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How to Set Up Accessibility and Difficulty Options in The Last of Us

By Freedom251 Team · · 10 min read

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Open Options > Accessibility to configure the features that affect vision, hearing, motor control, and challenge. In the documented The Last of Us Part II flow, press Square on the Accessibility screen to open the vision, hearing, and motor presets; you can combine presets and then refine individual settings. Because menu names and available features differ between Part I, Part II, platforms, editions, and updates, identify your version before following an edition-specific instruction.

Identify your game and edition first

“The Last of Us” can refer to several releases with different menus. The general support path from Naughty Dog is Options > Accessibility, but a feature documented for Part II should not be assumed to exist with the same name in Part I or on another platform.

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  • The Last of Us Part II: Naughty Dog’s 2020 accessibility overview describes more than 60 accessibility settings and three grouped presets: vision, hearing, and motor. It also documents difficulty dimensions and combat assists.
  • The Last of Us Part I on PS5: PlayStation’s product information lists large and clear text, high contrast, audio-cue alternatives, directional-audio indicators, a screen reader, subtitle controls, controller remapping, adjustable difficulty, skippable puzzles, simplified quick-time events, and game-speed control.
  • Other platforms or editions: The exact labels, button prompts, and feature set may differ. The support material cited here was updated January 18, 2024; the Part II feature overviews date from 2020, and the Part I product page was accessed October 13, 2026. An update or platform port can change what you see.

You do not need to change difficulty to use accessibility features. Treat difficulty, presets, and individual options as separate controls unless your game explicitly links them.

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Open Accessibility and see what has changed

  1. Start the game and pause or return to its main menu.
  2. Choose Options.
  3. Select Accessibility.
  4. Look for a dot beside a feature name. Naughty Dog’s support instructions use that dot to indicate a setting that differs from its default.
  5. Select a setting, read its description, and choose the least disruptive value that removes the barrier you are encountering. You can return to this menu at any time.

The dot is a useful audit tool: if a control behaves unexpectedly, scan the menu for marked items rather than assuming the game has changed itself. A dot does not indicate that a setting is “better”; it only indicates that its current value is not the default.

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Apply a preset in Part II

Part II’s documented preset shortcut is separate from the ordinary setting list.

  1. Go to Options > Accessibility.
  2. Press Square to open the preset screen.
  3. Choose a vision, hearing, or motor preset.
  4. Apply one preset or combine the presets that address different barriers.
  5. Return to the individual settings and adjust anything that is too strong, too weak, or unrelated to the way you play.

A preset is a starting point, not a locked difficulty mode. For example, you can use a vision preset and then change only the text or navigation behavior that you prefer. Naughty Dog’s Lead Systems Designer Matthew Gallant described the intent in the June 9, 2020 PlayStation.Blog overview: “We encourage everyone to take advantage of these features to create a gameplay experience that’s right for them.”

Part II preset group Use it when you need help with Examples documented by Naughty Dog
Vision Reading the interface, identifying objects, or following routes and sounds Text-to-speech, high contrast, navigation cues, and audio-cue alternatives
Hearing Receiving information that is normally delivered through sound Subtitles, subtitle speaker names, and awareness indicators
Motor Repeated, timed, or physically demanding inputs and camera control Controller remapping, hold/toggle changes, and camera assistance

The categories describe access needs, not skill level or a medical diagnosis. If more than one type of information is difficult to receive or control, combining presets is supported; refine the result afterward so the screen is not overloaded with indicators you do not need.

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Choose individual settings by the barrier you are solving

Vision: make text, contrast, and navigation information readable

Start with the information you are missing rather than enabling every visual aid. Part II’s documented vision examples include:

  • Text-to-speech: Use it when reading menus, prompts, or other text is the barrier. Check whether the game offers a voice or speed choice and select a pace you can follow.
  • High contrast: Increase separation between characters, interactable objects, and the background when scenes or interface elements blend together.
  • Navigation and audio cues: Turn on directional or route assistance when finding the next objective or locating an important sound is difficult. If a cue is distracting during exploration, lower its intensity or disable it after learning the route.

