Assassin's Creed The Ezio Collection (Xbox One)
What can be said about this trilogy that hasn't already been discussed? To many, this is the absolute height of the Assassin's Creed series; made even better thanks to FPS Boost on Xbox Series consoles.
There's no visual jump here, but Assassin's Creed II, Brotherhood and Revelations all run at 60 delightful frames per-second on Xbox Series S, which is glorious for such expansive open worlds. Seriously, last-gen, did we ever think we'd see so many open world games running at high framerates? Long may it continue!
- Xbox Game Pass: No
Battlefield 4 (Xbox One)
To this day, Battlefield 4 multiplayer remains endlessly fun. Its wonderful mix of infantry and vehicular combat in a modern, urban setting is something dearly missed in more recent entries, even in Battlefield 2042.
However, it was a launch-era game last generation and... it shows. Hitting 720p resolution at a rocky frame rate that often hung in the 40s, it was a less-than-ideal experience on base Xbox One. However — and this is a big leap — the game runs at 120FPS on both Xbox Series S and X. It isn't perfect, and you'll see the odd lurch here and there, but this one is night-and-day from last-gen. Oh, and multiplayer is still very well populated for a 9-year old game. Seriously, go try it!
Xbox Game Pass: Yes, via EA Play/Ultimate
Sonic Generations (Xbox 360)
This list can't be complete without Sonic Generations, can it? This is probably the finest Sonic game to grace the Xbox 360 (or is that Sonic 06?) and a next-gen update has made this one even better.
While the 360 game is a classic at this point, its performance was anything but. Certain stages, particularly Chemical Plant, could slow to a crawl, even making certain moves hard to manage due to the increased input lag. Kiss goodbye to that on Xbox Series S, as Sonic Generations hits 1440p and 60FPS with very little bother. This is possibly the most impressive boost on this list due to the sheer gameplay speed of Sonic Generations.
- Xbox Game Pass: No
Mirror's Edge (Xbox 360)
Mirror's Edge comes from a time when developer DICE stretched its legs and worked on something outside of its famous Battlefield series. The team created a first person parkour game that just oozed style, even if its Xbox 360 presentation couldn't always keep up.
Well once again, Xbox Series S transforms this 2008 classic. We're all the way up that magic 1440p and 60FPS mark here, and Mirror's Edge really benefits from these technical leaps. The game is all about movement and flow, and the increased fluidity and speedier load times really help it along. The higher pixel count also greatly benefits Mirror's Edge's art style, which is super clean and crisp at 1440p. Just don't look down.
- Xbox Game Pass: Yes, via EA Play/Ultimate
Metro Redux (Xbox One)
Metro Redux features the initial pair of Metro games that date back to the Xbox 360 era. On 360, they were 30FPS experiences, with drops as expected, and the Redux release bumped things up to 900p at 60FPS. Not bad!
However, bring things over to Xbox Series X|S and it's another ball game entirely. While resolution has stayed on that same Xbox One 900p level, both Metro 2033 and Metro Last Light now hit 120FPS on Xbox Series S and X. Yep, that's another pair of first-person shooters that hit triple-digit framerates on Microsoft's 'budget' console, which is pretty damn impressive! These are brilliant games too, and well worth a revisit on your new system if you enjoy spooky, atmospheric shooters.
And there you have it. The Xbox Series S may well be designed as a budget-friendly device but make no mistake, this thing is seriously powerful. The fact that this system has a bunch of 120FPS-enabled games alone is mighty impressive, not to mention all the other resolution and load time improvements on show. There's plenty more besides this list too, and it's always worth digging around for a new Series S favourite!
Newly enhanced titles are always welcome, but looking back is a great option as well. After all, the old ones are always the best, right?
Which Xbox game from past generations are you most impressed by on Xbox Series S? Let us know below!
Comments 27
I've been impressed with how good KOTOR and Red Dead Redemption look and play on the series S.
I picked up KOTOR on the switch and it doesn't look nearly as good.
When playing on the series s, with a compatible tv/monitor, which do you prefer? 1080/120 or 1440/60?
If I'm right the One X does all this enhancement as well. I've pretty much got my One X setup as my classic Xboxing console, it's got loads of original Xbox and 360 classics on it.
@PhhhCough Series S is compatible with 4k 120 displays since it has an hdmi 2.1 port.
@jayj one x does reduction boosts but not frame rate boosts if I’m not mistaken and that’s were the series consoles shine best on backwards compatibility
@JayJ The One X is a great machine for that no doubt! But yeah, as pointed out below, it's more visuals on that system. Some framerates are improved by brute force, but FPS boost and the Series' CPUs are much better for higher frames. I still can't get over a $300 machine hitting 120fps tbh!
@Kezelpaso you know these games are pretty old right it's not exactly shocking that a console that released at the end of 2020 can play old games at higher frame rates
@Would_you_kindly It's a list of backwards compatible games, so yes, I'm aware they're old.
