Talking Point: What's Been The High Point Of The Xbox Series X|S Generation So Far?

For me? The high point was Hi Fi Rush and then GoldenEye.

Hi Fi Rush was original, fun, and had a beautiful art style. Then GoldenEye took me back to the N64 days. That two month period made me feel like I was back in the early 2000s. Good times.

For me maybe surprisingly it has to be the console build up and launch. Nothing like a new console.
Also a shout to the consoles form factor and things like quick resume, love that feature, can’t believe Sony haven’t copied it yet.
Also I hope quick resume is in next generation Xbox.

The most fun I've had on my Series X was definitely Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. Shame few talk about that game. Other than that, when I upgraded a couple of years ago to a 4K 65" TV to go with my Series X was amazing!

Starfield is fun but has its issues but for me it's been Diablo 4 and Game Pass. I'd say a B or a B - as a rating.

A solid C.

I’m a rather new owner of a Series X, and while it’s a good console…I much prefer the PS5 or Switch. Just more and varied games.

I don’t HATE my XBox. I’ve been playing the heck out of FF13 via backwards compatibility, for example. But I could just as easily play it on my PS3 as well.

I’m not a racing fan, so I don’t care about Forza. Never been a Bethesda fan but Starfield isn’t bad. Never played the Halo series so I’ll be doing that.

There’s just not a lot of…DRAW to the XBox for me. I mostly got one so I could have full access to all the consoles and games. Heck, I’ve picked up about twenty disc based games, most of them used and most of those being XBox One native games like Sunset Overdrive and Dead Rising 3. Plus a few cheap multi platform games I never got around to on PS.

So I’ll rate the Switch a solid A, the PS5 a B+, and XBox a C for this (and last, with the Switch in there) generation.

It may sound like I’m hating on it, but I’m genuinely trying not to. I’ve always had a major dislike of MS, and I fought that off to buy my series X in the first place, I might add!

I will say that I hate Smart Delivery, though. Hate. The whole point of having a physical game for me is having the game and I’d much rather have the Series X version on disc than have to download 40-60 GB because it’s the XBox one version.

Mini rant over.

The highlight for me has come from the smooth gameplay for nearly every game. That minimum of 60 FPS on nearly all games has been huge. Hellblade 2 was amazing to look at for a few hours, but I did not finish the game. I anticipate that Gears of War E-Day will be the next high point for me with graphics (hopefully) as good as Hellblade 2 but with that Gears gameplay I have been waiting for.

For me it is gamepass. It's a fantastic value that has only gotten better over the years I have had it.

The load times, performance and great games have also been a treat this generation.

@MikeOrator That’s been my experience so far. The performance difference is negligible at best, with very few exceptions. Tested a few games on game pass while I had it compared to my PS5 versions and felt no difference other the cheaper-feeling XBox controller.

Given a choice, I go for the PS5 version unless there’s some compelling reason. One on sale when one isn’t, or other reasons. For example, the Cyberpunk complete edition: the PS5 version has the base game on disc and a download code included for the DLC. The Series X version has the full game including Phantom Liberty DLC included on disc. I respect that VERY much.

It’s weird straddling both platforms now.

Sincerely, the Xbox Series’ highest point was the launch hype. This was Phil’s first console generation launch, and so many features were promised that would rival or surpass Sony’s offerings. Unfortunately, some of them never really took off or were quickly discontinued, like the FPS Boost and the OG Xbox and 360 compatibility. At launch, games ran worse than PS5, even when Xbox was boasting about Series X being the ‘most powerful console’ before changing it to ‘most powerful xbox’ lol. Their golden boy launch game, Halo Infinite, was also a letdown after being delayed again and again.

I still use the Xbox regularly, and would prefer the xbox version of a game instead of the PS5 version, but I don’t have the same enthusiasm for the brand like I did in 2020.

Still haven't played anything I couldn't have played on Xbox One, but Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Hogwarts Legacy and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth were some of the best stuff I played.

Best: Being able to try full AAA games for a fraction of the price and indie games that I might not have liked without the risk. I think GO is a good thing.

Worst: Starfield. 2023 was a bad year for MS fans, and Starfield a horrendous impression to leave on otherwise newcomers.