Part I on PS5 separately documents large and clear text, high contrast, audio-cue alternatives, directional-audio indicators, and a screen reader. The labels may not match Part II’s labels, so look for the function described by the setting rather than searching for an identical phrase.

Hearing: duplicate important audio information visually

In Part II, hearing-oriented controls include subtitles, subtitle names, and awareness indicators. Enable speaker names when identifying who is talking matters, and use awareness indicators when an enemy or ally’s state is otherwise communicated mainly through sound. Subtitle size, background, or presentation controls—when present in your edition—can be adjusted independently; use the clearest presentation that remains comfortable during action.

Part I’s PS5 feature list also includes subtitle controls and directional-audio indicators. These can address different problems: subtitles convey spoken dialogue, while directional indicators can represent where a sound is coming from. If you need both, enable both rather than expecting subtitles to replace positional information.

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Motor access: reduce difficult holds, repeats, and camera demands

Part II’s motor examples include remapping, hold/toggle changes, and camera assistance.

  • Remapping: Move a frequently used action to a button or stick position that is easier for you to reach. Change one control at a time and check for conflicts with an action you still need.
  • Hold versus toggle: A hold requirement can become a toggle when maintaining pressure is the barrier. Conversely, a hold can be preferable if a toggle causes accidental activation.
  • Camera assistance: Use assistance when repeatedly correcting the camera, aiming, or following a moving target is tiring or unreliable. Reduce it if you want more manual control.

Part I on PS5 documents controller remapping and additional options such as simplified quick-time events and game-speed control. Those options can matter when a sequence requires rapid or precisely timed inputs; they are separate from ordinary combat difficulty.

Adjust challenge without treating difficulty as all-or-nothing

Part I’s PS5 product information describes adjustable difficulty as a way to customize challenge or activate assists individually. It also lists skippable puzzles, simplified quick-time events, and game-speed control as gameplay features. If combat is enjoyable but a particular puzzle or timed input is not, use the specific assist instead of lowering every aspect of the game.

Part II exposes several difficulty dimensions rather than one universal slider. The documented categories are:

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Part II difficulty dimension What it changes conceptually When to adjust it
Player damage How much punishment your character can absorb or how forgiving incoming damage is, according to the selected difficulty’s rules When surviving attacks is the main obstacle
Enemy effectiveness How capable or threatening enemies are in combat and detection situations When encounters become overwhelming even after learning the controls
Ally effectiveness How effectively allied characters contribute during encounters When you want support characters to play a larger or smaller role
Stealth How forgiving detection and stealth-related behavior are When remaining unseen, repositioning, or escaping detection is the barrier
Resources How available useful supplies are under the selected difficulty When scarcity, rather than combat execution, is creating the pressure

Some combat accessibility features are relative to the selected difficulty. Part II’s Invisible While Prone option can be set to limited or unlimited, but it is disabled in encounters where stealth is not possible. With the limited setting, the duration is based on the selected stealth difficulty. Therefore, changing stealth difficulty can change how long that assist remains useful; it does not override encounters that prohibit stealth.

When a setting appears unavailable, first check whether the current encounter or difficulty rules restrict it. An unavailable option is not necessarily a damaged installation or a controller problem.

Part I on PS5: documented accessibility and gameplay aids

If you are playing the PS5 edition of Part I, PlayStation’s feature description identifies the following groups. The names and placement in your installed build can still vary after updates.

Need or situation Documented Part I PS5 features What to look for in Options
Reading and visual clarity Large and clear text; high contrast Text-size or clarity controls and contrast options
Sound access Audio-cue alternatives; directional-audio indicators Visual or haptic representations of important sounds and their direction
Spoken interface information Screen reader Screen-reader enablement and any voice behavior controls provided by the edition
Dialogue access Subtitle controls Subtitle visibility and presentation settings
Input access Controller remapping Button assignments and alternate input behavior
Challenge and timing Adjustable difficulty; simplified quick-time events; game-speed control Difficulty customization and timing/gameplay assistance controls
Puzzle progression Skippable puzzles A puzzle-skip command or prompt when the feature is enabled

These are documented capabilities, not a guarantee that every control appears in every release of Part I. If a listed feature is absent, verify that you selected the PS5 edition and that the game is updated before assuming the feature has been removed.

