Talking Point: What's The Most Underrated Feature Of The Xbox Series X|S So Far?

Quick Resume it's just so amazing. When I saw it frist being demoed I thought "Well, I won't be changing between games so frequently like that" but when I started playing on Series S I realized how useful it was. I started playing Haven and when I was tired I simply turned of the console and went to sleep. Next day, it took less than 7 seconds to wake series S and be gaming, not splash screen or menu, to literally being controlling the characters. It is just insane fast.

I've had the Series S for a few days and have only just discovered quick resume (I have a habit of just closing the games), it is great though and I suspect will be something I use a lot of.

That said it has to be auto HDR for me, I'm a big retro gamer so that coupled with backwards compatibility and Xbox has plenty of games for me in that regard. Now with added HDR some look truly spectacular, Panzer Dragoon Orta shines as does Perfect Dark (see below) and the colours really pop off the screen. There are some true arcade and Sega Saturn gems that are great to be able to play on a next gen console

Overall its a fabulous little console and I'm more impressed with this then I was my PS5

@Medic_Alert I think the problem with VRR is that so few will have access to it, so whilst it can be a literal game changer, for the majority they simply can't use it.

For me the PS5 has just been constant little niggles from having to dig through menu's to make sure to download old save files or the mysterious other taking up 100gb of an already small hard drive. Then the consoles insistence on downloading the wrong versions of games, if I don't remove PS4 discs with a PS5 version it will attempt to install the PS4 version every time I turn it on. My Series S has just worked

This isn’t exclusive to the Series X and S, but I can’t get over how much I love Game Pass. Growing up, anytime I got a new game was a huge moment for me. Even if it wasn’t one of the best games ever made, I loved getting new games. Just this week I was able to download Greedfall, Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair, Unto the End, SuperHot: Mind Control Delete, Dragon Quest XI, and even more and it’s crazy! It’s never something I would have ever thought possible. Game Pass is the ultimate money saver and it is an absolute dream come true.

@carlos82 having those older games run in 60fps is something truly special.

@Medic_Alert the problem is how would they show the difference VRR makes? It'd be like trying to show HDR in an SDR video

SSD loading time or lack thereof is the greatest thing. The massive BC list and quick resume are absolutely fantastic but the SSD is the game changer.

@CrazyJF without VRR? Most games don't have screen tearing these days and simply drop frames instead. Say a 60fps game is running at 55fps, with VRR you'll only see those 55 frames but without you'll still see 60 with 5 being duplicate and thats why it doesn't look smooth. Showing this on YouTube with VRR will still display 60 frames as if VRR was never there.

@Medic_Alert I agree 100%. VRR and overall polish and stability.

I would also add the completeness and effectiveness of BC support.

@CrazyJF it did but it will certainly be the minority and even in that case VRR would clear it up and show completed frames instead of torn, but to show the viewer you're back to the same problem of showing less than 60 frames in a 60fps video

Quick resume. Genuinely thought I wouldn’t use it. Now I’m playing 2 or 3 games at the same time with just seconds of loading between them all. Such a great feature.

Backward compatibility running games at higher framerates, And the loading times..

For me now it’s working quick resume is great, been using it today.
Also VRR on my tv is great not a single screen tear and smooth as silk.
Also playing Crash 4 on backwards compatible, works perfect and auto HDR.
This is what I call a thoughtful game console for the gamers.

@CrazyJF
No screen tearing for me VRR has sorted that out on my TV, smooth as silk and looking good.

Being honest hear and not a fan boy.
But was a big fan of the PS4 UI but do like the new PS5 one. Seems disjointed and also where they have put the PS button in the middle of the two joysticks.
My new favourite UI is now the series x one along with the new controller.

Bought the system for the backwards compatibility, so I know my answer pretty easily. Already played a handful of original and 360 games on mine.

The beeps it makes when you turn it on.
(I have a Series S, I assume the X does the same?)
I don't know why, I just really like them.

Quick resume sounded like a godsend but since Vallhala didn't support it at launch, I never used it. Now too invested on the game to play anything else until it's 100% done.