What sticks out for me is quick resume and Game Pass. Game Pass has just gotten better and better and better with each passing year and quick resume is hands down one of the single best features for a game console ever, at least for me. I am usually bouncing around between a bunch of different games depending on my mood and quick resume changed everything for me. I couldn’t imagine going back to gaming on my Xbox without either of those.

As for games, Vampire Survivors would be at the top of the list. My most played game last year and I still play it quite often. Forza Horizon 5 is another standout. And I loved Starfield. And a ton of amazing 3rd party games as well including Elden Ring and Alan Wake 2.

For me there hasn't been a must play exclusive.

I very much enjoyed Halo and a few others while games like Redfall, Starfield and Forza Motorsport were fairly disappointing.

It's been nice playing through the game pass library but now that I've caught up on what I wanted to play, new additions seem sparse.

I don't regret buying an Xbox, although like many, I never would have if PS5 stock had been more readily available.

Will probably go back to Sony when the PS5 Pro comes out.

Quick resume is one of the standout new features and I hope it’s a staple of all consoles moving forward. I also treated myself to an Elite Series 2 controller this gen which I love. I still buy the vast majority of my third parties on my PS5 but specific Xbox highlights have been Forza Horizon 5, Age of Empires 4 and Flight Simulator. Overall the first party offering has been poor for my tastes, especially when you consider how bad it would have been had they not bought Bethesda a year into the cycle.

I dunno if Elden Ring counts but it's the only thing that matters this generation for me.

MS rewards are an amazing perk… I know that they get nerfed over time but if you are in Canada they only got better.
Brotato is amazing… I can’t wait for the DLC
Starfield will get its love over time…
Series S has been flawless
Gamepass has been A++
Trust in Phil!

First time xboxer here so its an A for me. Gamepass allowed me to play catch up with the classics Ive missed out on the first year, as well as play a bunch of other games I never would have touched. It has become my go-to console for online play and third parties and is thus the console I use the most. Took a glance at my wishlist and xbox have by far the highest number of games Im looking forward to. This generation Ive fallen in love with Halo, Gears, Forza, Flight Simulator, Starfield, Ghostwore Tokyo, Psychonauts 2 to mention some.

The high point was that first year for me, it really felt like a new Xbox era with so many features and possibilities before it kind of stalled during the ABK era until this showcase feels like a reboot again. Low point is definitely the ABK merger era, where there was no platform, only a lawsuit.

@MikeOrator LOL yeah the controller alone just feels different, and it is also less latent than the DS5 due to the proprietary protocol (though PS5 did improve theirs at one point.) but I also believe the rendering is a bit different in general, different AMD setup, different FSR/RSR settings etc. Xbox versions tend to prioritize rasterization and resolution, PS versions tend to prioritize shaders and rely more on upscale. Not always, but often how devs (or maybe just UE4?) does things.

Immortality and Raji: An Ancient Epic, Insurgency Sandstorm and Assetto Corsa Competizione are some of the few real highlights.

360 games playing better than ever. Played stuff elsewhere otherwise

Xbox series has the best controller imo, I use it for my; switch, pc and ps5. I dont own a xbox series.

"the high point" was at the very start of this gen and ark survival running/looking much better than the xbox one version. also xbox future looked bright!......

then it dimmed quite a bit. still i find it much better than what playstation has to offer me. i think things are in motion that will kill off most 3rd party xbox support which will lead me to ps6.

I guess I’d have to say Alan Wake 2 would be it. I really wanted the series x for Forza Motorsport. And that was a huge disappointment. Forza Horizon 4 and 5 were pretty fun but get stale quickly. And Halo was a major disappointment. I really like The Series X as a console. I love how fast it is and love the backwards compatibility. I really love to have consoles for interesting and good exclusives. And to be honest outside of Nintendo, nobody has delivered on that. After The Showcase though, I think I’ll feel better about it in the coming months.

Quick resume… when it works.

Best feature of this generation.

Personally still don’t think Microsoft has landed a full on banger of a game this generation that has just blown everyone away. But there is of course lots of potential on the horizon for that.

