PSA: The lightning in Uncharted 4 can cause seizures

[Doctor TacoChocolate]

The lightning in the prologue and chapter 13 is so rapid and bright that it can cause epileptic seizures and other issues. If you're epileptic or know someone who is that's planning on playing the game, please be careful. There's maneuvering and shooting during these sequences, so you can't just close your eyes and get through that way.

[Sqrly]

Seriously?

Did you not notice that nearly all games these days have that exact warning flash on the screen as they start?

[Doctor TacoChocolate]

Originally posted by Sqrly:

Seriously?

Did you not notice that nearly all games these days have that exact warning flash on the screen as they start?

Most of those are interchangeable and say nothing about whether certain sequences in a game can cause seizures. They're there solely to protect from lawsuits. I'm photosensitive and the vast majority of the games with that warning have nothing in them that would cause seizures.

There's a massive difference between "something in the game might cause a seizure, we don't know" and "there's a specific thing in the game that is known to cause seizures." That's why Cyberpunk 2077 and Balan Wonderworld got patches to remove specific patterns that cause seizures. If the vague warning at the start of games was enough, then those two games wouldn't have been patched.

[Pogopuschel]

I just started the game and noticed the problem with the lightning, too. Had to stop playing right after 1 minute into the game. Awesome experience.
I really hope they patch this and moreover, they should add real warnings. Like you said, most of the games with the anti-lawsuit warning have nothing in them that is just like a stroboscope flashing.
It's especially frustrating because you can't just close your eyes to get over it because you have to do stuff.

[Doctor TacoChocolate]

Originally posted by Pogopuschel:

I just started the game and noticed the problem with the lightning, too. Had to stop playing right after 1 minute into the game. Awesome experience.
I really hope they patch this and moreover, they should add real warnings. Like you said, most of the games with the anti-lawsuit warning have nothing in them that is just like a stroboscope flashing.
It's especially frustrating because you can't just close your eyes to get over it because you have to do stuff.

The game's been out for over half a decade at this point, so it's pretty safe to say they'll probably never adjust it. To get through things like this, I turn my monitor's brightness and contrast down to the point where I can barely see, which helps a lot of the time. I'm scared to try it with this, as the lightning is just that intense. Also, watch out for the intro to Spider-Man: Miles Morales if you're planning on playing that. It's got some problematic flashes as well.

[Doctor TacoChocolate]

Originally posted by Props:

Originally posted by Doctor TacoChocolate:

Most of those are interchangeable and say nothing about whether certain sequences in a game can cause seizures. They're there solely to protect from lawsuits. I'm photosensitive and the vast majority of the games with that warning have nothing in them that would cause seizures.

There's a massive difference between "something in the game might cause a seizure, we don't know" and "there's a specific thing in the game that is known to cause seizures." That's why Cyberpunk 2077 and Balan Wonderworld got patches to remove specific patterns that cause seizures. If the vague warning at the start of games was enough, then those two games wouldn't have been patched.

You want devs to not have lightning in games now? to cater to the very few who suffer from this neuro issue?

No one cared when I had epilepsy, I was not on the internet crying at others, I knew I had a problem, you have a problem.. not the devs.

No, I want devs to not put things in games that have a high likelihood of causing seizures along with the option to turn off things that potentially could. No one would be hurt or impacted by a "reduce lightning brightness" feature. Like when the Braindance in Cyberpunk gave people seizures and CDPR changed it. They didn't go, "well, people have seizures sometimes, who cares?" I play an enormous amount of games and almost never have a problem with lightning. The lightning in UC 4 is considerably flashier than in any other game I can think of. And "no one cared about me potentially having a seizure as a child" is not the counterargument you think it is.

[Dr Spaceman]

I'm epileptic and the lighting in the prologue seemed okay to me tbh. I'm not up to chapter 13 yet, but thanks for the heads up, always good to be extra vigilant.