DETOUR is a real-time strategy game that sees players wanting to get from point A to point B faster than the opposition with the promise and allure of sabotage getting in the way.

When players land on the main menu, they might notice that the keyboard can’t be used for navigation on it or any of its sub-menus (and others around the game) - a mouse will need to be used. If players can successfully launch a game…

DETOUR’S sense of humor and potential for fun are apparent. Also apparent is the game’s lack of accessibility, most of which can be gotten around, but due to its strict adherence to its genre, Sandswept’s real-time strategy game sometimes feels as if it were a surreal-time strategy game that might leave some players wondering “how did I get beat that fast? I didn’t even get my road built.” Players’ mobility will be tested, even if unaware of mobility constraints.

Hindering DETOUR’s accessibility less than that are its visuals - mainly text-based: fonts aren’t quite large enough to be seen without magnification in some cases and contrast is an issue all over the place. Item selection can be challenging as the item selection menu is somewhat small which can make navigation something of a challenge.

Where gameplay is concerned, most parts of DETOUR can be easily seen and reacted to accordingly; tiles that need to be cleared before they can be developed are obvious, features that need be installed over bodies of water and through hills are recognizable. At times, messages flash in the middle of the screen to inform players that they are doing something wrong, or are hinting at something, these messages come and go too quickly and follow the standard text issues encountered elsewhere within the game.

Those players with hearing impairments are at the least disadvantage while playing DETOUR; with the exception of how far zoomed-in the camera is on the map, off-screen activity may or may not be compensated for.

The phrase “Easy to learn, complex to master.” which appears quite frequently on DETOUR’s Steam listing holds true maybe more for AbleGamers than would like to be admitted.

At a glance

Visual:
~Some menus are more easily navigated than others; this is mainly due to the game’s theme of small fonts and not quite high enough contrast. (-0.5 point)
~Options menu features zoom-in/out and simplified graphics features.
~Dialogue boxes prior to gameplay feature small, lower-contrast text. These aren’t really important to gameplay, though they are part of the game, and would be nice to be able to read as they are on the humorous side. (-0.25)
~Messages quickly appear and disappear from the center of the screen and once again follow the pattern of small, lower-contrast font. (-0.50 point)
~Since the map cannot be viewed in its entirety, even when at its most zoomed-out, a button can be held to bring up a mini-map of the map in its entirety - why not a full-screen map, why something that takes up less than a quarter of the screen? (-0.50 point)
~The items menu is on the small side presenting far too many non-selectable items to add to the visual confusion. Though it is fairly easy to tell which item is selected. (-0.50 point)
~There is a little action-log/crawler at the bottom, center of the screen which encounters the same issues present with all in-game text - small font with not nearly enough contrast. (-0.50 point)
~No discernable color issues.
Recommended score of 7 out of 10

Hearing:
~Sound is not necessary to gameplay provided players are able to keep track of the action-log crawler at bottom, center of screen. A lot of actions take place off-screen, and if unable to read crawler, players will not receive pertinent information.
Recommended score of 9 out of 10

Mobility:
~Controls can be re-bound completely.
~Possible to map controls to be used with one hand.
~Keyboard needs to be used in conjunction with the mouse, but the mouse can be used independently of the keyboard.
~Game-speed not adjustable. (-1 point)
~No difficulty settings. (-1point)
~Game gets really fast, really quick. (-1 point)
~No mouse sensitivity options. (-1 point)
Recommended score of 5 out of 10