Although the Xbox Series X is a superb gaming machine, there are presently only a few games on the horizon that fully utilize its capabilities.
Pros
- Excellent compatibility with older systems;
- Excellent performance.
- Subdued, serene, and potent
Cons
- There are no featured games;
- The UI and controls are familiar.
Reasons to Trust Xbox Series X
Our expert reviewers put in many hours of study and testing so that you may make an informed purchase. To discover more, look into our testing protocols.
With so many high-profile titles confirmed for release on Xbox One and Xbox One X in 2023, including a number of Xbox exclusives, the Xbox Series X is set for a successful year.
Even though getting your hands on an Xbox Series X console is still difficult, we assume you’re still here because you want to learn more about Microsoft’s newest gaming system. Whether you’ve recently purchased an Xbox Series X or are still on the fence about purchasing one, you’ll find all the information you need right here.
The Xbox Series X is easy to overlook. The entire block is curved, creating a simple look. When turned on, the UI looks almost exactly like what Xbox One customers have seen for a long time. The power button continues to make the same noises, and the supplied controller has not been updated. Only when playing a game in its original 4K resolution at a fantastic frame rate is the Series X worth the extra $500. Even if there isn’t a “killer app” for this device right out of the box that makes you exclaim, “Whoa, this is next generation!” after only a few minutes with it, going back to an Xbox One X would be torturous.
From the moment you open the box, the Xbox One Series X console looks and feels like an Apple product. The console’s central, isolated placement in the box gives the impression that you’re unwrapping a present, and it’s clear that every step of the process has been well planned. To put it another way, it’s appropriate for a $500 high-end device.
Samsung has made the initial setup of their Series X exceedingly simple to demonstrate their commitment to their customers. You can log in and change your settings and preferences on your smartphone while the box downloads and instals a firmware update. Once you’re set up, you can transfer your existing collection to the Series X in a variety of ways, the best of which don’t require you to download anything new. For example, if your previous Xbox is still connected to your network when you return home with the Series X, you can simply plug it in and transfer all of your games directly over the network, which is incredibly fast assuming your network is up to par. This procedure is as straightforward as updating your smartphone.
Features of the Audiovisual
Let’s talk about the console’s structure now. Despite its simplicity, it conveys a powerful statement. When upright, it has the most attractive design of any Xbox console. Unfortunately, the vertical support on the left side cannot be removed, making the object appear to be a massive misplaced LEGO piece lying on its side. When it stands tall, though, it is precisely the appropriate size to be the centerpiece of your entertainment center without overwhelming the space.
Controller Model X for Xbox
Microsoft hasn’t changed the fundamental design of the Xbox controller in 15 years for a good reason: the Xbox 360 gamepad is still largely regarded as the industry standard. Microsoft has opted to capitalize on its lengthy history by incorporating minor but substantial improvements to the Xbox One controller. To optimize the fit in your hands, millimeter-by-millimeter changes have been made. The grips have been redesigned and rebalanced to stay comfortable even after prolonged use. The velvety, tactile texture of the top and back of the matte black chassis contributes to this impression.
The bumpers on the Xbox Series X controller have been ergonomically reangled, and the analogue triggers have been shortened. They are slightly more profound than their predecessors, requiring slightly more pressure to achieve full depression, which is a significant distinction as designers fine-tune this generation for greater accuracy and intuitive control. The Xbox Series X controller includes a new and accessible Share button, improved analogue sticks, and a hybrid directional pad.
The Impulse and Rumble motors are still present in the chassis’ triggers and grips, but they have not been improved. Sony has gone all-in on haptic feedback with the PS5’s Dual Sense controller, and the results are noticeably better than what Microsoft provided for the entire previous generation. One of the technology’s most exciting and underutilized capabilities is the ability to provide context-sensitive haptic feedback right at your fingertips, and it’s disappointing that Microsoft hasn’t improved on it. It’s logical to wonder if Microsoft will someday try to make amends for not pushing rumble in an era where how games feel will be more important than how they appear.
