Recently, we learned that Grounded has introduced an arachnophobia mode to make the game less scary for those with a fear of spiders. Today, we got similar news for Sea of Thieves. The developer, Rare, explained that the new feature added to Sea of Thieves will help players with the dark depths of the oceans. The developer also added that there's also an auto-float option that prevents the player from sinking below the water surface.
"Should you leap off a high ledge or a cannonball forces you out of the crow's nest and into the deep blue, this option will automatically see you bob to the surface," Rare said in an official statement.
The addition of this accessibility feature should help people with thalassophobia, which is a fear of being in deep water bodies, fear of emptiness of the vast sea, sea waves, fear of distance of land from the sea, and fear of sea creatures.
With video games becoming so realistic, it makes sense to add these accessibility features. Developer Obsidian also implemented the arachnophobia mode in their latest survival game, Grounded. The mode allows players to adjust the legs on spiders, change their eye shape, and also change the look of other similar creatures in the game. Enabling the feature turns the scary giant spiders into floating blobs that do not give you jump scares and also the gameplay experience is not hampered much, unless you like being spooked out of nowhere.
Sea of Thieves had a hard launch in 2018 but over time, Rare has added many features to the game, making it an enjoyable experience. In our experience, Sea of Thieves was a great way to spend some time with friends and is quite different from traditional shooters and other action games.
What are your thoughts on these accessibility features? Do you think that these features sacrifice thrill over having an anxiety-free gaming experience? Let us know in the comments below.
