping every command to a different controller input – including touchpad swipes and controller shake. You have individual options to change every button hold into a toggle, and every rapid press into a hold. There are also camera assistance and lock-on aim options.
“We’re expecting this to be an accessible experience for blind players, for deaf players, for players with motor accessibility needs,” explains Game Director Matthew Gallant. “The biggest new feature we have are audio descriptions for cinematics. We partnered with Descriptive Video Works, a professional service whose background is TV, movies and video game trailers, and integrated it into the cutscenes and across all our localized languages.
“Another, which started as a prototype but ended up being really successful during playtesting is a feature that plays dialogue through the PS5 DualSense controller as haptic feedback. That way a deaf player can feel the way a line is delivered, can feel the emphasis, along with the subtitles to give some sense of how that line is delivered.”
Play Video
Below, you can find the accessibility options in full.
Accessibility Presets
As with The Last of Us Part II, many of the accessibility features were built to work in concert with one another. As such, there are three accessibility presets that configure all the recommended settings for vision, hearing, and motor accessibility. You’re free to customize these presets further to better suit your needs.
Setting | Options | Description |
Apply Vision Accessibility Preset | On or Off | Configures all the recommended settings designed for players who are blind or have low vision. This will enable settings across multiple menus, such as: • Screen Reader • Cinematic Descriptions • High Contrast Display • HUD Scale > Large • Lock-On Aim > Auto-Target • Traversal and Combat Audio Cues • Navigation and Traversal Assistance • Ledge Guard • Enhanced Listen Mode • Invisibility Toggle • Skip Puzzle Option • Various adjustments in the Combat Accessibility menu |
Apply Hearing Accessibility Preset | On or Off | Configures all the recommended settings designed for players who are deaf or hard of hearing. This will enable settings across multiple menus, such as: • Awareness Indicators • Pick-Up Notifications • Subtitles > Story + Combat • Subtitle Names • Subtitle Direction • Combat Vibration Cues |
Apply Motor Accessibility Preset | On or Off | Configures all the recommended settings designed for players with a physical or mobility disability. This will enable settings across multiple menus, such as: • Lock-On Aim > Auto-Target • Auto Weapon Swap • Auto Pick Up • Camera Assist > On • Navigation and Traversal Assistance • Ledge Guard • Infinite Breath • Repeated Button Presses > Hold • Melee Combos > Hold • Weapon Sway > Off • Skip Puzzle Option • Various adjustments in the Combat Accessibility menu |
You are able to fully customize your PS5 DualSense controller options, remapping every command to a different controller input – including touchpad swipes and controller shake. You have individual options to change every button hold into a toggle, and every rapid press into a hold. There are also camera assistance and lock-on aim options.
Input Remap |