Review of the Heaven Does Not Respond Demo

As an accessibility consultant and disabled gamer, I recently played the demo for the indie horror game Heaven Does Not Respond to audit it for accessibility. Sadly, my experience revealed many barriers that make this game frustrating or impossible for players like me to fully enjoy.

First Impressions: An Immediate Accessibility Struggle

Right from the start, I was met with walls of text with no voiceover or narration options. As someone autistic with ADHD, I find large blocks of text overwhelming without audio support, and I struggled to engage. The screen’s flickering “film static” effect which can trigger motion sickness and vertigo for people with vestibular disorders like myself only made matters worse. There was no option to disable this visual effect, which quickly made me feel uneasy and sick even before gameplay began.

Visual Barriers Compounding the Difficulty

Reading the screen proved a challenge as well. The game uses an extremely thin font with poor contrast. This makes reading even harder for players with low vision or color blindness. I was using a “red-weak” color filter in Windows 11 because of my colorblindness. The low contrast and terrible color combination made some works pretty much disappear. This lack of font customization or alternate visual modes means the interface remains largely inaccessible to players who rely on visual adjustments.

Navigation Nightmare: No Keyboard Support

One of the most frustrating aspects was the total lack of keyboard navigation. Neither the Tab key nor Escape worked at any point. I had to click everything with my mouse, meaning that if you depend on keyboard controls or assistive technology, this game simply won’t work for you. Keyboard navigation is a foundational accessibility feature, and its absence in Heaven Does Not Respond is a huge roadblock.

Missing Instructions and Minimal Usability

While the game appears to have an intriguing plot, involving hacking and investigation, there are almost no clear instructions beyond the initial text dump. The absence of ongoing prompts or guidance turned my play session into a trial-and-error. Players who need structured tasks or explicit goals will find this especially inaccessible.

Additional Flaws That Impact Accessibility

Other accessibility issues I ran into included:

• No pause menu or accessibility settings that could help personalize the experienceInability to copy and paste key information like passwords, which is often needed by players with memory or processing challenges
• Lack of alt text or descriptions on visual clues or images, disabling screen reader users from accessing critical content

What This Game Needs to Become Accessible

After my experience, here’s what I see as the most urgent improvements needed to open Heaven Does Not Respond to a wider audience:

• A full accessibility menu, including toggles for disabling flickering effects, font size and style adjustments, and voiceover/text-to-speech for text-heavy sections
• Proper keyboard navigation throughout the game, including tabbing through inputs and access to menus without requiring a mouse
• High contrast mode and better color options that work well with common accessibility filters, so text and UI are clear for players with vision differences.
• Enable copy-paste functionality for input fields and allow customizable controls

Why Accessibility Matters in Horror Games

Horror games thrive on immersion and tension, and those experiences should be open to all players, not just a privileged few. Making even small accessibility improvements widens a game’s audience and supports players who often find themselves excluded.

Unfortunately, Heaven Does Not Respond currently places too many barriers in the way.

As a disabled gamer, I want and expect to enjoy a broad range of games, including indie horror. Developers can significantly improve inclusivity by applying these straightforward fixes early in design.

Accessibility is more than features it’s about creating a welcoming space where everyone can share in the thrill and storytelling.

I hope developers take feedback like this seriously to make their games playable for all. If you’re a developer reading this, please remember: accessibility is not optional. It’s essential for true inclusion and audience growth.

Disclaimer: This review is based on my personal experience as a disabled gamer and accessibility consultant. For anyone developing or publishing indie games, listening to the lived experiences of disabled players is crucial to building better, more inclusive games.

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