Video Games for Blind People: 9 Audio and Accessible Games

Yes, blind people can play video games. They play audio games, which are made to be played by sound, and mainstream games with accessibility settings such as menus read aloud, audio cues and help to find the way.

RNIB, the UK sight loss charity, says The Last of Us Part I and Part II "can be played from start to finish by players with no sight" (RNIB). Below: nine games, each checked against its maker's page, RNIB, or AccessWorld, the magazine of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB); what each console and phone offers; and two blind gamers. Pages were checked on October 31, 2026. For apps beyond games, see apps for blind people.

Key points

• Two kinds of games. Audio games put everything in the sound. Mainstream games add settings: for players with no usable vision, RNIB names menu and interface narration, audio cues for button prompts and help with navigation.
• Some big games can be finished without sight. RNIB says so of The Last of Us Part I and Part II. Of God of War Ragnarök, it says "some blind players have completed the main story with minimal sighted assistance."
• Consoles read their own menus. Xbox has Narrator, the PS5 has a screen reader and the Nintendo Switch 2 has Text to Speech for its HOME Menu and settings, their makers say.
• Phones and PCs already have screen readers: VoiceOver on iPhone, TalkBack on Android and Narrator on Windows. Some audio games speak for themselves and need none.
• It is still uneven. In RNIB's Accessible Gaming Report 2022, 76% of gamers with sight loss said their sight condition significantly affected their ability to play (RNIB).

Video games for blind people at a glance

Audio games for blind players

Audio games put the whole world in the sound: where enemies are, where the walls are, which way to go. Most are best with headphones. Each of these four has a page from its maker, RNIB or AFB that says how it plays without sight.

The Vale: Shadow of the Crown. An action adventure from the studio Falling Squirrel, launched in 2021 (Falling Squirrel). RNIB says it "can be completed entirely without sight, including on the highest difficulty level," with self-voiced menus and audio cues, and lists it on Xbox and PC. AFB's reviewer wrote: "The game is totally self-voicing, and a screen reader is not needed" (AFB AccessWorld). He played it on a Windows PC and praised its binaural sound, which can place a sound behind you. Nintendo's own listing adds a Switch version. Falling Squirrel has also made three blind-accessible arcade games with CBC Kids: Echo Hunter, Fisher's Meadow and Blizzard Ball.

A Blind Legend. An action-adventure audio game co-produced by the French studio DOWiNO and the radio station France Culture, played in binaural 3D sound (DOWiNO). You play Edward Blake, "a legendary blind knight," and his daughter Louise guides you by voice. AFB's reviewer played it on an iPhone: "I never needed to turn off VoiceOver during game play." Headphones or earbuds "are a must" (AFB AccessWorld). Its publisher, Plug In Digital, also sells a computer version.

Blind Drive. "A black comedy action game," as its maker, Lo-Fi People, puts it: you drive blindfolded against traffic, by ear, with two buttons (Blind Drive). The maker says its text to speech supports NVDA, Windows TTS, VoiceOver and TalkBack. AFB says it runs on iOS, Android, Windows and Mac; on a phone, a three-finger triple tap turns its accessibility mode on or off. For parents: AFB notes "the game contains swearing and cartoonish violence" (AFB AccessWorld).

Shades of Doom. A first-person action game for Windows from GMA Games, set in a secret research base. "No screen reader is required to play this game," GMA says, because the game is self-voicing. You find your way by "the sound of the wind in the passages and rooms" and the echo of your footsteps. It can also create braille-ready maps (GMA Games). AFB calls it "one of the first audio games ever produced for a blind and low-vision audience" (AFB AccessWorld). GMA recommends it for ages 13 and up because of its graphic sounds.

On phones. RNIB names more audio games for iPhone and Android: Audio Wizards, where you cast spells by sound cues; A Hero's Call, a role-playing game in 3D audio; and the Blindfold Games series of card games, puzzles and word games with full audio guidance (RNIB). We could not open their makers' pages to check each one's platform, so they are not in the table.

Mainstream games with settings for blind players

Some big-budget games now ship settings for players with no sight. These five have a maker's page or RNIB saying what they offer.

The Last of Us Part II. Naughty Dog's game came out on June 19, 2020, with "completely new features that benefit low-vision and blind players" (Naughty Dog). A vision accessibility preset turns on all the recommended settings for vision at once. Menus and on-screen text can be voiced by text to speech. Navigation Assistance points you along the story path. Enhanced Listen Mode sends out a scan that plays sounds where items and enemies are, and the pitch tells you their height. A skip puzzle option is "highly recommended for players who are blind or have low vision" (PlayStation). The question the team asked, lead designer Emilia Schatz told NPR: "if you're a player who is blind, can you play our game?" (NPR).

The Last of Us Part I. RNIB says the remaster for PlayStation 5 kept all of Part II's features and added cinematic audio description and advanced haptic feedback. Earning every trophy may need "minimal support for specific tasks," RNIB adds, but the story itself does not (RNIB).

God of War Ragnarök. Sony's page lists Audio Cues that tell you an action is available, a Screen Reader for a selection of menus (English only) and Navigation Assist, which turns the camera toward your objective (PlayStation). RNIB says some blind players have finished the main story with little sighted help, but some puzzles and side content "remain challenging or inaccessible."

