How Accessible is Screamer?

Accessibility in games has been getting better as of late, so you might be wondering how it is in the latest titles. In this article, I’ll go over the accessibility options available in Screamer!

The latest racing title from developer Milestone, Screamer is an anime-infused arcade racer that I’m a big fan of (you can read our review here). One thing not mentioned in the review, however, was the litany of accessibility features found both when starting the game for the first time and in the options menu.

So, what do we have? First of all, let’s touch on readability. There are options for both menu text and cutscene subtitle sizes, with subtitles also having an option to enable a background behind them. Three colour blindness options are also available: Deuteranopia, Protanopia, and Tritanopia, with each having a filter intensity ranging from 1 to 10.

Moving on to audio settings, there are a plethora of individual volumes that can be adjusted. Options such as gameplay, HUD effects, menu music, in-game music, and voiceovers in both cutscenes and gameplay can all be customised. As for more in-depth assists, mono audio can be enabled, as well as a tinnitus reduction filter. When enabling this filter, the frequency can range anywhere from 1 to 16 kHz, as well as 500 Hz. Finally, the amplitude lets you adjust it to a figure between -3 dB and -24 dB.

As for settings that alter gameplay, there are once again a good number of options in Screamer. Perhaps the one that was most noticeable to me was the one-handed control scheme. It automatically maps gameplay buttons for both left- or right-handed players and combines steering and drifting to one analogue stick. Should a two-handed option be preferable for you, then the entire button layout is customisable.

This brings us on to driving aids. The option for keeping the throttle at maximum throughout an entire race is available, meaning players will only need to apply the brake. This is automatically enabled when using the one-handed controls previously mentioned. You can also toggle assists for throttle/brake and steer/drift, which gives gamers some help with those particular mechanics.

Finally, we have the option to lower the offline game speed. Screamer is a fast and frenetic racer, so the ability to be able to slow things down using a 1–100 scale is very impressive and works surprisingly well!

Screamer is somewhat of a rarity in the racing genre when it comes to accessibility. Outside of the Forza franchise, there aren’t many racers that offer such a broad range of assists. Whilst Milestone has implemented accessibility features in some of its newer titles, it feels like Screamer is the best of the bunch. Kudos, Milestone!