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Microsoft isn’t pulling any punches with Xbox Series X, its flagship console that launches the newest generation of console gaming. Not only is the machine itself a monolithic behemoth with some serious polygon-pushing power inside, it hits shelves before arch-rival Sony gets PlayStation 5 on the market – a potentially crucial window for Xbox to gather some next-gen converts to its cause.
Yet aside from the shock and awe of a beefy new console, Series X remains reassuringly familiar for anyone upgrading from Xbox One. In terms of aesthetics, controls, overall experience, and, sadly, the majority of what you’ll be playing on the console for the near future, it’s all very similar to Xbox One X – for better or worse.
Set-up and UI
On the software side, console set up is a relatively painless process. A new Xbox app, available on Android and iOS, can do most of the work for you, even transferring your console settings from your Xbox One, and alerting you once everything’s ready to go.
If you’d rather not use the app, set up can still be done entirely on the console, and isn’t hugely dissimilar to Xbox One. Nor, currently, is the user interface – despite Microsoft’s claims of an overhaul, the final result will be almost boringly similar for anyone upgrading. The home screen remains a series of tiles for games, apps, and sub-menus, with a selection of categories – such as Xbox Game Pass offerings – to be found as you scroll down the screen. In its defence, simple doesn’t mean bad, and while the layout is definitely utilitarian, it’s clear and easy to navigate for newcomers.
The biggest improvement is in the Store screen, which is much tidier and easier to explore. A column of menu options is now fixed at the left of the screen, allowing you to better search for and manage your purchases, while the majority of screen real estate is given over to showcasing the games. It’s far neater than before, and given this generation is going to see an even bigger push towards digital purchases, an upgrade to the virtual retail experience is to be welcomed.
Design
Ever since the Series X was revealed in December 2019, the hardware itself has been lampooned for its boxy, cuboid shape, but in reality it’s not as imposing or unwieldy as it may first appear. In its horizontal orientation, which – and please pay attention here, console designers of the future – the overwhelming majority of users will have the Xbox Series X set up in, as that is how most people’s media units are designed, it’s marginally narrower than the Xbox One X, and just over half as deep. Its footprint is, surprisingly, pleasantly small, though you’ll need 17-20cm of vertical space between shelves to comfortably house its height, even laid flat.
Despite the size being less of an issue than expected, the Series X still isn’t the sexiest console ever designed, although we’re sure its minimalist aesthetic and sharp, clean lines will earn it some fans. The front is sleek, with merely a single USB port, the disc drive, the controller sync button, and the power button – which, sadly, doesn’t rotate for horizontal orientation, leaving the X pointing to the right – taking up space.
The rear is similarly tidy, with two more USB 3.1 ports, S/PDIF out, ethernet, HDMI and power sockets, and the storage expansion slot – more on that shortly – all neatly lined up.
Cooling vents dominate the rear and right side (or top, if sat vertically), so you’ll want to give it as much space for air flow as possible. Early reports that the console runs physically hot aren’t entirely baseless, but in the weeks we’ve had with the console since its preview window, it’s never gotten more than slightly warm to the touch. Keeping it well ventilated seems to be key.
Ultimately though, it’s a big, black, matte box. There’s nothing visually exciting about the Series X design, and it will – perhaps fittingly – hide in the shadows of most people’s TV stands.
Controller
Arguably more important than the console box itself though is the controller, since that’s what players will be spending the majority of their time physically interacting with.
In many ways, the Xbox controller has already become the industry standard – the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and countless third-party controllers for PC gaming already mimic the layout. As such, this generation’s model – the Series X and Series S will both use the same device – opts for an “if it ain’t broke” approach, with only minor alterations that refine what already worked.
The biggest difference on a tactile front is the grip on the underside. It’s now noticeably rougher, with a finely studded grip pattern ensuring that the controller sits more firmly and comfortably in your hand in even the tensest gaming sessions. This grip pattern is replicated on the triggers – which are said to be more responsive, potentially allowing tricks such as fine precision control on in-game weapons – and the edges of the shoulder bumpers.
In practical terms, the most notable change is to the D-pad, now an eight-way rocker rather than a four-point cross. The four cardinal direction points are raised up, allowing for precise inputs on 2D games, while a very satisfying click at all eight points gives a subtle haptic response. A dedicated ‘Share’ button on the front, sensibly positioned away from rogue thumb slips, is the only addition, but otherwise the Series X/S controller remains as good as ever.
