Which graphics settings actually change anything

Mobile settings menus can be intimidating, but only a handful of options really move the needle for performance and battery. The rest is mostly noise.

Frame rate cap is number one, hands down. After that, resolution scaling matters a lot: dropping from 100% to around 80% is often invisible in motion but noticeably lighter on the phone.

Effects like bloom, motion blur, and dynamic shadows are the next things to trim. They look nice in screenshots but rarely improve actual play, and they cost heat and power. Neon Driftline's 'balanced' preset is a great example of a sensible default.

My routine with any new game: cap the frame rate, set resolution to 80%, kill motion blur, then play. If it still looks great — and it usually does — I leave the rest alone.