Sea of Thieves. Rare's pirate game launched with few features for players without sight and improved over time, RNIB says: menu narration, environmental audio cues and narrated interaction prompts. Today "blind players can steer ships using compass headings" and play as part of a crew (RNIB). Xbox's page lists it for Xbox consoles and PC.

Street Fighter 6. Capcom released the fighting game on June 2, 2023, for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X and S, and PC (Capcom). It introduced "enhanced sound accessibility features that support gameplay experiences without relying on visual information," Capcom says (Capcom). Capcom's page does not list each sound, so we don't either.

Braille has turned up inside a mainstream game too: the braille puzzles in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, which we decode in Pokémon braille.

What consoles, PCs and phones offer

A game's own settings matter most, but the console or phone has to be usable first. This is what each maker's own page says. For how these tools work in everyday use, see screen readers for the blind.

• Xbox. Narrator is the console's screen reader: it lets you "hear audio descriptions for elements on the screen," such as text and buttons. Xbox's store can also show Accessible Games Initiative tags for gameplay, auditory, visual and input features (Xbox).
• PlayStation 5. "The screen reader reads aloud on-screen text," Sony says, and gives spoken guidance for using the console. It is under Settings > Accessibility > Screen Reader, in certain languages only (PlayStation).
• Nintendo Switch 2. Text to Speech "reads out on-screen text in the HOME Menu and system settings," plus where the cursor is. You can set the voice, speed and volume (Nintendo). Nintendo's page describes it for the menus, not inside games.
• iPhone. VoiceOver is a gesture-based screen reader, so "you can use iPhone even if you can't see the screen" (Apple).
• Android. TalkBack, Google's screen reader, "gives you eyes-free control of your device" (Google).
• Windows PC. Narrator is a screen reader "built into Windows 11, so there's nothing you need to download or install" (Microsoft). Self-voicing audio games such as The Vale and Shades of Doom don't need one.

These console readers cover the system menus. Inside a game, it depends on the game: The Last of Us Part II, for example, turns on its own text to speech when the console's is on and the language is English (PlayStation). For other devices, from braille displays to magnifiers, see assistive technology for the visually impaired.

Blind gamers

Steve Saylor. A gamer from Toronto who is legally blind due to nystagmus, CBC News reported in 2020 (CBC News). He started a YouTube series called Blind Gamer and became an accessibility consultant. NPR says he has worked on Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and The Last of Us series (NPR). Of his childhood, he told NPR: "All my life I thought I sucked at video games." His conclusion: "it was games that sucked for me" (NPR).

SightlessKombat. A UK accessibility consultant who calls himself a gamer without sight: "I can't see at all and I've never been able to" (SightlessKombat.com). His site publishes accessibility reviews of mainstream games, such as Halo: Campaign Evolved (SightlessKombat.com).

RNIB suggests content creators such as Sightless Kombat, Steve Saylor and Illegally Sighted as a way to find out which games are accessible. It also runs VI Gaming peer-support groups for blind and partially sighted adults who play (RNIB).

What is still hard

Not every game works. RNIB wrote in 2020 that "many mainstream games are unworkable" for visually impaired players, and that most of the time blind gamers still can't play without support from other players or from an organization such as RNIB (RNIB). Even in the games above, puzzles are the weak spot: The Last of Us Part II offers to skip them, and Ragnarök still has some that need help. Before buying, check the game's accessibility page from its maker, or ask in a group like RNIB's. For play away from screens, see sports for blind people.

Where Braillito fits

Braillito, our app, teaches braille. It teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. The English lessons are uncontracted braille (grade 1); they don't teach contracted braille or transcription, and Braillito isn't a braille transcriber.

Nothing here means any of these makers or players uses or endorses Braillito. Braillito is not a game: it teaches braille, and if you want braille games away from the screen, our classroom ideas are a place to start. The translator on braillito.com shows how a word or short phrase looks in UEB, but it only applies the rules a program can apply, so it doesn't replace a transcriber. Without paying, the braille translator works in any browser.

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

Can blind people play video games?

Yes. Audio games are made to be played by sound, and some mainstream games add narrated menus, audio cues and navigation help. RNIB says The Last of Us Part I and Part II can be played from start to finish with no sight, and that The Vale can be finished without sight on its highest difficulty (RNIB).

What are audio games?

Games where the sound carries everything you need: where you are, what is around you and what to do. Many use 3D or binaural sound, so headphones help. Shades of Doom, for Windows, is "one of the first audio games ever produced for a blind and low-vision audience," AFB says (AFB AccessWorld). Newer ones include The Vale, A Blind Legend and Blind Drive.

What video games are accessible for blind people?

Audio games: The Vale: Shadow of the Crown (PC, Xbox, Switch), A Blind Legend (PC, iPhone), Blind Drive (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) and Shades of Doom (Windows). Mainstream games: The Last of Us Part II (PS4) and Part I (PS5), God of War Ragnarök (PS4, PS5), Sea of Thieves (Xbox, PC) and Street Fighter 6 (PS4, PS5, Xbox, PC). How far each goes differs; the tables above say what each offers.

Can blind people play on Xbox or PlayStation?

Yes, with limits. Xbox has Narrator, a screen reader for text and buttons on screen (Xbox). The PS5 has a screen reader that reads on-screen text aloud, in certain languages (PlayStation). Inside a game, it depends on the game's own settings: Sea of Thieves on Xbox, and The Last of Us and God of War Ragnarök on PlayStation, are among those that offer them.

Game and console names are trademarks of their owners. Braillito is not affiliated with them.