Author: Trafficblast

The PlayStation 5 has a number of features buried in its settings menu that could potentially improve your gaming experience, or at the very least make it a little more convenient to cater the experience to your tastes. One such feature is to dictate certain settings on a system-wide level.

By heading to the Settings section of the PS5 user interface and selecting “Save Date and Game/App Settings” and then “Game Presets,” you are able to tweak certain options so that they are communicated and applied to your games. You can set your preferred difficulty level, whether you want to play in Performance mode or Resolution mode, if you’d like your camera controls inverted, and if subtitles are on or off by default.

This is a relatively simple feature but, as far as quality-of-life improvements go, it’s a smart one. Most modern games present these options upfront and, as the weeks, months, and years go by, it can become slightly irksome to constantly input these preferences. This feature has the potential to streamline getting into games, which is a nice touch.

It must be noted that, in order for this to work, games need to support and integrate the feature. Although it would be nice if all games used the feature, currently it’s unclear whether Sony has mandated support for it, so its functionality, or lack thereof, is likely to remain on a case-by-case basis.

There are a number of other cool hidden PS5 features that you should be aware of. Our PS5 review is also up now, so you can check out what we think about Sony’s newest video game platform.

While we’ve already seen the spruced-up videos that are recorded when you unlock a new Trophy on a PlayStation 5 game you might have been waiting to see if there was anything extra-special that happens when you unlock a Platinum Trophy (the one you get for unlocking all of the Trophies in a game). For better or worse, there isn’t–you’ll just have to settle for the standard Trophy unlock experience and the satisfaction of knowing you earned it.

We managed to obtain the Platinum in Astro’s Playroom, the free game that’s bundled with every PS5 and functions as a showcase for the DualSense controller. When we did, there wasn’t anything special that happened–you get the usual pop-up notification, and the system automatically records a short video clip to commemorate the moment as with any Trophy. That video includes the aforementioned overlay we saw previously, but there isn’t any additional flourish for the Platinum.

Trophies largely function as they have in the past, although it’s possible you’ll find it easier to earn some of them thanks to PS5’s built-in help feature. This allows you to access developer-created videos and help materials through the PS5’s user interface, provided the game supports the feature. With a picture-in-picture video on screen, you might find a particularly tough task is a bit more doable.

For much more on what to expect once you get your hands on the new system, check out our PS5 review.

The PlayStation 5 features an overhauled user interface that both introduces new features and also tweaks existing ones to make them a little more intuitive. Although it unfortunately does not include folder support for organizing your games, one UI improvement is the reworked game library, which has been cleaned up to make it easier to navigate.

When tabbing over to the game library, you’ll now notice a drop-down menu available on the left of the screen. Using this, you can change visibility options to show either PS3, PS4, or PS5 games. (PS3 games are playable through PlayStation Now.) Additionally, you can now also filter by source, so you can see the games you acquired through a PlayStation Store purchase, PlayStation Plus, or PlayStation Now.

Tabbing over to the Installed section will show you all your ready-to-play games and, at a glance, you’ll be able to tell where they are installed thanks to the presence of icons on the game tiles that indicate location.

Another handy new feature is the ability to access demos and alternative versions of a game. By hitting the three dots on a game entry, you’ll get a drop-down menu that shows you if a PS4 version of a PS5 game is available to you and will also display demo options.

That’s one of many cool features on the PS5 that are somewhat understated–make sure to check out our feature on the PS5’s hidden features for more. And if you want to know what we thought of Sony’s new console as a whole, read our PS5 review.

The PlayStation 5 sports faster load times and improved graphics over its predecessor, but its controller is the thing you’re probably going to notice most as you dive into your next-generation gaming experiences. The DualSense sports a bunch of improved technology, from its adaptive triggers to its dynamic haptic feedback, that elevate the games that use it well.

The best showcase for the DualSense we’ve seen so far is Astro’s Playroom, the 3D platformer that comes bundled with the PS5. It uses every speck of capability the DualSense offers, showing off its enhanced rumble features with feedback based on what surfaces you’re walking on and what actions you’re taking, changing the tension of the adaptive triggers to mimic what Astro is doing on screen, and adding the touchpad, microphone, and gyroscope into the mix to amplify them all.

Check out the video above for our impressions of the DualSense–including why we’re a bit worried about its long-term prospects. We’ve got plenty more PS5 coverage now and in the coming weeks, so be sure to stick with GameSpot to catch it all.

The PlayStation 5 is launching very soon, and alongside it there will be a number of accessories. One of these is the new Pulse 3D headset.

