The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launched to great acclaim from critics and players alike. IGN rated the Breath of the Wild sequel a 10. “‘The Legend of Zelda: Kingdom of Tears’ is an immense sequel, expanding on a world that already felt fulfilling beyond expectations and raising the bar even higher.” It’s a title that’s been discussed and played for months since. But that support also includes a circular argument that Nintendo leaves players with disabilities behind.
Every successful game comes with justified criticism from people with disabilities who consider its accessibility. These discussions mostly scrutinize the options available within the menu, or lack thereof. Can subtitles be adjusted? Is there an option to turn off quicktime events? Are there auditory indicators for the blind or partially sighted? Questions from players with disabilities inevitably arise. Without these tools, many of us wouldn’t be able to play critically acclaimed games. But conversations about Nintendo and its commitment to accessibility fail to explore an aspect that Nintendo’s games have incorporated for generations: the practice of family design.
What’s Wrong with Tears of the Kingdom
If I’m going to defend Nintendo and Tears of the Kingdom, I have to first acknowledge the Bokoblins in the room. The game is sorely lacking in accessibility options. In-game buttons cannot be mapped directly. This is an important feature for disabled players like myself. This is especially problematic with control schemes that often require people to hold odd combinations of buttons and contort their hands into claw-like shapes. On top of that, the lack of key action switching like switching weapons or fusing objects into arrows quickly depletes your energy levels. Especially in dark areas like The Depths, there are no accessibility settings for blind people such as screen readers or navigation aids. Also, for deaf players, there are no usual settings such as subtitle display adjustments, audio sliders, mono support, etc. that players would expect.
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Even players with various cognitive disabilities may find Sky Island, Hyrule, and The Depth difficult to play due to their large size. Each of these areas is not only completely unique, but also contains new items that the player must incorporate into their inventory. Additionally, weapon durability (an often volatile topic comparable to the discussion of difficulty modes) cannot be turned off under any circumstances, while fusion increases with each use. From an options analysis, Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute and complete failure, in stark contrast to most AAA games released in the past year. But as we discussed in a previous article, options alone don’t make the game more accessible.
Tears of the Kingdom What’s Right
Despite all its missteps, Tears of the Kingdom is a great demonstration of exploring the benefits of accessible design. The barriers faced by disabled players will undoubtedly cause a great deal of frustration and fatigue, but Link’s adventures in Hyrule are not entirely unplayable.
Disabled players can enjoy simple combat scenarios, even with good armor and high-damage weapons, as many encounters can be resolved with just the ‘Y’ button. Ultra Hand, the core mechanic of this entry, also allows individuals to build designs that automatically eliminate targets. When resources are available, players can save their creations and quickly build them with the push of a button.
Many battles can be handled with a single button press thanks to more powerful fusion weapons.
Deaf and hard-of-hearing players have access to great subtitled conversations, with special emphasis on key points and people of interest. In addition, the game actively visualizes enemy attack patterns, key locations, and objects, giving individuals the information they need. And even on certain voice-based quests, the game uses contextual clues and enclosed spaces to actively guide people toward their objectives. Blind players will have access to the ability to move automatically on horseback, as well as numerous audio indicators of low health, broken weapons, and even defeated enemies. All of these tools are inherently built into the game’s design rather than within a menu labeled Accessibility.
These design techniques do not solve the obvious problems that continue to plague the game. Tears of Kingdom can and should be criticized for its lack of attention to accessibility and detail. But it would be unfair to automatically dismiss the entire experience as inaccessible without understanding the main selling point of a Nintendo game. Despite Tears of the Kingdom’s overall size and relatively detailed plot, these games are meant to be played by everyone. From veteran fans to newcomers to the game, the simplistic nature of Nintendo and later Zelda titles can appeal to a wide range of people, including those with disabilities.
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I strongly believe that no studio or publisher can be labeled “worst” when discussing accessibility in general. The individualistic nature of the disability experience means that any game or system is playable, and by making an absolute statement, the actual and justified emotions of those who can play these series. are actively erasing. That’s not to say we can’t be offended by the lack of accessibility, but there are other AAA games that did much worse even with accessibility menus, like the first release of Gotham Knights.
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After reading this, you may be wondering if I could even play Tears of the Kingdom, but the unfortunate truth is that I can’t, at least not fully. I haven’t played a Zelda game since his 2017 release Breath of the Wild. In fact, my frustration with Zelda games made me a journalist who cares about accessibility. And as I learned about the intricacies of accessible game design and the perspective of the disabled, I realized it was okay to feel angry, but not to discredit those who could enjoy Link’s adventures. Throughout my career, which began in earnest in 2019, I have interviewed players with disabilities who were only able to play Nintendo Switch and other players who did not have the ability to play games with award-winning accessibility. rice field. That doesn’t mean these titles are failures, but it does mean that the experience of people with disabilities is not the same.
Tears of the Kingdom is an absolute success for Nintendo, but it’s also riddled with legitimate questions about its future, especially when it comes to accessibility. And as publications, content creators and fans continue to share their excitement, it’s understandable that many players with disabilities feel left out of the conversation. But for those with disabilities who can enjoy gaming, it’s proof that accessibility is not one-dimensional, and the industry still has a lot to learn.
Grant Stoner is a disability journalist covering accessibility and disability perspectives in video games. When he’s not writing, he’s yelling about Pokémon and his cat Goomba. twitter.
