Seeing is believing, right? That’s why we gave the new Xbox Series X a whirl ourselves- testing out those brand new next-gen features for you. And they definitely don’t disappoint.
But there were three things that really blew our minds: the graphics, the backwards compatibility and quick resume. Play new releases in gorgeous, incredible detail, give your old games a boost and never miss a beat when it comes to switching between games.
Let’s take a deeper dive.
Seriously cinematic
With graphics as good as these, it’s easy to get totally lost in a game. In a good way. If you’ve got the right game and the right TV for it, The Xbox Series X lets you play in 4K resolution at 120 frames per second (fps). With four times the pixels of Ultra HD, 4K gives you an incredible sharp, clear picture. And a super high fps means that picture stays smooth the whole time – no matter how much action you’ve got going on in-game.
We tested it out with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – one of many games optimised for the Xbox Series X - and the results were unreal. The tiniest details on our character’s armour, weapons, the enormous landscapes, all of it showed up crystal clear. And even when we were free-running or in seriously hectic combat sequences, there wasn’t a hint of stop-start motion. It was all seamless… and spectacular.
Old games, new life
Don’t think just because you’ve upgraded you need to chuck out your favourite PS4 games. Give them a whole new lease of life. The Xbox Series X is backwards compatible, meaning your old games will still work on the new console.
But they won’t just work, they’ll get a pretty awesome boost too. Better graphics, a better frame rate… just a better all-round experience. We gave it a go with Gears 5, one of the PS4 games Xbox have upscaled, and we were seriously impressed.
Plus, the processor and graphics card are automatically unlocked with an Xbox Series X. What does that mean for you? You always get the best performance for whatever game you’re playing- with the graphics as good and the speed as fast as your game allows- usually 4K at 60 fps!
Switch it up
We already know the Xbox Series X is incredibly fast. That’s thanks to its 8-core 3.8GHz CPU with 12 teraflop GPU and 16GB of RAM – making it the most powerful Xbox ever. So, when you’re loading up games, it’ll happen in seconds. No staring at load screens when you’re itching to get on and play. Even with massive open world games.
But the quick resume function takes that to another level. You can dip in and out of two games at once… without having to wait.
Like we said, we tested out Assassin’s Creed and Gears 5 on our Xbox Series X. But what we didn’t mentioned was that when we got bored of one, we could just go to the menu and dive straight into the other. No saving or exiting necessary. When we were ready, we could go back and pick up exactly where we left off. Easy! It’s perfect when you get stuck on a boss battle or you want to quickly switch games when your mate’s come online.
Ready to pick up a controller and have a play? You can get the Xbox Series X right here. See you on the battlefield!