We’ve had a chance to try it out, and in a new video review, Mat Paget makes the case for it. The top-line takeaway is that the Pulse 3D headset produces vibrant audio at an affordable price. The headset works with not only the PS5, but a number of other platforms.

The $100 headset boasts a 12-hour battery life, and we found that to be true in our tests. Overall, for the price, the headset delivers a very rich audio experience. The only negatives we had to mention were that its plastic frame feels cheap and it may not be the most comfortable for larger ears.

Check out the full review in the video above, and keep coming back to GameSpot for lots more on the PS5 and other next-gen news in the days and weeks ahead.

In its opening moments, Astro’s Playroom literally describes itself as a tutorial. Specifically, it explains that the Playroom’s light and lighthearted platforming levels are a means of showing off the special features of the PlayStation 5‘s new DualSense controller. Some, like the adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and built-in microphone, are new. Others, like the touchpad and the gyroscope, are not. But they all distinguish the DualSense from its Xbox- and Nintendo-based counterparts. While Astro’s Playroom absolutely goes out of its way to offer clever proof of the PS5’s potential–the DualSense’s new tricks, the improved visuals, the quick load times–the disembodied text at the start of the game sells Astro short. Playroom is an incredibly charming jaunt through a PlayStation-inspired digital theme park, ensuring that your first hop, skip, and jump of the PS5 era is wholly, unequivocally joyful.

Astro’s world–the literal playroom–is a cartoon fantasy-style interpretation of the PlayStation 5. The game’s four levels and hub world are all named after the console’s components, like “GPU Jungle” and “Cooling Springs.” Inside, each is a dreamlike PlayStation playground; your typical platforming level locales, like “beach,” “city,” and “meadow,” are decorated with computer chips and parts of PlayStations past woven into their fabric. Each one is densely packed with fun little scenes and interactive set-dressing. Astro’s adorable bot friends hang out, play games, and cosplay as some of the platform’s iconic characters, making every adventure feel like a party, too. Having the PlayStation hype-train baked into every nook and cranny of the world could have felt overbearing, but it’s all very endearing. The level design is more clever than cloying, and the bots are all very cute and their happy vibes are surprisingly contagious.

The PlayStation references are tied to collectibles, which fill up an interactive museum space called “PlayStation Labo.” As you find puzzle pieces that turn to PlayStation-themed murals and giant virtual models, the space quickly turns into a very concentrated nostalgia hit for fans of PlayStation’s history. It also gives you a place to use all the coins you’ve been grabbing: There’s a gacha machine in the back that will sell you even more collectibles. That gives you a reason to go, but I found this to be the rare game where I actually wanted to survey the collectibles after I found them. That’s partially because I enjoyed walking around and jumping on the giant PlayStation memorabilia, but it’s also because the space, full of bots playing with PlayStation gear, felt more engaging than a plain menu or empty “viewing” space.

They are also a wonderful showcase for the PlayStation 5’s enhanced visual and technical performance. [Editor’s note: You can read our PS5 review for a full breakdown of its performance and more.] Playing on a 4K TV with HDR10, the levels are bright, colorful, and intricately detailed. There are tons of little bots running around in the background, foreground, and everywhere in between, the vast majority you can interact with by jumping on or punching them. Between the bots, enemies, and moving elements like platforms, running water, and floating clouds, the world is full of life.

And there are no meaningful loading screens. Jumping from the hub area to one of the levels triggers a short transition sequence for a couple of seconds, but it feels like a fluid part of the game rather than a distraction.

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Though simply going to Astro’s Playroom and looking around is a pleasure, the platforming is nothing to sneeze at. Astro’s jumps and punches feel snappy and responsive as he makes his way through the world. Much of the platforming is simple, yet still challenging in spots. It helps that each level occasionally branches into two paths–a simple, direct path for new players and a more challenging one for veterans. Experienced players aren’t going to have much trouble, even with the tougher sections, but it’ll push you to try.

Each level also has two sections where Astro puts on a special suit that gives it a new means of getting around. Each suit is made to highlight one or more DualSense features. In one level, there’s the spring suit, which jumps after you pull the triggers and let go, almost as if you were pushing down on an actual spring. In another, you become a giant ball, rolling around by swiping the touchpad. The DualSense’s adaptive triggers, which can provide haptic feedback and varying levels of resistance when you pull them, get an especially bright spotlight. The resistance from the triggers, combined with the controller’s new, more nuanced haptic feedback, can tell you lots of different things in context, like how much you’ve pulled back the string of a bow, the building force of a spring-powered jump, or that a locked gacha arm won’t budge when you try to steal an extra pull.

