The Outer Worlds Doesn't Have A Colorblind Mode: Here's Why

Many games now support modes for those who are colorblind. The condition affects more people than you think, and because a lot of titles rely on color to communicate important cues, the modes can mean the difference between someone successfully playing the game and someone becoming frustrated. The Outer Worlds, however, doesn't have a colorblind mode for a surprising reason. 

It turns out that the whole of The Outer Worlds is colorblind-friendly; therefore, there is no need for a colorblind mode. The game was developed in this fashion because one of Obsidian's main directors, Tim Cain, has a serious case of nearly monochromatic colorblindness. His sight is almost shades of grey, yet he is still able to enjoy The Outer Worlds to the fullest thanks to careful consideration when it comes to the title's color palette. 

For reference, Kotaku's Cameron Gidari has explained how hard it can be to game while colorblind. Color-coded rarity of guns in games like Borderlands 2 is impossible to navigate. Hacking in BioShock 2 is also all but impossible for people who are red-green colorblind. That said, many modern game developers have acknowledged this issue and have therefore included colorblind modes. 

However, adding colorblind modes is not yet an industry standard. And even in games that support colorblind modes, the feature doesn't always work in an ideal way. Rather than taking a "one size fits all" approach, some colorblind gamers have called for the ability to edit as they see (literally) fit, so they can make the game accessible to their individual case of colorblindness. But that request has yet to take hold in many titles.

Creating games with accessibility options is important. Remember that controversy involving the Spyro Reignited Trilogy? Rare came under some serious fire for not including subtitles in cutscenes, making them totally inaccessible to Deaf players. Not cool. 

The Outer Worlds on the other hand? Very cool.