With the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, fans are once again experiencing the thrills of this fast-paced FPS franchise. The campaign has brought them on another exciting adventure, the multiplayer is as captivating as ever, and the return of round-based Zombies has sucked players in. All of which has made for a pretty great Call of Duty, but perhaps one of the best parts of Black Ops 6 is what it is aiming to accomplish when it comes to accessibility.
Nowadays, one of the biggest conversations in gaming surrounds the accessibility of the medium. Some of the biggest developers have been introducing new ways to make their titles more accessible, which has been fantastic to see. With the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, this FPS series has expanded its own options with a plethora of new additions. From asymmetrical hearing compensation to an improved high contrast mode, Black Ops 6 feels like a game-changer.
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Takes a Great Step Towards Accessibility
Black Ops 6 Has a Ton of New Accessibility Options
Leading up to release, the Call of Duty team released a large blog post detailing all the new accessibility features that would be coming with this new title. Now that players have gotten their hands on the title, many are finding that Black Ops 6 has truly delivered on its promise. From the second the game boots up, all of these settings are waiting for players to edit to their liking, which makes for a great experience.
- Asymmetrical Hearing Compensation Settings
- Customizable High Contrast Settings
- Intelligent Movement
- HUD Presets
- Arachnophobia Settings
- Pause and Save in Zombies
- Compatible with Adaptive Controllers
The biggest new accessibility addition comes in the form of Black Ops 6's new asymmetrical hearing compensation settings. With these settings, players with asymmetrical hearing loss can create custom audio profiles to cater the game's audio levels to each ear. Along with that, there is also the ability to reduce tinnitus sounds, which replace flash grenade sounds with a much duller noise. These both go a long way in helping those with hearing loss, with the studio building it with veterans in mind.
Along with that, the High Contrast Mode that was introduced with Modern Warfare 3 has been vastly expanded upon so that people with vision impairment have an easier time playing the game. Not only has the feature been expanded to both Campaign and Zombies, but players also have far greater control over the color outline of allies and enemies. Additionally, they can even enable a dark background, which further adds to the game's contrast.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 also offers Intelligent Movement, which helps reduce the required number of inputs for players with mobility issues. Players also have much greater control over their HUDs, arachnophobia mode completely changes the appearance of spider-like enemies in Zombies, players can now pause and save Zombies modes on a whim, and the game also works with Xbox Adaptive Controllers and Sony Access Controllers. All of this makes for a game that almost anyone can jump into, which is fantastic to see.
Now that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has introduced and expanded upon all of these settings, the next Call of Duty can take these ideas even further. Video games are better when everyone can play, so making this massive FPS franchise more accessible to everyone seems like a must. Time will tell just where the studio takes it from here, but for now, Black Ops 6 is a massive step in the right direction.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 25, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
- Engine
- IW 9.0
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
- Cross-Platform Play
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
WHERE TO PLAY
Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.
The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.
In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.
Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.
- Cross Save
- Yes - PlayStation, Xbox, PC
- Prequel(s)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: World at War
- Franchise
- Call of Duty
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical or Horizontal
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- PS5 Release Date
- October 25, 2024
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- Genre(s)
- FPS
- How Long To Beat
- 8 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 216 GB (October 2024)
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
