Xbox Series S is separate from PS5 and Xbox Series X

When the new generation of consoles started about a year ago, I was quite content with just my PS5. I have a pretty powerful gaming PC that can play all the latest Microsoft games, so there’s no real reason for me to buy the Xbox Series X. But there’s something about the smaller Xbox Series S, cheaper was constantly calling me, even if I didn’t need one. And when I decided to treat myself to one earlier this year, it wasn’t long before the most basic current-generation console became my favorite.

Even with the more capable PS5 at my disposal, the Series S is the console I use the most – and it qualifies me to feel no need to upgrade to the more powerful Series X. And while people are still frantically refreshing their browsers in hopes of scoring PS5 or Xbox Series X during the addition, Line WILL available in abundance on store shelves.

For all of those reasons – and a few more – the Xbox Series S is the console I recommend for most people. Let me analyze why.

Honestly – the main reason I bought the Xbox Series S is because I love how it looks. While the tower block, Xbox Series X and the ridiculously massive sci-fi behemoth the PS5 both take up quite a bit of space, the Series S being a lovely little white rectangle that looks like a big Bluetooth speaker. It’s half the weight of both higher-end consoles and a fraction of the size. This tiny box is beautiful to look at – especially when sitting next to the matching white Switch OLED display in my entertainment center.

But the Series S’s sleek design is not only beautiful, it’s also practical. Move the console from my living room to my PC area whenever I go live Twitch it was so much easier and less of a hassle than dragging my PS5 from room to room. And if I find myself on a long road trip where I want a dashboard handy, Line WILL is the only system small enough to fit in my backpack.

Xbox Series S has some of the best features of Xbox Series X – and works great for the price

Despite being the cheapest gaming console right now, the Series S still feels clearly next-gen, largely because it has many of the same key features as the Series X. Modern games are real. There’s practically no load time, thanks to the -state drive hardware packed inside, but it’s the “Fast Resume” feature that really affected how I played the game during my first few weeks with the console. control.

Available on both Series X and S, Quick Resume lets you have several games open at once and pick up where you left off when switching between them. So when I take a break Halo: The Master Chief Collection for some of the classic shooter action in Doom 64, I was able to jump right into my paused game instead of restarting the title. It’s one of the best innovations of this console generation – and something the PS5 doesn’t offer.

I usually stick with one or two games at a time, but the convenience of Quick Resume – combined with the multitude of games on Xbox Game Pass – made me want to try more titles at once. I quickly found myself downloading and jumping between games I might not have tried, such as Xenocrisis and Rage 2, as the console does a great job of eliminating a lot of the wait that comes with loading. start the video game. This also works for extended periods of time – I’m often shocked to find my Halo game still crashes after not touching it for weeks.

And while the Xbox Series S isn’t quite as powerful as the Series X, it’s still a great way to experience current-gen gaming. Titles such as Dirt 5 and Legendary version of Mass Effect still explodes with vivid colors and details on Microsoft’s tiny console, and more importantly, runs at incredibly smooth frame rates.

While the Series S outputs at a lower resolution of 1440p than the Series X’s richer 4K output, both consoles are capable of frame rates as high as 120 fps. That means when I play games like Forza Horizon 5 and Star Wars: The Squad, I’m getting a smooth and responsive experience that feels on par with both my PS5 and my powerful gaming PC. If you have a 1080p TV and don’t plan to upgrade to 4K anytime soon, the gap between Series S and Series X or PS5 even less significant.

How Xbox Series S and PS5 stack up

In addition to stacking well on its bigger brother, the Series S gets more playtime in my house than my more powerful PS5 – and all because of the little things.

While this hasn’t always been the case on previous consoles, I prefer the Xbox UI to what PlayStation has to offer right now. It’s much more customizable – not only in the number of ways you can edit colors and backgrounds, but also due to the fact that you can pin your visiting games and apps to your home screen to access them. easier access. For comparison, the PS5 interface feels empty. You can’t set custom wallpapers, and the ability to organize games into folders (a feature the PS4 has) is still missing.

And although the latest Xbox controllers aren’t nearly as advanced as PS5’s DualSense gamepad, it’s still one of my favorites to use for a mile. NS Xbox Wireless Controller It feels good in my hand, especially since it features a more ergonomic design, textured grip, and an improved D-pad for this generation. I still like a lot of things about DualSense, there are some really futuristic features like detailed haptic feedback and adaptive triggers that better simulate the feeling of surfing like Spiderman or shoot rifles in Deathloop. But the Sony controller is too big for my taste and I feel more comfortable playing games on the Xbox pad.

Of course, none of these features are as important as the games you can play on these machines, and it was much harder for me to pick a favorite there. PlayStation 5 is the clear winner in terms of major first-party releases: Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, the soul of the devil and Profit they’ve all been huge hits over the past year and they all do a great job showing off what the system can do. Unfortunately, the free Astro’s Playroom game preloaded on PS5 is better than some of the paid titles I’ve played recently.

Xbox Game Pass

But what the Xbox platform currently lacks in the chart-topping tentacles it makes up for is sheer value. When you pair Line WILL with one Subscribe to Xbox Game Pass (starting at $10 a month), you get an instant $300 system with access to an ever-growing library that currently offers hundreds of games. The Game Pass library includes all of Microsoft’s first-party releases like Halo and Gears, some big third-party names like Fate 2 and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order along with loads of great indie games, many of which I probably wouldn’t have tried if it weren’t for the service.

Microsoft has also stepped up its game when it comes to the quality of its proprietary products, as evident by Forza Horizon 5 and what we played Halo Infinite hitherto. And while the new PS5 exclusives will run you $50 to $70 a pop, all of Microsoft’s new releases are available on Game Pass date of their release. So while I will fire up my PS5 every few months for the big exclusives, I tend to come back to my Series S more often because I know I’ll always have something new to play without. don’t have to spend extra money.

While doing well against the Xbox Series X and PS5, the Series S is not without its caveats. The console’s small 512GB SSD has only about 364GB of usable storage, which means it should quickly fill up modern games that might require up to 100GB of space. You can always delete and reload the software as needed, or choose one Seagate expansion card, but the former can be frustrating and the latter very expensive.

And while the Xbox Series S has ray tracing — a fancy tech feature that allows for surreal reflections and shadows — some games only support it on the Xbox Series X. Finally, if you own If you own or plan to upgrade to a 4K TV or follow it down the line, the Xbox Series X and PS5 will both be a more suitable purchase going forward.

I’m not trying to say that the Xbox Series S is superior to the PS5 or the Xbox Series X – if you’re interested in 4K gaming and want a more futuristic gaming console, then you should buy one of them. But I continue to be delighted by the design, performance, and overall value of Microsoft’s cheapest gaming box, and during the holiday season when most other systems can barely afford it, S series is your best choice right now.

For $299, you’re getting a system that can play the latest Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Madden titles, just to name a few — and make them look pretty awesome. And when you throw in Xbox Game Pass, you have an instant library of hundreds of titles including access to all the new Halo, Forza, and Gears games as they launch. The Series S is the best value in console gaming right now, and not just because you can actually buy it.