Double Fine, the creators of the long-awaited upcoming game Psychonauts 2, is adding a new accessibility option for the game — an invincibility mode. When the game rolls out on August 25, players will be able to play through the whole thing with this on, and it won’t affect the outcome of the game.
According to Double Fine, this invincibility mode is to help players of every kind enjoy the game. Difficult games without appropriate accessibility options can preclude some players from playing the game at all, let alone enjoying it. The invincibility mode is intended to help players who might otherwise struggle to enjoy the story, and Double Fine has stipulated that no achievements will be locked out when this mode is turned on. It’s part of a suite of accessibility options originally revealed in May.
This is part of a larger discussion around accessibility and the culture of a game’s difficulty being synonymous with its quality. Last Friday, Xbox tweeted, “Beating the game on the lowest difficulty is still beating the game,” a sentiment not shared by some gamers. In direct response to this, Double Fine’s social media manager went off. First, they quoted Xbox’s tweet and said “If you beat Psychonauts 2 with the invincibility toggle on, you still beat P2.”
Then they went on to say, “‘uh, excuse me I beat Sword Guy Serious Time on a no hit hard mode and if didn’t do that I don’t respect you. and like, can you even comment on things if you’re not diamond six rank in shooty mcBlam? I don’t think so’ cool bud. you’re soooo cool!” Their last tweet said, “All people should be able to enjoy games. All ages, all possible needs. It’s an ongoing and important process for our industry and a challenge we need to met [sic]. End of the day? We want you to have fun, to laugh, to experience a story that affects you. On whatever terms you want.”
Source: Eurogamer
