NEW STARFIELD UPDATE MADE SOME HUGE LIGHTING CHANGES

Starfield's new beta update has the game's lighting taking on some noticeable improvements, which has gamers excited about what's next. Starfield was released on September 6, 2023, kickstarting a new adventure for many gamers and Bethesda fans. As the first Bethesda Game Studios release since 2019, people were excited to get their hands on this release, and it looks like Bethesda is setting the stage for more to come.

There seems to be plenty of groundwork going into ensuring Starfield's longevity. On its own, the game is ambitious, delivering on the concept of being able to visit a vast number of planets, each with something interesting to do. A year into Starfield's life, the Shattered Space expansion seems intent on adding to the game's open-world format, tossing in new places to explore while taking on a darker atmosphere, both tonally and visually. Ahead of Shattered Space's release, the base game seems to reflect some of this change as well.

Reddit user DinDisco compiled an album after noticing that Starfield's new Steam update comes with drastic changes to its lighting in several areas. Showing off places like Euphorika and Infinity HQ, a big takeaway is that Starfield's visual design is starting to come off as noticeably "moodier." Fans noted that the added visual warmth and the contrast in areas are part of what makes the lighting shine. In addition, players are saying that these changes feel like they complement Starfield's story atmosphere. Some gamers are hoping that, based on these noticeable improvements, the developers will include comparison pictures focused on lighting in patch notes for this update's release.

Starfield Update Overhauls Lighting

DinDisco also notes that the lighting changes reflected in these pictures are not just specific to the locations they have explored. There are plenty of POIs that appear to have been improved, and players are looking forward to seeing more of them. Fans are hoping that these same changes will be reflected on the same level when consoles receive the update. Furthermore, this adjustment to the game's lighting is raising hopes for the quality of Shattered Space, which is already set to be a massive release.

Despite the more mixed reactions that gamers had to Starfield initially, people seem to be getting more excited about the title now that they know exactly what they're getting. As the September 30 release date of Shattered Space gets even closer, many players are excited to see what's new. That excitement surrounding new content doesn't appear to be stopping Bethesda from adding plenty of tweaks that may have fans going around to see what's changed.