I absolutely love turn-based RPGs, but they’ve been harder and harder to find in the last few years. Then came Ikenfell, a turn-based RPG about witches and wizards released for the PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. The creators over at Happy Ray Games wanted to create a game with a magical world and also make accessibility a priority. QTE support, speaker indicators, and flashing light reduction are just a few of the accessibility options available in this hidden gem!
Above all, Ikenfell allows disabled gamers with fine-motor skill impairments to play barrier free. Combat mostly consists of boosting attacks by casting spells at just the right instance. However, Ikenfell doesn’t force the player to deal with QTEs and instead offers customizable options with a Timing Mode. This feature has three different settings: Manual, Semi-Auto, and Auto. Manual lets the player choose the attack prompt themselves, Semi-Auto matches the timing occasionally, and Auto allows players to never miss an attack. This reduced the anxiety of fast combat completely and made the experience more fun for me personally. An “Auto-Run” function can be enabled in the options menu, so players won’t have to hold buttons down in order to move quickly. “Victory Mode” is also available and when enabled, ensures every battle ends in a win. Add the fact that Ikenfell has unlimited magic points and the fine-motor impaired can choose to play the game in a variety of ways. Compared to other games, I was able to experiment with spellcasting more than I ever have before because of this awesome function! For gamers with visual impairments, Ikenfell lets you reduce camera shake in the options menu and turn off distracting animations that may appear in the background. Photosensitivity Mode is available for players who want to reduce intense flashes in the game (i.e., weather effects or explosions). Deaf players shouldn’t have anything to worry about because, besides the soundtrack, Ikenfell doesn’t have audible dialogue. Even still the game goes the extra mile and offers speaker indicators with character icons appearing every time a character is talking.
I wanted to give Ikenfell major kudos for being a game that handles magic in a completely new way. It created a fantastical world with a cast of colorful characters and pixel art design. Most importantly, Ikenfell is a very accessible game that allows gamers with fine-motor impairments to customize their combat experience. It’s for these reasons that I’ve chosen Ikenfell to be my Editor’s Choice.