Review: Xbox Series X 

Nothing seems to go right in 2020. A couple of weeks ago, FedEx tried to deliver an Xbox Series X review unit to my house and couldn’t. After one failed delivery attempt, I was not about to miss it again, so on the day it was set for delivery I made myself a cup of coffee, grabbed my mask, and sat on the front steps of my building for a couple hours. It felt like I was waiting in line outside a Best Buy for the Xbox 360 way back in 2005—without all the antsy tweens.

That unfettered excitement and almost painful impatience is so rare as an adult. I was surprised to feel it so strongly while I was pacing outside perking up at the sound of every passing bus and delivery truck. It was exciting. This is the first new Xbox console (actually new) to come out in about seven years. When the truck finally arrived, I whisked the package up to my apartment and tore into it with both hands.

Updated Nov 9, 2020: Corrected the release date for Halo Infinite.

The Xbox Series X is one of two new Xboxes, and it cuts an impressive figure. It looks like a subwoofer, or two Borg cubes stacked on top of each other. Compared to the unique design of the PlayStation 5, it's a less adventurous look, and that's by design. It resembles a small desktop computer, unobtrusive and almost invisible in an entertainment center. The whole thing is very grown-up and businesslike. This is the console you’d take home to show Mom—the decent guy with a stable but boring job in insurance. He wears button-ups with sweater vests, but he’s an attentive listener—and he has a hell of a game library.

Photograph: Microsoft

Photograph: Microsoft

The Series X controller is also in that reliable-but-boring category. It's essentially the old Xbox gamepad, just a little slimmer, with textured grips where your fingers rest and an all-new Share button. Otherwise, it’s largely the same Xbox controller we’ve used since the Xbox 360.

If you were to ask PS4 owners what their biggest gripe with the Xbox One was, they might point to the interface. This has always been an issue for the Xbox. The One X and its cousins (the One and One S) all had a clunky user interface that seems purposely difficult to navigate. Just moving between apps and games requires you to navigate a labyrinth of blocky menus.

Thankfully, the Series X has a more refined interface, with fewer menu interactions. It’s mostly the same, just streamlined with Game Pass and the Store easier to locate. It still has a bad habit of getting in your way when you’re just trying to find your YouTube app or a game you haven’t played in a couple of weeks. And there are still lots of immovable sponsored ads. But it’s a step in the right direction—and you can create folders. So that's something.

It's not like you're going to skip this console because it's shaped like a skyscraper, so let’s get into its processing power (see the specs here). Instead of just upping the horsepower with an aim toward increasing visual fidelity and detail, like we usually see every console generation, the emphasis is twofold. Right now, the Xbox Series X can run your games in full-on native 4K. This is different from previous generations, even the Xbox One X, where 4K support was compromised. Previously, you'd often have to choose between speed and beauty if you wanted to play in 4K: better graphical detail or higher frame rates. Now, you'll get both.

Illustration: Microsoft

The other big change for this console generation is the emphasis on frame rate. The Series X can consistently run games at 120 frames per second. The Xbox One X could only hit about half that, or 60 fps. The more frames the console renders every second, the smoother gameplay looks. At 60 fps, games can really feel sharp and responsive, but 120 fps gameplay is just otherworldly. Yes, games are also more detailed with this hardware, and there's a lot of talk about new graphical effects like ray tracing, but the star of the show is the frame rate. Once you see it, it’s difficult to go back. Games running at 60 fps or 30 fps just feel sluggish. But playing at 120 Hz may require a new TV.

I was lucky enough to test the Xbox Series X with a brand-new $1,400 LG CX TV designed to run games at 120 Hz. That means the TV is refreshing as fast as the console can spit out frames. That’s what makes everything so silky-smooth and hyperreal. Many 4K TVs can't do this. A lot of them cap out at 60 Hz. So to get the most out of the Series X and its capabilities you’ll need not only a 4K TV, but a TV that can run games at 120 Hz. There aren’t very many of those on the market right now, and they’re very expensive. Especially when you can snag otherwise excellent 4K TVs for less than $700.

Another way to look at it is through the lens of future proofing. Console generations seem to last about seven years now. Chances are you’ll have at least one big TV purchase sometime in the next few years, right? That’s a charitable interpretation but it seems to be Microsoft's strategy.

When I tested the Series X on a standard 4K TV, games were richly detailed and performed well—there’s no doubt there. Even Xbox One titles like Gears 5 felt slicker and looked sharper. The graphics don't feel like they've bumped up as much as the generational leaps we’ve come to expect from these kinds of console releases. The improvements are still subtle at this point. Lighting does look more realistic and everything has a modern sheen to it, but these improvements don’t have the same effect on TVs running at less than 120 Hz.

The Nintendo Switch was the last major console launch I got stoked about. Before that, it was the Xbox 360 and PS4. All of these consoles have something in common: a killer launch lineup. The games available on day one were the games people would be talking about for months and memorable games make for an exciting and memorable launch.

The Series X has … Dirt 5. During testing I've found myself bored by the Series X launch lineup (see the list here). Granted there are other launch titles that don’t involve mud and driving around in a circle really fast. Yakuza and Forza are fun, but there isn't a killer game or much here to anchor conversation and interest. That’s not going to happen until Halo Infinite hits retail shelves in 2021. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla comes close, but it's such a solitary experience and doesn't exactly have the scope and spectacle of a Halo game.

An exciting console launch is defined just as much by its flagship titles as it is by its hardware. Think of the Nintendo Switch. It had a slim library of games at launch and was a very unusual console at the time, but the strength of Breath of the Wild made a compelling case for the new console. That said, the Series X hitting store shelves ahead of what are likely to be its most exciting year one games is par for the course for Microsoft, and it's worked out in the past.

One of the biggest benefits to investing in the Xbox ecosystem is access to Xbox Game Pass. For the same price as a Netflix subscription ($15 a month), you get access to hundreds of games in the Xbox library. It’s a pale substitute for an exciting launch lineup, but it is something to consider when you’re forking over $500 for a high-end game console.

The Series X is a conundrum. On the one hand, it is an incredibly powerful console when its paired with a 120 Hz TV. Games look incredible. On the right TV, games running at 120 fps simply defy description. Unless you already own a great gaming PC, the Series X offers a totally new level of fidelity that will seriously ruin you for gaming on anything but a 120 Hz TV. But it also costs $500, and you probably already have an Xbox One or One X.

Unless you're ready to invest in a new TV, I can't think of a great reason to get a Series X yet, unless some mild visual upgrades are enough for you. If there is a benefit to getting it now, it's because you'll probably need it at some point, but for now that upcoming Halo game will be on your Xbox One, too. Here's where the cheaper all-digital less-powerful version comes in, though. The Xbox Series S is a great alternative if you want to step into this console generation but don't really plan on replacing your TV anytime soon.

Then again, choosing when to finally dive into the next console generation is always a question you have to answer for yourself. The Xbox Series X isn't going anywhere anytime soon.