A gripe that became a thread:
I just opened another well-reviewed indie game with an absurdly small font size and no accessibility menu and I wanna scream! If your game can’t accommodate a reasonable text-size you made a bad game and I need you to be deeply embarrassed about it!

As a blind person with some sight I don’t expect to be able to play every game. Games with time penalties or real-time action are not available to me, and that’s fine! Not every game needs to be universally accessible, but I expect a certain level of flexibility for access.

The 3 things that make a conceptually accessible game unplayable for me are font size, color-based mechanics, and the popular aesthetic of color-blocking w/ no outline. I’ve seen all 3, but especially the first 2, offered as options that can be adjusted in an accessibility menu.

Of these, the third is the trickiest. Folks are really into this unlined style lately that as a colorblind person is staggeringly inaccessible, and frankly hurts my feelings. I would love it if this style would stop cropping up in media like games where legibility is crucial.

With regards to the first two, it is past the point where I’m okay with this as a thing folks don’t know to do. If you can’t accommodate a reasonable text size, or consider an alternative mechanism to color for distinguishing elements of a puzzle/item/etc, you are

placing undue emphasis on an aesthetic that - however attractive - is exclusionary. The feeling of realizing there is no way for me to play is what kept me from video games until my late 20s and I hate continuing to feel it the world of otherwise vocally inclusive indie games.

Finally, I know making games is hard. I’m not saying these are easy problems to solve. But I know they’re easier if you consider accessibility from the beginning of the project, not as a thing to shoehorn into your game after you get complaints.

Games with access features I’ve enjoyed:
Kentucky Route Zero’s font size menu
A Short Hike’s naturally-humane font size and pixel v. smooth option
Hypnospace Outlaw’s screenreader buddy
B&W games like Gato Roboto (too fast for me but) that make good use of symbols & contrast

Context note: I am playing the regular size switch in handheld mode, which is by far the most accessible format for my particular visual access needs - people often suggest “play on the tv, it’s bigger!” Which is not how extreme nearsightedness works.

Update! Every time I find a really good accessibility menu I get so stoked. Just opened Paradise Killer and the accessibility menu is comprehensive and aesthetically fits. It has varied color palette choices AND offers the option to use Open Dyslexic, a free accessible font.