One of the oldest settings in gaming is Film Grain and it is enabled by default in Starfield. This is one of the settings that adds sort of a filter to give the game a more cinematic effect. But just like motion blur or bloom, there are a lot of players against it. This is because instead of beautifying the game, many find it harder to play with all the additional visual effects. So here is how it works and if you should use it.
What is Film Grain in Starfield?
Film Grain is used to add some noise to the visuals. By default it is enabled, that is, it is set as 1.00. When you move the camera around you may notice very small particle-like effects everywhere. This can make the game look like an old movie from the 80s or 90s.
Check the above image to see some differences when enabled and disabled. Do note that it isn’t easy to capture the difference in a still image, you will have to zoom in to see the difference here. But you can test it in your game by setting it from 1.00 to 0.00 and moving the camera.
This feature is like a double-edged sword. While it may make the game more cinematic it can definitely also make the game’s visual quality look poor. Hence, many people actively hate this feature. It could work out for some horror games. But for games that have better or more colorful graphics, this option can make them appear a bit dull. Many players also believe that this feature exists to mask some low-quality textures.
Should You Use Film Grain?
I would suggest you disable Film Grain. For me, I didn’t like the camera movement, especially after setting it to 0. But some textures did appear worse due to no film grains masking them. So in case if you don’t like this feature but also want some better textures then you should try setting it anywhere between 0.20 to 0.60. This will still add some film grain to the game but it shouldn’t look very bad or noticeable.
That’s all how film grain works in Starfield and if you should disable it. Since you are interested in this game you should also check our guides on the spacesuits tier list, the shielded cargo not working fix, and if you can transmog.
