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Xbox Series X stands out right away, managing to surprise users even before they come out of the box. The well-assembled packaging, the orderly arrangement of the contents and finally the choice to place the hardware in the center of a rigid foam “throne”, are details that convey the feeling of a premium product, an elite platform that does not want compromises. on the quality front. The console emerges from the package with its rigorous lines and imposing camera body: it is the triumph of what we could define as “functional minimalism”. Form is critical, but vertical development still breaks the mold with console tradition; Despite the choice of maintaining color continuity with One X, focusing on a “total black” aesthetic, the peculiarity of the green plastic that can be glimpsed in the upper grille is that touch of personality that the console needs.
In short, applause to Microsoft for creating a product with a distinctive design, recognizable and well optimized. The choice to opt for a double board structure allowed keeping the overall dimensions smaller, while the heat dissipation system, also based on the large axial fan, keeps temperatures at bay. It is true that there are still no titles capable of making the most of Microsoft’s hardware, but in these weeks of tests we have registered very low working temperatures and a noise level at times even imperceptible. In short, the Redmond company reconfirms the excellent skills of its hardware engineers, taking the already excellent work done with the late Project Scorpio to a new level.
Interface and user experience
Once powered on, the console projects us in front of a familiar interface, the same that we already find today in One X and in the rest of the platforms of the Microsoft ecosystem.
There have been some recent renovations, mainly related to the Store, but in general it is a user experience that we already know. Also in this case, regarding the Pad, the company has opted for the path of conservation, rather than clearly breaking the bridges with the past.
In-dash navigation however, it is more responsive and immediate, and finally all those little sobs disappear, those infinitesimal dead times, that from time to time were recorded on the consoles of the generation now at dusk. However, we hope that Microsoft decides to continue updating the user experience, not necessarily to take advantage of the novelty factor, but only to eliminate some cumbersome choices (such as the management of options delegated to a special application, residual from a historical moment in which even Windows operating systems desperately tried to get closer to the language of mobile platforms).
And the notebook?We’ve already talked about the joypad extensively in our Xbox Series X controller test, and there’s little to add to the considerations expressed elsewhere. As for the pad, Microsoft has taken a conservative approach, proposing a design that does not differ much from its predecessor. Slightly thinner on the sides, the controller has the same build quality we know well, with the addition of a share button in the center and the replacement of the classic D-Pad with a small circular dash. Ergonomics and functionality are not altered by these small filings.
Still on the subject of responsiveness and performance, it’s impossible not to mention the immediate startup (less than two seconds if the X Series is left on hold) and the equally fast loading of applications. Thanks to the integrated SSD, game launch times are reduced to a minimum, and the last touch of class is represented by the Quick Resume, a function that allows you to move between the last titles used when resuming the game at the exact moment we left it (remember that the Quick Resume does not work with all products, for For example, with games always online, which obviously need to be connected to servers).
Still on the topic of SSDs, the X Series sacrifices around 200GB to the operating system and thus conserves 800GB of storage space: more than enough to install more than a dozen productsthe. It is also possible to use an external SSD or a Hard Drive to start the games of the previous generation, or to keep the titles of the next generation, moving the installation files extremely fast.
To expand the memory and take advantage of the games optimized for the X Series, however, it will be necessary to purchase the Seagate memory card, which at the moment has a very high cost. Unlike the S Series, thankfully you won’t feel the need any time soon, also because unlike the X Series “little sister” you can also rely on physical media.
Backward compatibility
In the case of Xbox Series X (but in general of the new family of next-generation consoles) backward compatibility is a fundamental axis of Microsoft’s strategy, since the Gamepass will not only represent a system to access the new productions that arrive in the coming years, but also a kind of “instant collection” full of great titles.
Obviously Microsoft knows this well, and from the beginning it has guaranteed full backward compatibility with all titles that run on One X, including those of previous generations (which, it should be noted, are powered by a post-processing algorithm that adds a HDR effect). quite effective).
On the performance front, however, not all games behave the same: there are titles that don’t exceed the resolution and framerate limits imposed by the development team (Control or Tekken 7 are among them), and products that are successful – where they can – to press at full resolution or frame rate, alternatively targeting native 4K or stable 60fps. In some cases we also have jobs that simultaneously maximize frame rate and resolution, but the casuistry is very limited (Certainly not because of the demerits of the machine, but because of the programming limits that are upstream.) The performance of backward-compatible titles needs to be evaluated, in short, on a case-by-case basis, but there is good hope of finding productions decidedly revitalized by landing on Microsoft’s next-gen platform.
Games
Looking more generally at the launch lineup, unfortunately, it must be admitted that not only is there a great app missing, but there isn’t even a game that can really put Series X under pressure, definitely showing what it is capable of. Next-gen updates to Yakuza and Dirt 5 are not indicative of what lies ahead for the machine’s future, and even Watch Dogs Legion, which thankfully integrates decent Ray Tracing tech, shows its old genesis, most of all. when you look at the polygonal volume and detail of certain textures.
While appreciable, the Sea of Thieves and Forza Horizon 4 updates are also “coy”, if contextualized in a next-gen perspective. The first “just” doubles the frame rate, the second does the same but integrates some improvements in texture filtering and shadow simulation. Complaining about these optimizations would be unfair, and in fact it is important that this treatment has been given to one’s titles, but to underline the generational leap something else is needed.
Gears 5 takes another step in the right direction, which incorporates some interesting improvements– sharper textures, better shadow simulation and reflection effects, an ambient occlusion system that partially takes advantage of Ray Tracing technology. Admittedly, the impact is not as disturbing as one might expect: some of the variations just mentioned are very “discrete” and not always perceptible; Also, these additions pay off on the resolution front, a dynamic 4K that sadly drops to 1080p too (albeit in very rare cases).
We would like to reiterate, as we did for the S Series, that the performance results obtained from these cross-generation productions do not give us many clues as to how the productions designed for the new Microsoft consoles will perform.
It is clear that Gears 5 and company were not born to work with the new RDNA 2 architecture, nor to take advantage of the benefits of the Xbox Velocity Architecture (not to be confused with the mere presence of the SSD). When the first titles designed and optimized to take full advantage of the X Series components and technologies hit the market we can expect concretely different results.
Of course, even taking into account the unforeseen stumbling block of Halo Infinite, the fact that at launch there is not a single title capable of highlighting the generational leap more strongly is a great lack of Microsoft. We look forward to the first exclusive games, from The Medium to Call of The Sea, but we cannot compare these productions with a huge box office success capable of driving car sales and wowing audiences. Unfortunately, the X Series finds itself on an uncovered side and postpones the rendezvous with more substantial experiences to a later date.
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