Quick resume is the big one for me. Or generally launching games, I often surprise with “BRB, I need to restart [Warzone, due to some patch or bug or whatnot]” and my team (mostly PS4 players) didn’t notice me leaving. I’ve had some games skimp out on QR, but mostly it works just fine. No way near the cries of “It’s broken! It’s flawed!”, it’s much more stable than I imagined it would be. And the system still take less space than X1? That’s weird. I’m no fan of Microsoft in general (rather the opposite, mostly booting up fruits and berries), but I think they get way too much flak for Xbox. The system just works and that’s how I like it. A shame that their app is inferior to OneCast though, which I’ve used (on pad, phone, tv and lap-/desktops) for a couple of years now… but I have high hopes!

Quick resume is almost TOO good. Like I didn't even intend to pause that game and return later. But I ended up doing that by accident anyway!

Backwards compatibility has always been the Xbox's most underrated feature since the Xbox One. It's what I seem to get the most enjoyment out of, especially when it comes to X enhanced games, really breathes new life in older games.

Backwards compatibility for sure! I got goosebumps signing in for the first time on my series X and seeing all my 1100+ purchases across Xbox One, 360 & original Xbox waiting for me! 😁

As others have alluded to, definitely Quick Resume. I didn't think I'd use it at all, and then I remembered how abysmal my attention span is. Been a brilliant addition to the OS, and allowed me to dip straight into Forza whenever the game I'm mainlining gets on my tits.

The seamless universal library from 2000 through today has got to be the Xbox platform's keynote feature. I've never believed in generations, coming from a decade of PC. My library is my library. Some games are old, some are new, some look dated, but it's still all one library to me. And it's one library to Xbox. Not so much other platforms. FFXIII and Nuts and Bolts shouldn't feel like "old gen back compat supported games" - with updates they even look like new games. Whether running Cyberpunk or Deus Ex Human Revolution, I shouldn't have to think in "which generation is it" - it's just launching two games from your library. One just happens to be a dated looking, blurry, lo-fi, stuttering mess, with janky AI and retro animations, and the other one is a 360 game.

Quick Resume. It still doesn't work in far too many games, and I still have no idea when one drops off the list. Didn't work in Forza...it seems less riliable in Ori 2 now.....I thought those games were bumped off the list, but then I ran Control which I haven't touched in a while and certainly played the other games since - and that one resumed! Same for Doom Eternal. So there's still confusion here.

But quick resume, and as everyone said, "it just works" and feels complete with lots of little nicity features, really makes it stand out.

Plus the most ergonomic controller I've ever used. Even if it still lacks gyros, unfortunately.

@Dezzy70 The thing that drives me ABSOLUTELY EFFIN CRAZY on PS5 is the fact that long-pressing PS brings you inexplicably to the Home screen (which has absolutely nothing useful on it but is the only way to get to settings, storage, game library, but won't display all your games), and a short-press is required to bring up that bottom MacOSX inspired menu bar and you have to scroll all the way to the right to get to the power button.

Every single console I can think of - X360, X1, XSXS, PS4, PS3, PS Vita, Switch, 3DS, WiiU, Wii......plus, every Android and iOS device have long-press power to get to the power menu. Why did PS5 need to reverse the universal device standard even among prior Playstations? Every time I go to turn it off or check the time I press and hold and end up thrown into the desktop. And pressing again or pressing cancel doesn't bring me back to my game, no, there's a sequence of button presses required to get back, including selecting it on the menu, like launching it new, or short pressing while on desktop to bring up the bottom menu and go back into the game. It's endlessly infuriating!

@CrazyJF I don't care too much about the power consumption in standby which is already low (after the first patch, anyway), but the ability to turn it totally off means no wonky behavior of external HDDs spinning up randomly and staying on, and now unsafe shutdowns in the event of power failures (poor PS5 had a power failure in its rest mode the first week I had it!)

Interesting to see the comments about Quick Resume - it still rarely works for me.

I have used it twice over the last 2 days, 2 different games and in both instances I get the splash screen with Quick Resume at the top right and then a black screen and nothing happens. I then have to quit the game and load from scratch.