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A practical way to tune the game

There is no single correct configuration, and the available documentation does not establish a universally best setup. A small-change loop makes it easier to identify what helps.

  1. Name the barrier. Decide whether the problem is reading, hearing, locating information, reaching a control, holding a button, repeated inputs, camera control, combat survival, stealth, or resources.
  2. Change one setting, or one closely related group. For example, enable subtitles and speaker names together, or change a hold action to a toggle. Avoid changing every category at once if you want to understand the effect.
  3. Return to active play. Test the change in the type of scene that caused the problem: exploration for navigation cues, dialogue for subtitles, a fight for combat settings, or a timed sequence for quick-time and game-speed options.
  4. Keep, refine, or undo it. If the feature solves the barrier but adds clutter, lower its presentation level or disable unrelated parts. If it does not help, restore the default and try the next targeted option.
  5. Revisit after a difficulty change. In Part II, stealth-related behavior and some combat assists can depend on the selected difficulty, so recheck them after changing challenge dimensions.

This process is a usability recommendation, not a claim that any particular combination has been tested or is optimal for every player.

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Common problems and fixes

The Accessibility menu is not where the guide says

Confirm the installment, platform, and edition shown on the title screen or in your library. The general path is Options > Accessibility, but a port may place Options behind a different pause-menu tab or use different button prompts.

Pressing Square does nothing

The Square shortcut is documented for the Part II preset flow. It is not a universal shortcut for every edition. If you are in Part I or another platform version, open the individual Accessibility entries and look for a Presets command or an on-screen prompt.

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A feature is visible but cannot be selected

Check whether the current encounter rules disable it. Part II’s Invisible While Prone assist is unavailable in encounters where stealth cannot occur. Also check prerequisites described in the setting’s own text and whether a related difficulty dimension controls it.

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Changing a preset changed more than expected

Presets apply a group of values. Reopen the Accessibility menu, use the dots beside feature names to find changed defaults, and adjust individual settings. You can keep the preset’s useful changes while returning unrelated options to their preferred values.

Controls still feel physically difficult after remapping

Try a hold/toggle alternative, camera assistance, simplified quick-time events, or game-speed control where your edition provides them. Remapping only changes the location of an input; it does not remove a hold, timing, or camera requirement by itself.

Lowering difficulty did not solve a specific obstacle

Use the matching assist instead. A puzzle, quick-time event, stealth detection problem, or resource shortage may be governed by a separate control. In Part II, review the individual difficulty dimensions rather than changing only the overall preset.

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Quick reference

Your goal First place to look Edition qualification
Open accessibility controls Options > Accessibility General Naughty Dog support path; labels can vary
Find settings that differ from defaults Dots beside feature names Documented by Naughty Dog support
Apply grouped assistance Accessibility screen, then press Square Documented preset flow for Part II
Address vision barriers Text-to-speech, high contrast, navigation/audio cues Examples documented for Part II; Part I PS5 has its own text and contrast features
Address hearing barriers Subtitles, speaker names, awareness or directional indicators Examples documented across Part II and Part I PS5 feature descriptions
Address motor barriers Remapping, hold/toggle changes, camera assistance Examples documented for Part II; Part I PS5 documents remapping and timing aids
Change challenge selectively Difficulty customization and individual assists Part I PS5 and Part II document different controls
Understand an unavailable combat assist Read its restriction and review stealth difficulty Especially relevant to Part II’s Invisible While Prone

What to remember

Start at Options > Accessibility, use the Part II preset shortcut only when that edition supports it, and then tune individual controls to the barrier you actually face. Difficulty can be customized independently: Part I PS5 documents targeted assists such as skippable puzzles and simplified quick-time events, while Part II separates player damage, enemy and ally effectiveness, stealth, and resources. Always verify the installment and platform before relying on a label or assuming that an option is available.

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