Gaming in the dark just feels better. No harsh lights, no distractions, just you and the screen. Whether it’s a late-night ranked match or a slow-burning story game, a dark environment pulls you deeper into the world. That’s why so many gamers prefer it.

But after a while, your eyes start to complain. They get dry, tired, and sometimes leave you with a headache. The issue isn’t the darkness itself. It’s the bright screen against a completely black background. That contrast forces your eyes to keep adjusting, and over time, it wears you down.

You don’t need to switch on the overhead lights. What you need is the right kind of lighting — something soft and balanced, that lands exactly where it should without shining directly into your eyes. That’s where ScreenBar Halo 2 comes in. It lights your desk and the wall behind your monitor, not your screen or face, keeping the vibe intact while easing the strain. 

A dim room feels better for gaming. No distractions, only the screen pulling you in. Whether it’s a ranked match or a story game, turning the lights off helps you focus and stay immersed.

For many, it’s about the atmosphere. The space feels quiet and is separated from everything else. That’s hard to recreate with regular lighting. Even RGB setups can feel too loud if the light doesn’t match the mood. Darkness works because it removes distractions, but when your screen becomes the only light in the room, it starts to take a toll.

Gaming in the dark might feel great at first, but the longer you play, the more your eyes start to strain. Dryness, fatigue, and a slight headache — these effects come slowly and stay longer than expected. Most gamers think it's just because they’ve been staring at a screen too long. It often comes from something called contrast glare.

Contrast glare happens when your screen is much brighter than the surrounding area. In a completely dim environment, your pupils stay wide open to adapt to the low light. Then, when a burst of brightness hits from the display, your eyes try to adjust again. This constant shift between a dark background and a bright screen puts your visual system under stress. Over time, it leads to discomfort that builds quietly in the background. 

Ophthalmologists, including experts from the American Optometric Association (AOA), point out that this kind of lighting imbalance doesn’t just cause fatigue. It also reduces your ability to see detail and contrast clearly. When your pupils are fully dilated, your vision becomes softer and less precise, similar to how a camera loses sharpness when its aperture is wide open. The impact might not be obvious at first, but over longer sessions, it adds up.

Here’s how different lighting conditions affect your pupils and vision while gaming:

That’s why gaming in a dark environment often starts off feeling immersive but gradually turns uncomfortable. The problem isn’t the screen itself, or even the darkness. It’s the sharp contrast between them. Solving it doesn’t mean turning the room bright. It just takes the right kind of ambient light to bring things back into balance: quietly supporting your eyes while keeping the mood intact. 

However, that balance is what most setups get wrong. A lot of gamers try to fix the issue by adding RGB or LED strips, but those lights aren’t built to help your eyes. They often light up the whole room or bounce off walls in ways that make the screen feel even more disconnected. When colors are constantly shifting or pulsing, it adds motion where you don’t want it— not just to your setup, but to your peripheral vision.

A good gaming lighting for dark environment does 3 things well: 

1. Stays Out of Your Eyes 
   The light never hits your face or reflects off the screen. When the lighting is aimed too directly, your pupils keep adjusting, and your focus breaks. Proper ambient light stays out of the way and lets your eyes settle.

2. Softens the Screen’s Harshness 
   A gentle glow behind the monitor helps balance the contrast between your bright screen and a dark environment. It makes the screen feel less intense, so your eyes don’t have to work as hard to keep up. 

3. Keeps the Mood Steady 
   No flashing effects or rainbow cycling. Just a consistent, stable light that blends into the background. It supports the game’s atmosphere instead of distracting from it.

The best lighting doesn’t demand attention. It works quietly in the background, reducing strain while letting the game stay center stage. It doesn’t break the vibe. It protects it. 

ScreenBar Halo 2 is built for gamers who want to keep their dark-room setup immersive, but without the eye strain. Its design checks all the boxes of what good ambient lighting should do: stay out of your eyes, soften screen contrast, and keep the vibe consistent from start to finish.

• ASYM-Light™ Technology: No Glare, Just Focus 
  A custom asymmetrical beam lights your desk without hitting your screen or shining into your eyes. With a 24° adjustable lamp head, 8-section reflector, and 18° cut-off angle, Halo 2 keeps reflections off your display and light out of your line of sight, so your eyes stay relaxed, even during long sessions. 
  

• Backlight Glow: Smooth Contrast, Wider Coverage 
  The tri-zone backlight gently lights up the wall behind your monitor, easing contrast between screen and background. Compared to the previous generation, ScreenBar Halo 2 offers 423% wider coverage, creating a more balanced glow that feels natural and reduces visual tension.

• Auto-Dimming: Lighting That Adapts As You Play 
  Always balanced, never breaking the vibe. The front light responds to your room’s brightness, while the backlight fills the wall behind your monitor with a soft, steady glow. Together, they keep contrast in check, following the recommended 1:3 screen-to-ambient brightness ratio. This visual harmony reduces eye strain and helps you stay sharp, no matter how long the session.

ScreenBar Halo 2 doesn’t just add light. It adds comfort. Every design detail supports the way you game in the dark — immersive, focused, and now, easier on your eyes.

Gaming in the dark isn't the problem. In fact, it’s part of what makes long sessions feel immersive and focused. The real issue is playing with the wrong kind of lighting: setups where your screen is too bright, the background too dark, and your eyes stuck in between.

You don’t need to give up your vibe to stay comfortable. You just need lighting that works with you, not against you. When ambient light is placed right, shaped right, and balanced right, your eyes feel better, and the game stays front and center, exactly where it should be.

Because it’s more immersive. Darkness removes distractions and makes the screen feel more cinematic. Many gamers also find it easier to focus when the surrounding space fades away. But without proper ambient lighting, it can strain your eyes.

Yes. As long as your lighting is done right. The real problem isn’t darkness, but the contrast glare. A bright screen in a pitch-black room strains your eyes over time. Soft ambient lighting, like the kind from BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2, reduces that contrast and keeps your setup immersive without tiring your eyes.

Not really. At least not if your screen is the only light. The sharp contrast makes your eyes work harder, leading to dryness, fatigue, and even headaches. Adding soft, indirect lighting helps reduce that strain while keeping the room dim and immersive.