For me, the best moment of the Xbox Series was the announcement of the acquisition of Activision, it was an earthquake, I think we are all very excited.

And if we talk about a game: Starfield, one of the best RPGs I have ever played.

However, I also think we can talk about early 2024 as the platform's most bitter moment with really bad decision making. Even with a catalog of first party games announced MUCH more spectacular than that of PS5, the decisions to make certain games multiplatform or to close studios like Tango have broken the magic and trust in the Xbox Series.

@rustyduck FWIW, I don't think 3rd party support will be killed. I think what's in motion is migrating the next Xbox hardware to be directly Windows compatible so that devs only have one build, the PC build, and thus they only have to get 3rd parties on Windows Store rather than get them to build separate Xbox versions. The only down-side is the hardware will then have to be overbuilt PC hardware and thus cost more than typical consoles. But.....that's how the OG Xbox was, too. Plain old PIII Coppermine + RDRAM + GTX. And it was kind of expensive. But still cheaper than a custom build. BUT that also probably means no more disc drive. Which with GP as a focus kind of makes sense for them.

I think endgame the choice is basically PS if you love physical, Xbox if you want value, PC if you want performance over value (which will be cross compatible with Xbox.) Or Nintendo if you Ninten Do.

For me the best has to come, but I passed from Ps5 to xbox series x, for so many reasons: the value of game pass with so many new games; the super offers i found buying the keys of the games: in 4 years between ps4 and ps5 i bought 120 games, in 1 year with xbox i have over 530.
The price of the games for me is the surprising component, cause in europe everybody buy Sony, the resellers give 75% to 85% discount to so many new games .
Than the series x is so amazing, i have the developer mode and i can play so many emulators, it plays the ps1 and ps2 better than the original consoles (that i still have);
The fact i can leave a game anytime and i can continue it from the same point, days later without even saving.
1 of the biggest thing i love from the console is the amount of hard disks i can connect simultaneously and the incredible speed anytime i want to access to my data, with 530 games is so fast to keep moving them between all the hard disks and memory cards.
I HAVE NEVER PLAYED SO MUCH ON 1 CONSOLE BEFORE and the fact that 200 of the games i bought for consoles has PLAY ANYWHERE i play even more on my pc.
Now cause my house has more floors i even bought my 2 xbox series x.
The rewards gave me 3 months of gave pass ultimate for free, cant complain.

I'd give them a C so far and say that the best thing has probably been FPS Boost and the continued support of backwards compatibility.

But I believe they're bound for a B or better through the rest of this generation due to all the big games they've got coming. They all have serious potential.

FH5 is easily the best game Xbox has put out this gen. I had a good time with Halo with buddies but that game was given up on by 343 and is dead. 😕

@NEStalgia I fail to see why there would be any third party support for Xbox the moment they announce that new hardware will run on Windows versions. As soon as next gen gets announced (2026? 2028?), there will be a huge drop in games that launch on Series consoles. Why would anybody bother? Xbox would be a dead ecosystem at that point.

@InvaderFromSpace Depends really on kick backs and perks Microsoft offer for the transition period. Low premiums on Windows store sales for example. Lower than steam etc. I imagine close partner executive levels know the score already. I.e I'm sure square senior executives, above the leak risk level, were briefed before they committed a big future on Xbox etc. If there's something in it for them, publishers will still support the old console but not as long as x1.

Easily Fall 2021. Yes they put their games too close too each other but it was the only time they had been consistent with releases this gen. Psychonauts 2, halo infinite, and the best game they have had this gen in forza horizon 5. Now should have halo infinite been delay for more content and also give them a game in Spring 2022 and given Horizon 5 the full spotlight yes absolutely. But Fall 2021 was the glimpse Of what Xbox can be if it gets its ***** together.

Hi-fi rush was the high of this generation for me (Not only for xbox, but for PS5 too) but I am sick of “First person open world games with crafting mechanics and realistic graphics”
Forza Horizon 5 is a great arcade racing game and played a lot of it.
And I have really high hopes for South of Midnight

@MikeOrator Never had one in my life, and I’ve had darn near all the systems since the Atari 2600! NES, Genesis, N64 and Dreamcast, PS1-5, GameCube, Wii U, Switch…

Never an XBox though. Had a grudge against XBox when I was younger, both because I was a Mac user and because MS bought Bungie. Jerks took Halo for their exclusive after it was promoted for Mac! Betrayal!