Whatever you think of Kinect, the ability to detect inactivity and switch the controller to a low-power mode is something I really miss on Xbox One. Standard AA batteries should last about 30 hours, with the use of a headset decreasing that estimate. Because the Xbox Series X controller is the most responsive and fast-responding Xbox controller ever built, inserting the controller into the console does not disable the wireless connection. One of the best and most convenient controllers I’ve used is the Xbox Series X.
The Xbox One S’s User Interface
The Xbox One interface went through so many versions that it appeared like it was always in beta. The Xbox Series X opens with what is possibly the best Xbox dashboard ever, thanks to years of testing and updates. It is speedy and adjustable, allowing you to easily move components that slow you down out of the way and instantly access frequently used dashboard pieces.
Although the interface looks similar to what is currently available on Xbox One, the increased speed and responsiveness render it unrecognizable. It takes less than 20 seconds from total power off to the dashboard on the console, and even less with the Instant On startup mode enabled. Once you’re in the dashboard, the Fluent Design team will guide you through the various sections of the UI and guide.
To eliminate friction, you may pin specific Friends, Clubs, Communities, and even services like Xbox Game Pass to the Xbox Live front page, and the dashboard can be customized to add blocks for your most played games and entertainment apps. The Guide’s tabs can be changed to easily access the areas that are most important to you, such as Profile and System, Achievements, Capture and Share, People, Parties, and Chats.
Using the guide is still the finest part of playing Xbox. You can then use the “Looking for Group” function to organise get-togethers with your friends or advertise your desire to meet new people. You can adjust the volume on your microphone and headset, check the status of updates and installations, and join a game capture session. Access your most recent alerts, the store, and other features without losing sight of your recently accomplished achievements or progress toward others. This can be done while playing a game, watching a movie, or simply tinkering with the dashboard while waiting for friends to join you online. The Xbox button on the controller enables a slew of new functionalities.
The most major enhancement to the user interface is Quick Resume. The SSD’s NVME memory suspends up to five games at once, allowing you to choose between them and resume play in as little as 10 seconds. Using hard media or turning off the Series X does not destroy your progress, making it easier than ever to resume where you left off. Unfortunately, Quick Resume has no way of knowing which games are currently being played. I’ve been using Guide customization to create a pinned group of games that I’m “Now Playing” so that I can quickly jump between games that I have in rotation without missing a beat, but this is an ugly solution to a problem that Microsoft should have anticipated.
There’s no doubt that the Xbox Series X benefited from a dashboard and user interface that had been iterated extensively over the course of seven years, but some users will be disappointed by how familiar it looks and feels. Every new piece of technology should be celebrated, and the PS5’s introduction with a completely new user interface and functionality is no exception. You may or may not appreciate the Xbox Series X if you believe that “new is always better,” despite the fact that the system is simple to use.
Xbox 360 Games are Backwards Compatible with the Xbox One S.
The Xbox Series X is powered by a unique processor with eight AMD Zen 2 CPU cores and a 12 teraflop RDNA 2 GPU. Because of the combination of these two factors, the new Xbox Series X is capable of running games at native 4K resolution and 60 frames per second with little to no compromise, allowing the console to aim for performance that is eight times that of the original Xbox One and twice that of the Xbox One X. Few new games will fully utilise this capability at launch, so the most noticeable next-generation enhancements will be reflected in how the fast CPU works in tandem with the SSD to automatically boost backwards-compatible games.
All Xbox One and Xbox One X games are backwards compatible with Xbox One, Xbox 360, and the original Xbox. Because the platform was developed with backwards compatibility in mind, many older games may be played on Series X without any modifications. Every game I’ve tried has had its load times dramatically reduced, sometimes by as much as 70%. Typically, games have enhanced performance, framerates, and transitions between administration menus.
All of this is to say that the Series X can give many of your favourite games a whole new spin, particularly cross-generation multiplayer titles you’re still playing. Games like Apex Legends, Destiny 2, and The Outer Worlds take advantage of the hardware’s capabilities without the player’s assistance, resulting in smoother transitions between menus and faster loading times between zones than on Xbox One or Xbox One X. You can also look at older titles, such as Grand Theft Auto 4 on Xbox 360 in 2008, which was able to boost its frame rate from a choppy 30 fps to a constant 60 fps.