Although the controllers are still not rechargeable themselves, as ever requiring 2xAA batteries, a nice compromise is the presence of a USB-C port at the top. This will allow power and data to flow through a USB-C cable – on PC or Xbox Series X – but also recharge suitable battery packs while in the controller. We’ve not had chance to test this ourselves – we’ve been using regular, externally rechargeable AA batteries – but its a nice feature that could help cut down on battery waste, though it will require the purchase of a battery pack and cable as a separate peripheral.
Gameplay
In our original Series X preview, rendering a full verdict on how the console stands to revolutionise – or not – the games people will be playing on it proved tricky. With only demos of titles such as Dirt 5 or Yakuza: Like a Dragon to go on at the time, it was hard to get a feel for how the new hardware really performed in its primary role, running new games that take advantage of its power.
Unfortunately, it’s still not an area we can pass significant judgement on. While we now have access to several full games on the platform, only a handful were fully optimised for Xbox Series X during the review window – Forza Horizon 4, Gears 5, Gears Tactics, Sea of Thieves, and indie game The Touryst. While they all look and sound great thanks to the optimisation process they’ve undergone, they’re also not titles that were developed with the Series X in mind. Also Forza Horizon 4 and Sea of Thieves both launched in 2018, and while the optimisation process for both has them looking spectacular on a 4K TV, they're not exactly the fresh, exciting experiences that players typically expect of a new console launch.
Some third party titles, such as Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, which promises to take full advantage of the Series X’s power, were not available during the hardware review phase at all, while others, including the full version of Dirt 5, are being finessed right up to the brink of release, with their Series X optimisation updates set to be rolled out in the coming days, ready for retail launch. While that’s good news for anyone reading this – they’ll be ready when consumers get their hands on the Xbox Series X – it does mean that we only have a small handful of titles to gauge performance on.
Of those, Gears Tactics effectively became our benchmark, since despite appearing on PC back in April, it’s the closest to an all-new, first party game for the Series X. The console release adds in new content – chiefly Jacked mode, where your squad is joined by a tactical assist droid named Jack – while giving everything a 4K-native overhaul.
As a top down strategy title, it might not be expected to be the most demanding title, but with some surprisingly vast and richly detailed maps, dozens of active units on screen, and the same character models in-game as in the cinematic quality cutscenes, it’s actually a bit of a beast, one well-tamed by the Series X. There's no stuttering or lag, loading times between missions are super fast, and – thanks to some ultra high-def alien slaying – it’s a gory joy to behold. It bodes well for future games developed with Series X specifically in mind.
There’s no denying though that the Xbox Series X launch line up leaves something to be desired. Some of this is down to unfortunate circumstance – developer 343 Industries delaying what would have been a system seller in Halo Infinite due to the COVID-19 pandemic being the most notable hit – but also partly by choice. Microsoft’s head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, said in January 2020 that the plan is to release all first party games on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S for the foreseeable future, with free transitions to Series X versions available when users upgrade their hardware. Again, a great long-term move for consumers, but it robs the Series X gen of some much needed excitement at launch.
Backwards compatibility
That cross-generational support brings with it one major selling point though – Series X is unrivalled when it comes to backwards compatibility. Every single game currently playable on Xbox One, including Xbox 360 and original Xbox games, is playable on Series X. The only exceptions are any Kinect titles, the motion sensing camera peripheral that even Microsoft has given up on now.
That means buyers who are upgrading to the new console will have a sizeable software library from day one. Game saves even transfer seamlessly through the cloud, allowing you to pick up where you left off without hassle. Backwards compatibility extends to on-disc titles too, although the game must be included in the existing backwards compatibility program Microsoft has been building for years.
Every title we tested, from the original Xbox’s Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy to Xbox One’s Mafia remake, ran without a hitch. Older titles can benefit from Auto HDR too, a new feature for Series X that uses a machine learning algorithm to apply high dynamic range visuals to games released before the standard existed. Combined with more stable and, game dependent, higher frame rates, and your older games have rarely looked better than they will on Xbox Series X.
Performance
In terms of active performance when running a game, the most immediately impressive trait of the Series X is how whisper quiet it is. Even the One X, which improved dramatically on the almost windy-sounding original Xbox One model, puts out more noise than this. If it weren’t for the glow of the power button, one might forget the console is even powered up.
That’s even more impressive when you consider what’s running under the hood. An 8-core Custom Zen 2 CPU beats at the heart of it, running at a lightning-fast 3.8GHz, matched by a custom RDNA 2 GPU delivering 12 teraflops of power and 52 compute units (CUs) running at 1.825 GHz. That’s all running alongside 16GB GDDR6 RAM. There are gaming PCs with less power than Xbox Series X, yet this barely puts out a purr.