All of these sequences are effective demonstrations of the DualSense controller, but not all of them are actually fun. A trigger-powered rocket ship effectively shows off the potential for using trigger resistance to give feedback on a vehicle’s throttle, but it relies on careful boosting and, more importantly, unwieldy motion controls that feel frustratingly inaccurate compared to the responsive platforming controls. In fact, motion controls pop up in a couple of these sequences and have an uncanny knack for making any kind of gameplay more wonky and unpleasant than it has to be.

There are also fans scattered throughout the level that require you to blow into the DualSense’s built-in microphone. It’s a neat but ultimately benign trick. In fact, it’s completely optional: If you mute the controller mic, the fans spin automatically. Occasionally, forced applications of the DualSense’s feature set can hurt the game more than they help.

The best and worst thing I can say about Astro’s Playroom is that its role as a demonstration feels a bit wasteful. It’s a wondrous little dream world, and I would have loved to spend more time touring it. But that, in itself, is a tremendous achievement. Astro’s Playroom, a game that makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is an excuse to show you what a gamepad can do, conjures a world that you will want to see and explore. More than that, its surprisingly delightful celebration of PlayStation and its video games is a great way to kick off a console generation.

After putting the PS5 through its paces and testing out its unique features, including the DualSense controller’s improved haptic feedback and resistance, as well as games like Astro’s Playroom and Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mat Paget is impressed with Sony’s system and sees it as a great foundation for the next gaming generation.

Mat discusses the console’s user interface, new controller, 3D audio, performance, and how games make use of the console’s exclusive features. He also tested out its SSD to see just how fast it really is for loading games, as well as its accessibility features and new “Activities.” He also played PS4 games to see how performance improved on the PS5, and games such as Assassin’s Creed Unity now has a much smoother frame rate.

The console’s big new features will rely on third-party developers choosing to utilize them, but the PS5 is a console with plenty of power and a great lineup of exclusive games, both at launch and coming early in 2021.

Editor’s note: Spider-Man: Miles Morales is releasing on November 12 for both PS5 and PS4. For this review, Jordan played on a PS4 Pro. Other GameSpot staff tested the game on PS5 and found it to be a largely comparable experience, with the PS5 version benefiting from improved visual flourishes and load times. For a technical-focused discussion of the PS5, and how Miles Morales benefits, check out our PS5 review.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales feels like the second half to The City That Never Sleeps, a three-part follow-up expansion to 2018’s Marvel’s Spider-Man–the game even begins with the option to watch a short recap of the first game and its DLC in order to bring you up to speed on Miles’ origins, reinforcing the notion that this is an extension of what’s come before.

And, unfortunately, the gameplay in Spider-Man: Miles Morales (which I will hereafter refer to as SM:MM because I’ll be damned if I try to write a full review that cleverly tries to make a distinction between Spider-Man/Miles Morales the game and Spider-Man/Miles Morales the character; I won’t do it) never quite manages to break free of that feeling. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing–I like 2018’s Spider-Man for its engaging combat loop, so I’m glad SM:MM emulates it. It’s just that sometimes SM:MM can feel too similar to what’s come before, which can get in the way of establishing Miles as his own brand of superhero. Regardless, the familiar trappings of SM:MM are used to tell an entirely fresh story with a few brand-new faces. And it’s that narrative and those characters that manage to distinguish SM:MM as an open-world action game that’s compelling to play.

Like its predecessor, SM:MM throws you right into the action. After a short intro, Miles suits up and joins Peter Parker in escorting a convoy transporting supervillain Rhino, who’s being taken back to prison after his escape in the previous game. Things don’t go according to plan, but Miles manages to step up in a big way during the mission, proving to his mentor that he’s capable of watching over New York City on his own for two weeks while Peter goes on a vacation with Mary Jane.

I love this opening. There’s a frantic pace to it; the game tosses you straight into its combat and traversal mechanics, immediately having you fight some escaped convicts before sticking you to the back of a rampaging Rhino. You need to steer the hulking brute around obstacles and pedestrians in a crowded shopping mall, and then you’re flung into the open world to chase after the villain through the twists and turns of the city streets. And that’s just the first 10 minutes. So even though the first few mechanics you learn are fairly straightforward–despite his inexperience, Miles controls just like Peter in the first game so web-slinging is practically effortless and combat isn’t much harder–the sheer whiplash of needing to constantly adapt to different types of gameplay in such a short time puts you right into Miles’ headspace. You can complete the level in one go because it’s the prologue and it’s easy, but it feels like Miles is just getting by and that Peter is doing most of the work anyway (he even covers for you when you make a mistake, like missing a quick-time prompt).

