The Starfield brightness setting is something that some players are concerned about. In many triple-A games, the ability to change the brightness or gamma setting on both PC and Xbox consoles can be done before the game starts. This is to make sure that the lighting level suits your particular setup and your overall comfort level. Turning on the flashlight while exploring the dark caves and corridors throughout the game does help a bit, but the beam of light it creates is rather small. Here’s whether you can change the brightness settings in Starfield.
Can you change the Starfield brightness setting?
No, you cannot change the brightness setting in the game at the time of this writing.
We believe that the lack of a gamma option in the graphics settings is likely intentional. Other open-world games from Bethesda, like Fallout 4 and Skyrim, have options to change the in-game brightness, so chalking this up to an oversight doesn’t feel reasonable. Perhaps the developers wanted to make spelunking spookier and more mysterious, or to have stark contrast between the darkness and the light coming out of flashlight.
That said, we imagine that modders may be able to find a way to adjust the internal lighting of the game with a brightness mod at some point. Or at least some way to make the flashlight reveal more of the area than just a direct beam of light. Modern cave explorers usually carry multiple lights on them, including a mountable or wearable LED light that can affect a large area and even a red light for night vision. So having a mod that includes these options would make sense.
Fortunately, most of the caves we’ve explored in the game that require a flashlight to explore are usually not dangerous. The worst that can happen is some fall damage from a mistimed jump or just getting lost and turned around, since the game also lacks a local map.
Starfield Gamma/Brightness FAQ
A: No, as of now, you cannot modify the brightness setting in Starfield.
A: While games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim do offer brightness adjustments, the absence in Starfield seems intentional, possibly to amplify the contrast between dark areas and the light from the flashlight or to enhance the mysterious feel of cave exploration.
A: Currently, the in-game flashlight provides limited illumination. However, there’s potential for modders to develop brightness mods or enhance the flashlight’s reach in the future. Meanwhile, while exploring dark caves, you mainly face hazards like fall damage or getting lost, given the absence of a local map.
For more Starfield guides, here’s if the game has DLSS and RTX settings, and how to unlock boost packs for the backpack.
