If you’ve ever tried playing a video game blindfolded, you’ll quickly realize how difficult and unfun the game becomes when you’re limited to just sound. It can be difficult enough in a single player game where you have all the time in the world, but what about in a tournament setting, where you have an opponent actively hunting you down?
Meet BlindWizard, a competitive smasher who lost his sight. He is able to play and compete in Smash Bros. tournaments in a very unique way: he uses projectile-based characters and the projectiles allow him to control the stage and gauge where the opponent is based off whether the projectiles hit or not. While he’s more prone to self-destructs than other players, this projectile-based play keeps him informed on both his own location as well as opponent’s, which inform his decisions.
There are certain aspects that can greatly hinder his gameplan – the more platforms there are, the higher the chance he has of getting the wrong read on his projectile game – but on flatter stages, he showcases an absolutely incredible understanding of how to control and maneuver around the game without being able to see. He’s also able to adapt on the fly, as there are several times throughout the set that he changes up his gameplan depending on when and where he is getting punished.
This set is 10 minutes long and absolutely worth the watch. The community gets rightfully hyped for BlindWizard’s big win, and it’s a breathtaking display of someone overcoming a massive setback to achieve their goal. Check out the set below:
BlindWizard’s optimism is also noteworthy, having tweeted that he has not given up hope that he will regain his eyesight and that his goals are nothing short of perfection: he plans to win a tournament on the largest scale.
And with how he’s been able to shape his gameplay around his blindness and come out with a victory, who says he can’t make that happen as well? We’ll certainly be rooting for him!
