It’s December and that means it’s the most handsome time of the year. Yes, I’m corny and enjoy the holidays for the warmth and celebration they bring, but today I’m more interested in reflecting on the evolution of accessibility in 2025. And thankfully, this year has brought improvements to long-running franchises, as well as unexpected additions to the triple-A and indie scenes.
From my perspective, there are no industry-changing accessibility moments in 2025. Instead, this year has shown the continued evolution of what disabled gamers rightly expect when purchasing a modern release. In my opinion, neither game was better than the other, especially in terms of innovation, but that doesn’t mean this year didn’t surprise me in unexpected ways. So, as Access Designed, let’s take a look at some of my favorite examples of accessibility in 2025.
Runner-up: and Roger
This section contains soft spoilers for and Roger.
The inclusion of TearyHand Studio and Roger on my list may surprise some people. Approximately an hour long, this visual novel features many fast-paced events that take you through the loving memories of Sofia and her husband Roger as Sofia succumbs to dementia. Each mini-game gives you direct control over Sofia as she performs everyday tasks such as brushing her teeth, making soup, or looking through venerable photos. While they may seem mundane, Sofia’s dementia makes any basic event seem like a monumental task. For disabled players, the intensity of QTEs is further compounded by the game’s noticeable lack of accessibility features.
Roger does not offer any accessibility tools to lend a hand you complete the game. There is no alternative to completing QTEs, no option to skip them, or settings that will let the game natively complete them for you, like in this year’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows. You’re forced to constantly scramble or swipe the white button perfectly for every single QTE, which was extremely exhausting with my physical disability. However, after completing the first chapter’s event, during which Sofia pushed Roger’s hand away by quickly pressing a button on the screen, I realized that his unavailability greatly enhanced the experience.
And Roger, due to its lack of accessibility, forced me to re-evaluate the way I criticize games, something I have been doing professionally for six years. Sofia’s struggles with dementia were much more pronounced when I was struggling with it. And in an industry where adequate representation of disability is still relatively lacking, Roger masterfully captured the truest manifestation of disability. There are moments of love, sadness, pain, joy and suffering – all emotions I have personally experienced or witnessed from disabled friends and family. I’ve never played a game so focused on providing an experience for disabled players, and at times forcing it upon them, which has made Roger one of my favorite games of not only 2025, but of all time.
Runner-up: EA Sports FC 26
I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like sports games. The genre just doesn’t appeal to me, which is ironic considering I live in a very sporty city. However, EA Sports FC 26 made me appreciate soccer matches (soccer for non-Americans) because of its incredible attention to accessibility detail.
FC 26, like most accessible games, provides customizable controls, subtitles, and color blindness settings. However, I appreciate the features that provide various gameplay assists. Shooting, passing, defending, shifting and dribbling all have their own settings that provide relief during longer playing sessions. When I was too tired to get a shot right, I activated automatic shots that went off as I got closer to the target. If passes become too recurrent, I can simply escalate the sensitivity so that the game will pass the ball natively without requiring extreme precision. Even as a goalkeeper, I can utilize assists to lend a hand defend. And for longer sessions, I can activate one- or two-button control schemes, which greatly reduces the number of inputs needed for the game (unfortunately, competitive play doesn’t allow one-button and two-button play).
However, FC 26’s greatest achievement in accessibility has no impact on my disability. For the first time in the series, as well as in competitive multiplayer, players can activate high contrast mode. Everything from the home team, away team, referees and even the color of the ball can be adjusted to escalate their contrast. This provides blind players with crucial visual information while playing crazy matches. It’s effortless to lose control of your player and ball position when matches get intense, especially in online PvP, but FC 26 redefines accessibility in the competitive scene. The potential to challenge the industry’s competitive gaming prospects makes FC 26 worthy of a place among the most accessible games of 2025.
Winner: Doom: The Dark Ages
Doom: The Dark Ages, the latest part of the cult FPS series from id Software, is definitely my favorite and most accessible game. While the latest game includes relatively common accessibility options such as customizable controls, adjustable subtitles, and various difficulty modes, The Dark Ages adds modern tools that redefine accessibility in this fast-paced game.
Shooters like Doom rely on extreme speed and precision to slaughter enemies and complete levels. To play, you constantly dodge enemy fire, run through levels, jump over obstacles, and swap weapons among your expansive arsenal. And if you don’t have the strength or stamina to do any of the above, the gameplay formula becomes horribly inaccessible, even at lower difficulty levels. However, The Dark Ages has a solution: it introduces modifiers that adjust game speed, enemy bullet speed, enemy aggression, player damage, and even enemy damage. Furthermore, The Dark Ages includes options to change the parry window for close combat encounters. Every element of the combat system is customizable.
When it comes to accessibility in online spaces, there is often a misconception that options and inclusive designs spoil the intended gaming experience. The Dark Ages completely nullifies this argument with customizable settings that indicate that “artistic intent” is the experience you want as a player. There is no penalty for modifying the experience. Whether you have a disability or not, you have control over how you play. Are you a masochist who likes to frantically throw yourself against the onslaught of demons? Simply adjust each setting listed above to maximize their values. In my case, I would adjust my parry windows and game speed if I was particularly tired, but I found myself increasing the enemy’s aggression, which made it more of a challenge. I’ve never played a game that allowed me to perfect every aspect of combat, and that’s why Doom: The Dark Ages is my game of the year for 2025.
These three games are just a fraction of the great titles available in 2025. Assassin’s Creed Shadows, South of Midnight, Split Fiction, and even Kirby Air Riders deserve recognition for the tools and designs available. And while the three games mentioned above are my favorites, 2025 was probably my favorite year as a critic, not for innovation, but for its continued commitment to disabled gamers.
Grant Stoner is a disabled journalist focusing on accessibility and disabled perspectives in video games. When he’s not writing, he’s usually shouting about Pokémon or his cat Goomba on Twitter.