@PhhhCough Depends on the game but usually I'd go for higher framerate tbh!
@Royalblues I don't have a ps5 I have a PS4 pro but it has boost mode
You should add Mad Max to the list, it was 1080p/30 FPS on Xbox One but runs at 1080p/120 FPS on Series X/S.
@Kezelpaso I always thought it was just the Xbox One games that got the Series X FPS enhancement, I mean I know all the original Xbox games are essentially "One X enhanced," and some 360 games are as well, and I've seen notable improvements with some of them.
If the difference is bigger than I thought, I might have to get a USB HD for 360 games on my Series X
It gets confusing which console runs what better. When I got the S I was stunned by just how bad Yakuza 0 was. 30fps, 900p. No AA. Visuals. Just base x1. On the 1X it looks vastly superior. Identical to series X really. One x doesn't do fps boost but games with a 1x patch are likely to run better on a 1x then an S. Which was disappointing. The X of course does it all, as does cloud.
@IOI It's only 60 on S, 120 on Series X!
It's such a shame that Fable still runs like trash.
@Beagle I'm also extremely impressed with my Xbox series S & TBH I wasn't expecting much from the little BEAST due to all the hate the console gets. I am so glad I gave the console a chance because it's performance is remarkable, playing Gears of War 3 at 1440p and 60fps makes it feel like a brand new game. I've also played a vast number of series X|S enhanced titles & I've ran comparisons to my one X and the major takeaway is yes some games run higher resolution on my one X but I genuinely prefer the series S and it's higher (more stable) frame rates. The series S also does a remarkable job upscaling most games to match my 43inch 120Hz 4K TV and I didn't think games would look as good as they do but the series S really knows how to make games shine! One of the biggest surprises for me has been the ability for the series S to run games at 120fps. I've played Fortnite, Forza horizon 5, COD Warzone, Doom eternal and Dirt 5 with 120fps & that's blown me away! Yes these games drop resolution to 1080p in order to hit that 120fps but what surprised me the most was how consistent the framerates were. I saw zero stuttering & enjoyed the games quite a bit at 120fps. If I was running my series S on my 27 inch monitor I think I'd use 120fps more often but on my 43inch TV I definitely prefer the 1440p 60fps as it gives the games that added clarity which is nice. I'm happy to see the Xbox series S getting love, it's a fine console & I can't wait to see what games come next 😁🎮✌️
How is Dishonored and Death of the Outsider not on the list?
On X360/XBO it played at an inconsistent sub-30fps. To play it at a smooth 60fps is quite literally transformative. Just a shame Dishonored 2 doesn't work with FPS boost
Meme's aside, before the Anniversary edition made 60fps official, Skyrim in backwards compatibly mode was the most transformative experience for me. Not just a pretty smooth 60fps, up from an almost always sub-30fps, but the biggest game changer was loading times measured in the seconds.
Anyone who has ever played an Elder Scrolls, particularly Skyrim knows how many load screens there are. E.g.
etc.
On X360 each of those loads could be a minute or more. MINUTES spent watching successive load screens. Especially as load times went up the longer your game time, a flaw of the game. They are now mere seconds. That was transformative.
Mirror’s Edge is still such a beautiful and surreal title, even with it being sort of an ancient relic to an era passed. Couldn’t believe how well it held up last time I played it earlier this year. Highly recommend revisiting it. I hope one day we get more of the series, even if Catalyst missed the mark.
Well done the little Tissue Box 😊
Did anyone try playing rare replay on XSS or X? I couldn't keep playing Kameo on the xbox one due to those rock solid 20 something fps
Mirror's Edge is fantastic on Series S|X. I'll vote for Dead Space 2 and Lost Planet as well.
Playing Sonic Generations, one of my favorite 360 games, on the Series X when I got one last December was a crazy experience. It was a night and day difference and shows what a great feature backwards compatibility is and what a strength it can be for the console this gen if some more Xbox/X360 classics can be added to the program some day.
Not gonna list Sonic Unleashed? The difference is night and day between the 360 original and how it runs on Series consoles!
I'll definitely like to re-visit some of these games over the Christmas holidays.
The "power" of the Series S.
@Sakisa
Came to the comments to say this. It's one of my least favorite sonic games, but it looks and plays so beautifully now. It has aged remarkably well.
this list is too short, many games are missing, all of these should be added:
Red Dead Redemption: 1440p in series s,
Final Fantasy XIII-2, 1440p and 60fps, auto HDR
Assassin's Creed Unity: 1440p, 60fps, auto HDR
ReCore: 1080p, 60 fps, HDR
Deus Ex Mankind Divided: 1080p, 60fps
Far Cry 5: 1080p, 60fps, HDR
Fallout 4: 1080p, 60fps
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