Guess I’m mellowing in my old age now!

Yes it's lacked exclusives but as someone who didn't have an Xbox One, I've more than got my money's worth with Gamepass and backward compatibility being a real highlight this generation. It looks like we have a few great years ahead too going by recent showcases. There is a lot of negativity out there but as gamers, we've never had it better - just look at our backlogs, no matter what system you play on!

The backwards compatibility enhancements.

@MikeOrator Yeah, some of that is just down to the Forza Engine being fantastic at least for racing (we'll see in Fable how it handles all RPG but from the trailers at least probably running on dual 4090s or A5000s it's impressive.)

But yeah on average I do think the same game tends to have a slightly different feel between platforms, and I've played a number of things on both for various reasons moreso last never figured out all the differences though.

@dskatter I remember the gaming section in the old computer warehouse store. 2.5 long aisles for PC games. A whole horseshoe alcove in the corner for Xbox. A small bottom shelf in the back third of the store for Mac games. 😂

Myth a awesome though. #notmybungie

I miss those monumental, generation defining moments that the OG XBOX and 360 had. Even XBONE, while not at the same level, was at times in the ballpark of capturing some of those feels. Many of those moments are of course tied to exclusive game releases.

SERIES S/X, if I were to say what stands out is more to due with it being great hardware that encapsulates all the previous XBOX generations into one modern machine. Backwards compatibility is huge. Great performance for modern games and a sprinkling of some good exclusive titles here and there and it's a great package that offers a solid experience.

@rustyduck @NEStalgia so to say on topic i will answer the question first, highs were Diablo 4 (800 hours) i am a Diablo fanatic. Other highs were the SSD’s and quite reliable hardware. Lows were going all of 2022 without any big games and Redfall being so poorly executed. I liked what that game could have been.

Ok so Xbox and the future, 3rd parties etc etc. the biggest player in all of gaming is Windows. Windows and X86 which is all MS. Lots of the core design of game development is windows or MS toolsets. However windows is Xbox and Xbox is windows with just a little bit of work. The PC guys pay MS their windows license fees. Play the games on what store they want with more open builds and controllers options. Xbox hardware goes windows underneath a controller Ui and i think going digital does them a favor, follow me here. In EU what are we seeing with IOS they are forcing apple to have more stores on its OS. If MS went digital EU could say they need more stores for competitive reasons and MS does this with epic or steam or someone. All the games are coming to windows PC, that is not going to stop. So Xbox will always have 3rd parties. Throw in the handheld and now they have that PC model but in a non mouse and keyboard open source build for the non PC players. That alone is money out the backside. Throw in the rumor MS might let others build PC Xbox hardware devices and it’s really a win and like NES also taught me and reminded me. Xbox was started to get windows into our homes more, make sure games stuck to MS tool set’s and to sell more windows licenses. This goes back to that and the timing couldn’t be better with PC being the lead again. I see this vision working out and i am seeing how it looks more and more as NES has been on this blue print for months now helping me see how it looks and truth told it’s a smart move and benefits the devs and players.

Game Pass has been the highlight, and indie games, and RPGs. Obviously I want more of what I like. But it’s tough to complain.

For me the high point has been features like FPS boost and the backwards compatibility as well as great games like Forza Horizon 5, Flight Simulator, and Starfield.

@NEStalgia The Marathon trilogy was my jam. I remember playing the original on my old Power Macintosh 7100 and thinking it was the pinnacle of gaming! You’re not wrong about the teeny little Mac area, though.

I so hope we get a Marathon trilogy release for PS/XBox someday. Not this in-name only current!Bungie is trying to shove at us.

Series X was my entry point into Game Pass and my way back into the eco-system that I abandoned last generation because of the off-putting media slant they went with. While it’s been a bit of a slow burn, I’ve enjoyed it massively, though I think it’s fair to say in a way that’s less ‘traditional’ than ever before.