Tinkerin’ With The Narrative

In moderation, I think this would have been a great way to convey to the player how stressful Miles’ newfound responsibility is. But SM:MM never lets up. It’s high-key set piece after high-key set piece for most of its 11-hour runtime, with very little time reserved for quiet moments of reflection. Miles acquires a series of gadgets and abilities at a fairly steady pace as well (including his trademark venom sting and camouflage superpowers, which I’ll get to in a bit), several of which emerge in unsatisfying ways as seemingly random bouts of deus ex machina. At times, it can feel like SM:MM is almost rushing towards its conclusion, desperate to deliver on the promise that Miles ends the game as a seasoned Spider-Man without really slowing down to show you how he manages to earn the respect and appreciation of a city that already knows and loves a Spider-Man.

The main plot of SM:MM sees Miles simultaneously try to garner the favor of New York by fulfilling requests left by random New Yorkers on a smartphone app and stop the escalating conflict between Roxxon Energy Corporation and a gang called the Underground. Roxxon is buying up bits and pieces of Harlem to make room for reactors that will run on a brand-new energy source. Meanwhile, the Underground want to make a name for themselves, and thanks to the advanced arsenal of weapons they now have thanks to their new boss, the Tinkerer, the gang is setting its sights on destroying the prominent Roxxon.

The story is your standard superhero affair with betrayals and ramifications that are familiar to the genre but still exciting to watch unfold. If anything, it’s the characters who manage to keep SM:MM from feeling formulaic–the Tinkerer, especially. It’s difficult to hype up how good of a villain they are without spoiling the best moments from SM:MM’s campaign outright. When pressed, I’ve just been telling people that SM:MM does for the Tinkerer what the movie Spider-Man: Homecoming does for the Vulture. The game humanizes a classic but somewhat bland member of Spidey’s rogues’ gallery and gives them a compelling reason for why they turned to a life of crime, reinventing the character into more of a tragic figure. In a certain light, the Tinkerer’s actions could be construed to be almost heroic (in an anti-hero sort of way), allowing the character to exist as a dark foil to Miles’ Spider-Man. And at the center of that comparison between Miles and the Tinkerer is the two’s shared life experiences.

Prior to Miles’ regular interactions with the Tinkerer, his evolution as a hero is primarily seen through his closest friends and confidants. Miles is surrounded by heroes, so a small but significant part of SM:MM is his musings about who he should be taking inspiration from. His friends serve as two sides of a coin, playing the roles of angels and devils in the debates that will define Miles. Ganke, for example, knows that Miles is Spider-Man and understands what Miles wants to get out of the role, but can’t really empathize with Miles’ Black or Puerto Rican heritage. Other friends and allies, however, more closely relate to Miles’ cultural identities and struggles but don’t understand the extent of his secret identity. Miles regularly talks to key members of the supporting cast throughout the first half of the campaign, and you get to see him coming to an understanding of what type of hero he wants to be through these conversations. It’s awesome, and so when he dons his traditional black-and-red suit and emerges as a brand-new Spider-Man for the first time, one similar to but also altogether different from Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, you can understand how he’s grown to this point. You got to see it; you got to live through that internal turmoil with him.

A Different Side To The Same New York

The child of a Black father and Puerto Rican mother, Miles is a wonderful mixture of cultures and languages. His building is adorned with the Puerto Rican flag, his family has an old collection of jazz and R&B vinyl records, and he seamlessly transitions between standard English, African-American Vernacular English, Spanish, and American Sign Language based on who he’s talking to (occasionally even mixing together one or two of them). The way he leaps off of rooftops and flips backwards to face the camera before falling into a headfirst dive is just full of the exaggerated swagger of a Black teen–it gives me goosebumps every time he does it, especially as the music begins to swell.

Speaking of, we’ve got to talk about the music in SM:MM. When Miles begins swinging, the orchestral score grows louder, but there’s a nice synthetic hip-hop undercurrent to the whole thing. The music isn’t as bombastic as that heard in 2018’s Spider-Man. It instead crackles with a soft percussion–it reverberates in your ears with a steady crescendo that stops just short of overtaking the sounds of the city. It allows Miles (and to an extent, the player) to remain clued into New York even while soaring through the air at breakneck speeds to the sound of bomb-ass beats. I also need to shoutout SM:MM’s use of Jaden Smith and Kid Cudi’s “On My Own,” which is used perfectly in an introductory scene–it fits as well into the game as Post Malone and Swae Lee’s “Sunflower” did in the movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Unfortunately, SM:MM can’t slow down enough for you to really immerse yourself in the music that plays in the open world. If Ganke isn’t calling to direct Miles to his next objective, then it’s Miles’ mother checking in or his uncle offering some advice or J. Jonah Jameson ranting about the new web-swinging menace or someone else. The game is constantly cutting off the music to deliver a new waypoint for you to follow or a conversation to listen to before the new waypoint appears. And thankfully, you can turn some of these voices off, but many are tied to the story–so you’ll have someone almost always yapping in your ear. I’m enjoying traversal in the game far more now having finished the campaign, as I can just appreciate the rhythmic beat of the music while marveling at the beautiful murals, busy parks, and other aspects of New York culture that are on display in Harlem.