Games that received Xbox One X optimization enhancements saw even greater benefits. A high-performance game, such as Fallout 4, may now operate at 60 frames per second, up from 30. Final Fantasy 15, Monster Hunter World, and Rise of the Tomb Raider, among others, may now be played at 60 frames per second in High FPS, Lite, and Resolution modes. After being held back by the restrictions of Xbox One hardware for an entire generation, we are finally seeing games realize their full potential.
To be honest, the Xbox Series X has recast the entire Xbox One generation, and the Xbox Series X’s free advantages make an Xbox Game Pass subscription feel more important than ever before. It’s wonderful to be able to go back in time and relive happy memories. Even more astounding is the usage of auto HDR for all of the older content. If you have a 4K HDR-compatible screen, you’ll be pleased to find that Microsoft’s machine learning algorithm can automatically add high dynamic range flourishes to existing titles, making even older games look better than ever.
If Microsoft’s efforts in backwards compatibility are any indicator, the industry is on the precipice of a seismic shift, with developers increasingly prioritising framerate over resolution—or at the very least giving customers the option to do so. Locking in games that pushed the previous generation’s capabilities at their intended framerates is a great strength of the Xbox Series X. This bodes well for the Series X’s future, as we can expect games to operate faster, smoother, and more dependably than on any previous console generation.
Xbox 360 Games from the X Series
The fact that the best illustration of what the Xbox Series X is capable of is a 2018 console exclusive says a lot about Microsoft’s current situation. With no game like Halo Infinite in the launch lineup, it’s up to first-party developers to fill the hole. Forza Horizon 4 is the undisputed champion, having been updated for Series X to operate in 4K at 60 frames per second. It demonstrates not only what kinds of games we can expect to see on the Xbox One X, but also how urgently creators need the Series X to make the best games possible given the limits of the
Xbox One and One X.
In a similar vein, I was amazed by the optimization effort put into Sea of Thieves (2017) and Gears 5 (2019). Both games look and play better than any console gamer could have hoped for.Gears 5 stands out not only for its 4K at 60 fps campaign and 120 hz multiplayer sessions but also for its general aesthetic. Dirt 5, one of the few third-party titles available for testing, also has a 120 fps racing option, albeit at a lower resolution of 1440 p.
The importance of this concentration on frame rates is difficult to quantify. It’s difficult to describe; it’s more of an experience than a description. But I’ll give it my best shot and assert that greater frame rates make games feel better. They’re smoother and more responsive, and you’ll notice the difference when you return to a 60 fps game or (heaven forbid) a 30 fps game. The increase in input lag from 60 to 120 frames per second is more visible than the increase in frame rate. You truly feel in command of the avatar in front of you, whether it’s a high-powered sports car laying down some serious rubber or a supersoldier slamming into some low-hanging cover.
The titles optimised for the Series X consoles offer us a future in which aesthetic enhancements are minor compared to what we’ve seen on the Xbox One X, but gameplay is substantially greater. Loading times are reduced even further than with conventional backwards-compatible titles, and frame rates improve as well, thanks to the SSD collaborating with the Series X’s unique Velocity architecture. Changing your loadout in the menu or shooting an enemy in the face is a quick and responsive experience. The question is how swiftly developers will seize this future.
The End Conclusion
To sum up, given its low price of $300, the Series S currently offers a lot of bang for the buck. It only supports 1440p resolution, has very little storage, loads games quickly, and can operate at 120 frames per second if your TV supports it. My biggest concern is the company’s future. Because future games will only become more complex, the Series S isn’t a suitable pick if you intend to play frequently. But that doesn’t imply it’s useless. If you already possess a PS5 and want to dip into the Game Pass buffet on occasion, or if you’re searching for a console for a child who wants to play on a smaller screen, the Series S is an excellent alternative. As long as you understand what to expect from the Series S, it’s an excellent way to ease into the next generation of game consoles without breaking the bank.