Xbox Series X first impressions - Not System Wars!!

First of all, it works! It didn't burst into flames, the optical drive didn't shred my game collection. It just works. And it's super silent. I don't know how it will sound in months or years, but right now it is surreal how silent it is. The only sound it produces is when installing a game from a disk, and it's still low.

The installation is super simple and shortened by using the phone app to configure the system while simultaneously the console takes care of some stuff on its side. I just had to connect my Xbox One external to it, asked me if I wanted to keep the setting and that was it. Although for some reason not every setting was transferred, had to go switch off achievements again. But it was smooth sailing. Kudos for how easy it is to copy/paste installed games from the external drive to the internal and how it prompts you to update to the XSX version. Simple, easy, great to deal with the SSD space constraints.

It's a different “new console experience” for sure. In a space of minutes you have the same console but not the same console. Like putting an old spirit on a powerful new athletic body. You know it already but every action is fast, braking some subconscious functional rhythms I had to navigate it. At moments I was thinking, this might work a bit too well, as I flew over some option because I wasn't expecting to be there so fast. Of course your brain quickly adjusts to it.

The controller.

I really like Xbox controllers, ergonomically speaking, This stays the same, nothing new really. There's a big improvement on the d-pad and the shoulder buttons are more accessible. Those were improvements needed and I feel they nailed it. Then there's a change in texture too, this I feel more conflicted about. On one side it greatly improves grip but it's a bit too raspy for my soft gentle hands. Also, would like it to be just slightly bigger.

The games.

Here once again it feels different from what a new console feels like. Of course I would love to have a brand new game to check my new toy but this is closer to getting a new GPU and checking how games you know run. Gears 5 looks truly impressive, but I've played it already and I'm not into replaying stuff, so after 1h I had enough of it. On the other hand Forza Horizon 4 is a near limitless game and I expect to play a lot of it, specially with the Quick Resume feature. All the times I felt like playing FH4 but didn't because the amount of time I had to play vs the amount of time spent in loading times are now a thing of the past... OR IS IT??? Effectively the Quick Resume feature at this time DOSEN'T WORK with FH4. This is a major stumble, a first party title updated for the XSX MS should make sure it had it working! Might be complicated being FH4 an always online game but hopefully it's going to be fixed soon. Wake up Microsoft!

But going back to the lack of games, there really isn't one. I've completed 35 games this year, played some more. Still there's a ton of games I wanted to play before getting this console and I still want to play them now. Got a physical copy of Dead Space 3 installing right now and through GamePass I have Grim Fandango, Jedi Falling Order and Doom Eternal ready to go as must play titles. So if from a marketing standpoint it makes sense to say “Xbox has no games”, as a gamer I feel like it makes none. Still I wish I had Demon Souls to play right now, but I will eventually.

So after my first hours with the system I'm happy with it as a continuation and improvement of a system I already greatly enjoyed. Looks elegant, feels fast and plays games.

I’m in a similar boat. Looks cool, plays games, and does what Xbox does best. A fantastic multimedia machine. Shame Halo Infinite didn’t launch with it, but what can you do.

It feels more like upgrading my IPhone. Everything is there from my previous phone, everything works as it did, but has a lot more power and features. Even my custom X1 screen carried over.

Some interesting info.

I didn't buy one as i don't pre order consoles or games for that matter.

It sucks that quick resume doesn't work for FH4, that shit on MS/PG part.

The main reason i didn't buy one is because we're (Australia) coming into Summer, and since we're one of, if not the hottest countries on the planet, i don't want to get the system and have heat issues, so i can wait until like mid next year when Winter rolls around and can play it without stressing the system out to much, and any hardware/software issues should be ironed out by then.

A quick question, when you say you completed 35 games this year, do you mean you completed the campaign and moved on or do you mean you completed the game, side missions, achievements etc?

MS one problem is with launch games, they've had years to address this. Look Forza Motorsport 7 came out in 2017, so they should have had Turn 10 working on getting the next Motorsport game ready for launch and not left Halo to shoulder the responsibility alone.

@i_p_daily: I mean beat the game, I have achievements/trophies turned off. But I don't rush through games, I take my time, just don't care about checklists.

@ghost_of_phobos: Ah ok.

That xbox game pass might be expensive but just discovered you can play the games on your phone via the cloud. Pretty cool

Would be good if it was all your games xbox games.

Playing games on your phone through streaming, i could not think of anything worse :(

So bought a Series X for my son for his birthday, and here's my take.

Its pretty small, smaller than i thought it was going to be, its heavy, heavier than it looks.

At first i was pissed that they changed the charge port on the controller until thinking i would need to buy a new charge cable, until my son said that his phone cable would fit into it, so that's a great idea.

Watched a few games load and they are quicker, some more than others.

Now MS need more Series X only games and leave the XB1 behind.

@ghost_of_phobos: I just got my Series X this past Sunday. I'm super impressed with it. I have never owned an Xbox before. It's an amazing piece of hardware and I think Game Pass is really great value for the money, at least for me as a new Xbox owner.

Got mine on launch day through Xbox all access. I pay roughly $35 per month which gets me the Series X, Controller, Game Pass for console, EAPlay, Gamepass for PC, Xbox Live, Xcloud, Games with Gold and even a months Disney plus thrown in.

Best deal in gaming.

By chance I bought the XSX on Friday, it was a hard choice choosing between the PS5 and XSX since both were available.

I played a fair bit over the weekend and I’m genuinely impressed with the console, I’m sure I would also have been happy with a PS5 but I’ll pick one up in the future.

I’ve tried out a few games, Dirt 5 was fun, Outriders was a bit meh, I spent a fair amount of time playing The Medium which I really liked.

I was very impressed with how well The Division 2 played, it’s so much better than how it played on the One X (I just gave that to my cousin).

I briefly played Prey and I think I’ll find some me-time to slowly play that this weekend. I didn’t play that on release given the mediocre reviews but Digital Foundry seems to really like it and I tend to agree with their preferences.

One thing that was very strange was the download speed for Gamepass games, they always lingered around 20-45 m/sec, while downloading my older games achieved speeds around 250-450 m/sec.

It’s a shame the XSX doesn’t have WiFi 6, since I have just bought a new router that supports it.

Overall money well spent!

Finally got my XsX yesterday, and so far it's awesome. It's very quiet even when running demanding games, which is great. MS have also improved the dashboard design and some QOL stuff which is an improvement.

I haven't had a chance to play much stuff on it yet, but I had a quick go at Gears 5 and hot damn... it's stunning! Can't wait to see what this thing can do when games specifically designed for next gen start to come out.

Series X is without a doubt the best gaming console I've ever owned. It's s awesome! I love what they've been doing with backwards compatibility since I was a Playstation boy last generation. But now I'm back again and couldn't be happier 😌

I haven't read anything negative about the console and I expect to be picking one up eventually. I've been trying to get the Halo version of it though it's been hard to find without going through a scalper. I've seen the regular version at retail for a little while but I am fond of what they did with their limited edition.