AbleGamers announces its awards for Accessible Games of the Year

AbleGamers have announced their awards for Accessible Mainstream Game of the year, and Accessible Indie Game of Year.

The winner of AbleGamer's Mainstream Accessible Game of the Year is Bayonetta 2, being lauded for "revitalizing a genre known for inaccessibility, on a system inherently inaccessible."

In particular it was Bayonetta 2's slew of control options that AbleGamers trumpetted, allowing players to not only choose from a wide variety on the WiiU GamePad, but also having options like the Pro Controller, or just using the GamePad's control screen.

Also of note was "the inclusion of a one-button combat mode, [which] creates an experience other character action titles should implement. As a proof of concept, this game demonstrates that accessibility can be implemented into a mainstream AAA game without harming any of the gameplay. Popular titles such as Shadow of Mordor could easily implement a one-button mode for those who need such accessibility while leaving complicated controls for those who prefer those methods, and still award players with a top-notch game that is accessible to everyone."

AbleGamers also announced its Accessible Indie Game of the Year, awarding it jointly to Always Sometime Monsters, by Vagabond Dog, and This War of Mine, by 11 Bit Studios. The former was praised for "allowing the player to follow the story and complete objectives at their own pace. Vagabond has created a world that allows players to follow a story they create from their own choices, and does not let anything stand in the way of accessible options for players to enjoy Always Sometimes Monsters."

This War of Mine, on the other hand, was chosen due to the decision of "allowing the game to be controlled only by the mouse," which "creates an amazingly accessible PC title while being very tense. Audio accessibility is carefully considered by the team, turning footsteps into visual information and sticking to their game's theme. This War of Mine is a somber tale, with careful consideration to features that allow anyone to witness the experience."