A game where the answer was never on the screen.

Most games assume you can see them. Even the ones that add a screen reader afterward are really translating a visual game into words. Acrobeat starts from the other side. The information you need to play, the gap between two beeps, is sound to begin with, so there is nothing visual to convert. A player who cannot see the screen is not missing anything the game is asking for.

Playing with a screen reader

The whole game has been built so a screen reader can narrate it. The controls carry proper labels, the round announces its state through a live caption that updates as you play, and every outcome has its own sound, so a fall is something you hear, not only something you would have seen. A blind player found the game, played it through, and confirmed it works start to finish with their screen reader. That report is the reason this is treated as a core part of the game rather than a nice extra, and it is protected in every update.

Big key, for playing by touch

In settings there is an optional big key mode, built from feedback by a blind player. With a screen reader's touch passthrough turned off, the standard play button can be hard to find by feel. Big key turns the whole middle of the screen into one large play pad, so you can tap anywhere between the top and bottom bars and still hit it. Nothing else changes: your score stays on screen, the live caption still narrates each round, and every cue keeps its sound. It is off by default and you can switch it on whenever you like.

A real audience, not a checkbox

There is an active community of people who play audio games, games designed to be played by ear, and they actively seek out titles that work without sight. Acrobeat landed there on its own merit because it genuinely plays by ear. If you are part of that community, or you are looking for a game to share with someone who is, this one was effectively made for it, even though that was not the original plan. Notes and bug reports from blind players are some of the most useful feedback the game gets.

Buzz mode, and its limits

In settings there is an optional buzz mode that plays the timing cue as a vibration alongside the sound, so you can feel the gap as well as hear it. It is off by default. Two honest limits are worth stating plainly:

• It is Android only. iPhone and desktop browsers have no way to vibrate from a web page, so the option does nothing there. This is a browser limitation, not a setting we forgot.
• It needs your device's touch feedback on. If buzz is on but you feel nothing on an Android phone, turn on touch or haptic feedback in your phone's sound and vibration settings.

Keyboard and reduced motion

On a computer you can play from the keyboard rather than reaching for the mouse, and the reading pages like this one are plain, linkable text that a keyboard or screen reader moves through normally. If you have asked your system to reduce motion, the game and these pages honor it, dropping the animated reveals and the moving overlays for a still, calm presentation.

The gaps we are honest about

Accessibility cuts more than one way, and it would be dishonest to claim the game is open to everyone. Because it leans on sound, a muted phone or a deaf or hard-of-hearing player gets a limited experience. Buzz mode covers part of that on Android, but not on other devices, and not fully. A universal visual timing cue, one that adds a layer for people who cannot rely on sound without weakening the by-ear core that blind players depend on, is something we are working toward and have not shipped yet. It is the clearest open item on this list, and we would rather name it than paper over it.

Keep reading

Accessibility questions and reports are welcome at acrobeat@proton.me.