Game Pass itself has definitely been the biggest highlight. Through the service I’ve broadened my horizons significantly by discovering new genres and developing a taste for smaller indie experiences generally. And of course, at my own pace I was also able to go back and catch up on the Xbox One era first party games, which was great.

I’ve also satiated my nostalgia through back compat, replaying some of my favourite series such as Splinter Cell, Fable and Gears. As well as getting reacquainted with my absolute favourite franchise via Halo MCC.

In terms of fresh current gen experiences, it’s been way more of a mixed bag. I adored the likes of Hi-Fi Rush, Horizon 5, Psychonauts 2 and Flight Sim and had a very good time with big hitters like Halo Infinite and Starfield, but I wouldn’t say any of the latter knocked it out the park.

Overall it feels like Series X|S has been simmering rather than boiling over with content. I’m highly satisfied with my purchase, but it’s largely because what I want out of my console has morphed. I no longer have the time to throw into it that I did before, I’m less of a fan of what ‘modern games’ are now and happier to spend time reminiscing over older games while checking out things on a whim on Game Pass. It’s a solid B from me.

I have both consoles with disc drives. Both have been a disappointment to me. I've mostly been playing last generation games and 7th generation games. Both studios have yet to release a current generation IP that isn't cross generation that impresses me. Fortunately I'm so behind with games from last generation because I took a hiatus from gaming that I have so much of a backlog. Otherwise this generation would be so boring. My biggest feature I love about the series X is developer mode. I have the best american football game on it and play it quite often. I hope MS never stops supporting this feature for Xbox.

Sounds like I am in the minority but I freaking love my Seies X.

High point for me is Hellbalde 2. Hands down one of the most immersive experiences in gaming. The visuals, sound, story. Checked all my Boxes.

close 2nd is Halo Infinite. I have had so much fun.

Those are by far my 2 high points in gaming.

As far as hardware Quick Resume reighns supreme. This feature is HUGE for me. I love hopping in between games that support this feature.

And the fest is yet to come. Looking at you Fabel and Gears Of War.

I don't know I haven't experienced a single game of this gen at all on Xbox Series or cared for any other than my Xbox One X, backwards compatibility and smart delivery of Project Cars 3, Biomutant or Stranger of Paradise aka third parties because that's all that has interested me this gen at all because the 1st parties gameplay design hasn't appealed really.

If were generous a D, but I said and F because I haven't used it for anything.

Forza Motorsport 8 was supposed to be that game but it's so eh to me that it hasn't gotten me to do anything about it. I haven't touched Hi Fi Rush either just not been fussed too many other games I have to play, anime blu-rays to watch and barely using the Xbox One unless I feel like it compared to older gens of Nintendo/PS gems, including 360 non-backwards compatible games or PS4/Switch.

South of Midnight maybe but otherwise the other big IPs could be fine but not that fussed about them.

I've kept using my PS4/Xbox One X/VCR all gen even more than I did my PS3 during PS4 era.

Forza Horizon 5 is probably the most fun I've had on Series X.
I was on Game pass till late last year, but I'm afraid the titles just have not clicked with me. But both myself and my wife payed the hell out of FH5 and we will always have fond memories of it (even though I prefer 4)
I'm hoping avowed later this year will get me back to switching the black box on!

The console and ecosystem are great, but I don't think this generation would be specially remembered for their games, with some exceptions.

If Xbox deliver what we saw in the last showcase, maybe they can finish in a high note.

My Series X is my first Xbox console and I absolutely love it as a piece of hardware, but I gotta say no high point for me so far on the first party games front.
I was hoping for it to be Starfield, but that ended up as my biggest disappointment in gaming ever. Seriously, it's so boring, outdated and all over the place it really makes you wish design docs were a thing at Bethesda.
Halo Infinite was the usual slop, although I did have some fun with its campaign compared to the MCC ones.
I'm not into cars but I guess Forza fans at least have been eating good, and the same goes for Flight Sim fans.
Me, I'll wait patiently for Clockwork Revolution.
It really looks to have all the hallmarks to be an all time favourite for me, but I don't wanna hype myself up too much lol.