Playground Games today revealed it is working on implementing an accessibility feature for Forza Horizon 5 that hasn"t been explored much in video games, having a sign-language interpreter. This addition to the suite of accessibility-focused options the game is releasing with will reach the studio"s latest racer soon after launch.
The interpreter will appear in a picture-in-picture display in a corner of the screen during in-game cutscenes. Players will be able to choose American Sign Language or British Sign Language when making use of this feature when it lands. See it in action in the video below at the 4:20 mark.
As for other accessibility options Forza Horizon 5 is launching with, here"s a rundown of the key features:
- A Game Speed Modification setting that allows gamers to play Forza Horizon 5 at a reduced speed when playing offline; this feature is great for newcomers and those who would like more time to progress through the game.
- High Contrast mode that changes colors to make things such as menus and text easier to distinguish for gamers.
- Color Blindness mode that allows players with color blindness to better visualize game elements. Players can adjust color blind settings independently for the UI and the game visuals.
- For Subtitles, we know the importance of customization. With these, you’ll be able to:
- Turn subtitles on or off
- Adjust the font size
- Adjust the background opacity
- Ability to highlight key words
- Customize menu and gameplay font size.
- Screen reader narrator that reads text, buttons, and other elements aloud.
- Text-to-speech and speech-to-text options for players that want to participate in Voice Chat and either need to send synthesized voice or receive voice chat as synthesized text.
- Ability to disable moving backgrounds.
- Notification duration setting, which allows players to set how long notifications in the game appear.
Forza Horizon 5 has been received spectacularly by critics. Our own Asher Madan gave the game a glowing 9.5/10 verdict in his review, saying "Playgrounds Games is a master of the genre at this point and the latest entry in the acclaimed franchise is one of the best racing games out there."
Forza Horizon 5 is launching on November 9 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S platforms, with Xbox Game Pass subscribers also joining in on day one. Meanwhile, Premium Edition owners can jump in from today.