New Starfield Video Comparison Showcases Graphical Improvements

A fan has made a nifty little video comparing Starfield footage from when it was first revealed to today. This comparison should kill any doubts if the game’s graphics went up or down in terms of its quality.

As reported by GameRant, a redditor named MartinTheTrue posted their 22 second clip comparing a very specific scene in the game. For your benefit, we will also share the clip below.

The clip shows an NPC talking to the player, while they put on their helmet. The first thing that you may observe from comparing the two clips is that they look like they were based on the same script, or even the same storyboards.

The original clip actually cuts off from when the NPC talks to when they put their helmet on. The more recent clip shows it as one seamless scene. Most gamers may not realize it, but executing that to be a seamless transition was a real challenge that Bethesda’s animators had to pull off.

It’s also obvious that the lighting has improved for the scene. I won’t insult your intelligence and pretend that we can freely discuss what elements are visibly improved. But it is plain to see that the lighting looks more natural, and reflects what it would look like if you were in an underground mine, which does appear to be where this scene is set.

Keen eyed observers may want to put that clip up on fullscreen and pay attention to what is happening in the background. Do you see it?

As this scene unfolds, the NPC and the player character are actually slowly descending down a cave. To make this look believable, you have to see stalactites and other rock formations moving vertically while the scene plays out. In the original footage, those formations are indistinct but recognizable from a distance. In the more recent footage, Bethesda has added in the detail that completes the player’s immersion.

I hadn’t mentioned things like framerate and resolution in this comparison, for obvious reasons. One, Microsoft and Bethesda made it clear that the game would be 30 FPS on consoles, leaving no room for speculation. Two, we don’t know if this footage came from Xbox or PC. Some gamers may want to pretend they can tell just by looking at a short clip multiple times, but outlets like Digital Foundry use extensive testing to make their evidence based conclusions.

But then, really, this clip should make it obvious that focusing on such things is missing the point. The fact is that Bethesda put the work in to make Starfield a much better looking game at launch. We think this is something that all players will get too see themselves, regardless of the platform they are playing it on.

Starfield will be releasing on September 6, 2023, on Xbox Series X|S and Windows via Steam. It will also be Day One on Game Pass.