What is especially notable – and this goes for the Series X games available to us so far, as well as backwards compatible titles – is the sheer speed of the console. Across the board, games installed locally on the 1TB NVMe SSD launch and load faster than on Xbox One X. We’re not quite talking instant-on, straight to the start screen as soon as you select a game, but we’re also not hugely far from that.
We’re also more impressed than we expected to be by the Quick Resume feature, which allows multiple games to be suspended and returned to. This is great for players hopping between several games, and the feature even resume titles where you left them after a full reboot of the console – no more losing progress when you have to do a system update.
1TB expansion drives
Part of the speed benefit comes from the switch to solid state storage for the Series X, which brings us to one of the most interesting aspects of the new hardware, the 1TB expansion drives, manufactured in partnership with Seagate.
These were also the one thing we had the most concerns about before getting our hands on one, but now we’re (almost) converts. These tiny drives – smaller than an original PlayStation memory card – slot into the rear of the console, but rather than merely offer more storage, crucially they function exactly the same as the internal SSD.
This means they’re just as fast, both in terms of data transfer – it took just 1m:02s to move a 40GB game from the internal storage to the expansion drive – and in running games natively. These micro wonders can play games optimised for Series X from the drive itself.
We noticed no difference in performance running Gears Tactics from the main drive or the Seagate expansion. While the Series X also supports external USB 3.1 drives, these simply won’t be fast enough to run Series X games (though they will run Xbox One or earlier games, and can be used to store Series X games when not in use).
Given the 1TB internal drive is likely to fill up rapidly with next-gen games, the Seagate expansions are likely to be a great option to store plenty of titles, especially since they can be ‘hot swapped’, allowing you to switch drives around at will if you have multiple expansion cards.
The only setback – and the one thing stopping us being total converts - is the price. At £219.99, they’re not cheap, and it’s hard to justify almost half the price of the console itself just for more storage.
Media/Blu-ray
Ever since the Xbox One X and One S introduced a 4K Blu-ray drive, the Xbox family of consoles have been some of the best all-round media devices available, and that versatility continues with Series X. With the ability to play DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD discs, plus a suite of all the streaming media apps you’d expect – Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, NowTV, Spotify, and more besides – it really is an all-in-one hub for practically anything you’d want to watch or listen to.
Bafflingly, the actual Blu-ray player app still isn’t pre-installed on the console, requiring you to download it the first time you try playing a disc. It’s also still oddly named, given it plays three generations of optical media. Nit picks aside, performance is fantastic, with discs loading quickly and the player delivering brilliant visuals. Checking out a handful of 4K UHD titles – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Pacific Rim Uprising, and The Greatest Showman – on a 4K OLED screen delivered breathtaking picture clarity.
The console is at its loudest when playing a disc, but even that’s comparative to the near-silence it runs at usually – the sound of the optical drive running only surprises because you can hear anything, and even then it’s immediately drowned out by whatever you’re watching.
Curiously, there’s no longer an HDMI-In port though. On Xbox One, you could piggy-back other devices through the machine – from a set-top box to view TV channels through the Xbox, or even another console as a passthrough if your TV was short on HDMI ports. That option is now gone, though given the shift towards streaming television over broadcast, we wonder how much this feature was used.
Overall, the Series X proves itself a brilliant multimedia device, excelling in all the ways cinephiles are likely to watch TV and films. We may never need to go to the cinema again.
Verdict
As a piece of hardware, the Xbox Series X is undeniably brilliant. Its speed, silence, and Quick Resume features really stand out, and its media versatility helps it make a case to be the main device you have connected to your TV. Whether games or video, whatever you do with the Series X will be a treat for the eyes.
It’s also nowhere near as large as we’d feared, though there’s not much to rave about in its design otherwise – it’s lower-spec sibling, the Xbox Series S, definitely got the looks in the family.
The biggest challenge the Series X faces is that there’s nothing that screams “NEW!” about it yet. From the lackluster launch line-up to the near-identical UI, it feels more about continuity of experience than the ushering in of a new era. We must stress, this is ultimately no bad thing – returning players being able to turn a console on and having their entire library accessible, day one, is fantastic for consumers. It’s just not very exciting. It practically lampshades the Series X as a placeholder for now, where you continue playing your Xbox One games, but a bit prettier, until the thrill of the new arrives.
We expect this to change – between the games we know are coming, the hints of Series X optimisation on the games we have played, and Microsoft’s buying spree of development studios promising a host of likely exclusives, there’s no doubt that Xbox will be host to some incredible experiences in the years to come. Right now, at launch though? It’s a bigger, better box under your TV that’s awaiting something to really make it sing.
The Xbox Series X is up for pre-order now for £450 from Amazon, Argos, Currys, GAME and Smyths Toys. [It’s out of stock at most retailers right now.]
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
