Hollow Knight Accessibility Report - Mac, PC and Switch

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Hollow
Knight

Accessibility Report

19 Accessibility Features

We've documented 19 accessibility features for Hollow Knight, including Large Text, Low Pressure, Remap Buttons, Play Without Hearing and Colour Blind Friendly. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Reading but it also has features in Getting Started, Visual, Audio and Navigation to reduce unintended barriers.

This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.

Hollow Knight is a game where you run, jump, and battle your way through the underground kingdom of Hallownest. It’s not uncommon for platform games to invest in the environments through which you pass, but the haunting depths in this game contain more than a veneer of ancient mysteries. Rendered in simple 2D visuals, the world bristles with lore and backstory to the point that this becomes as much as a driver for exploration as powering-up your abilities or defeating enemies. This simplicity also enables Hollow Knight to create a huge labyrinth of interconnected spaces, each with their own enemies, hazards, and history.

Game Details

Release Date: 12/06/2018, updated in 2019

Out Now: Mac, PC and Switch

Skill Rating: 11+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Action, Platform (Adventure, Fighting, Narrative and Traversal)

Accessibility: 19 features

Components: 2D Side-On and Cartoon

Developer: Team Cherry Games (@TeamCherryGames)

Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass

Controls

We've documented 5 accessibility features for Controls in Hollow Knight which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.

Gamepad

Can play with the following:

Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.

Mouse And Keyboard

Can play with the following:

Keyboard Alone: Can play with just the keyboard.

Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.

Remap Controls

Can customise the controls for the game as follows:

Remap Buttons: Can re-map all buttons so that you can use alternatives that better suit your play.

Remap Mouse and Keyboard: Can remap mouse and keyboard key bindings, on systems that support these controls.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play Hollow Knight, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

Greak: Memories of Azur (10 Controls Features)
Celeste (10 Controls Features)
Rubato (9 Controls Features)
Figment (9 Controls Features)

Difficulty

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Hollow Knight which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play. The following games are similar to Hollow Knight, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:

Disney Illusion Island (3 Difficulty Features)
Tiny Thor (2 Difficulty Features)
Minishoot Adventures (2 Difficulty Features)
Neva (2 Difficulty Features)

Getting Started

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Hollow Knight which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.

Assistance Getting Starting

These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.

Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.

View Control Mapping: You can view a map of controls during play. This clearly displays the mappings of actions to buttons/keys/mouse/keyboard without having to leave the game. This includes games that always display buttons to press during play.

Low Pressure: Game tasks aren't time-limited or there's a low-pressure mode. This avoids the pressure of being put on the clock for overarching missions, or failing tasks because you didn't reach a destination in time.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Hollow Knight, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

Advent Neon (8 Getting Started Features)
Disney Illusion Island (7 Getting Started Features)
Celeste (7 Getting Started Features)
Minishoot Adventures (5 Getting Started Features)

Reading

We've documented 5 accessibility features for Reading in Hollow Knight which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.

Reading Level

How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.

Moderate Reading: Moderate reading required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a high school student (14-year-old) would appreciate.

Text Visibility

Large Clear Text: All essential text is large and clear or can be adjusted to be. The general text used throughout the game in menus, instructions and other key information (excluding subtitles that are assessed separately) is at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height on landscape screens and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters.

High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.

Subtitles

All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.

Captions

Speaker Indicator: Textual captions indicate who is speaking (or there is only ever one person speaking). This can also be indicated visually in the game with character icons or placing text in speech bubbles next to the person speaking.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play Hollow Knight, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

Disney Illusion Island (6 Reading Features)
Adventures of Pip (6 Reading Features)
Metroid Dread (6 Reading Features)
Greak: Memories of Azur (6 Reading Features)

Navigation

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Navigation in Hollow Knight which deals with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.

Clarity

Large Clear Navigation: The in-game navigation and maps are clear to read. They offer large text and offer markers that are large and of high contrast. Where text or information is small, there are settings to zoom-in and increase visibility.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

If you want to play Hollow Knight, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:

Greak: Memories of Azur (6 Navigation Features)
The Knight Witch (4 Navigation Features)
Selini (4 Navigation Features)
Metroid Dread (4 Navigation Features)

Visual

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in Hollow Knight which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.

Interactive Elements

Large Game Elements: Game characters and other elements are large and distinguishable. Enemies and player characters are at least 1/6 of the height of the screen. Or there is a zoom feature to make them larger.

Audio Cues for Visual Events

Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.

Colour Options

Colour Blind Friendly: Game doesn’t rely on colour or can switch to colour blind friendly mode with double coding or similar way to avoid colour dependance.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual

If you want to play Hollow Knight, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:

Cyber Shadow (7 Visual Features)
Minishoot Adventures (6 Visual Features)
Death's Door (6 Visual Features)
Super Meat Boy (5 Visual Features)

Audio

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Hollow Knight which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.

Adjustable Audio

Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio

If you want to play Hollow Knight, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:

Disney Illusion Island (3 Audio Features)
Kaze and the Wild Masks (3 Audio Features)
Yoku's Island Express (3 Audio Features)

System Accessibility Settings

In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:

Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch has some built-in features, including a lockable zoom, that can be used on all games.

PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.

Read more about system accessibility settings.

Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative

Written by parents for parents, the database complements the in-depth discussion about video game addiction, violence, spending and online safety in the Taming Gaming book. We are an editorially independent, free resource without adverts that is supported by partnerships.