The game does look better on PS5, but the difference isn’t drastic enough to fundamentally change the experience.

Speaking of, outside of Harlem (which has gotten a little bit of extra aesthetic love in order to better capture the culture of the area), SM:MM’s New York is largely the same as the one in 2018’s Spider-Man; the city is now just covered in snow and holiday decorations. I played the game on PS4 Pro and found SM:MM’s graphics to look a lot like 2018’s Spider-Man. A few of my coworkers have played SM:MM on PS5 and report that the game does look better on next-gen, but the difference isn’t drastic enough to fundamentally change the experience–the game is sharper, reflections of characters in windows are far more clear, and load times are faster. The technical features provided by PS5’s DualSense controller don’t add anything essential to the gameplay either; there’s trigger resistance to represent the effort Miles need to put in to shooting webs when soaring through the air, and subtle vibrations in the controller for whenever a phone vibrates or a train moves along a track. They’re cool bells and whistles, but you’re getting a similar experience whether you’re playing on PS4 or PS5. You can read our PS5 review for a more detailed breakdown.

Regardless of where you’re playing, SM:MM’s buildings are a lot more stunning while in motion–really, the whole city is. Taking a break from web-swinging or fighting crime to walk on the city streets and high-five pedestrians reveals somewhat drab NPC designs and no meaningful way for Miles to interact with his fellow citizens. Given that one of Miles’ biggest motivations in the game is to connect with the people of his city, it’s disappointing that there’s no way to do so–the only choice you have when trying to help the people of New York is how exactly you want to beat up the problem they’re facing.

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There are a few side missions that aren’t about Miles fighting crime, though; these are found in the new app request side activities. Between chapters, Miles typically muses aloud that he should take a moment to respond to requests for help on his app. And it’s in these bite-sized stories that you get to see Miles interacting with his community, albeit with shallow, forgettable characters save for a man who needs you to rescue his cat and a girl who’s deaf and might have a crush on Miles. And honestly, I think it says a lot that I can only remember the cat’s name, and that’s only because it’s “Spider-Man,” which is very memorable. But you have to purposely keep selecting these missions, otherwise Ganke calls after you complete one to let you know where to go next for the main campaign. Sometimes he doesn’t even wait that long. He’s called me on the way to responding to app requests to tell me about the very important story thing that Miles needs to do next. So you can either disrupt the overall flow of the main campaign to do side activities or keep up with the pace of the main story, which largely means rushing forward from chapter to chapter. It’s a rather annoying pacing issue–I felt like Miles wouldn’t do things like take a picture with a fan, track down lost toys, or break icicles off a crane when he has a lead on the Tinkerer.

Brand-New Moves, Same Ol’ Swing

Gameplay-wise, SM:MM is built on the already solid foundation of 2018’s Spider-Man, relying on a straightforward but still compelling timing system for both traversal and combat. Web-swinging through the air and catapulting off of rooftops is effortless to pick up, and combat and stealth sections aren’t that much harder. However, despite how approachable the game is, SM:MM still pushes you to get better by rewarding you for pulling off more advanced timing on the tempo of Miles’ web-swinging and combat abilities. Do you need to use these harder-to-time abilities to beat the game? No. But getting the timing down produces a flow-like rhythm to both traversal and combat, allowing them to more seamlessly mold together in an ever more satisfying way over time.

Though Miles controls pretty much exactly like Peter did in 2018’s Spider-Man, he has a few unique superpowers: venom strikes and camouflage. Miles’ venom strikes offer him area-of-effect attacks, stunning and damaging groups of enemies. Meanwhile, his camouflage allows him to fairly easily reset a stealth encounter or perform silent takedowns that Peter couldn’t do in the first game. But even without these abilities, Miles is as powerful as his mentor. I’d sometimes go entire fights without using any of the venom attacks because I forgot that they were there. The same goes for invisibility in some of the stealth sections.

Miles’ unique powers are his own, but they simply fit into Peter’s already established moveset. So, despite being a new Spider-Man, Miles doesn’t actually play like a new Spider-Man–which feels like a missed opportunity to use the gameplay to reinforce that Miles brings his own creative spin to his mentor’s abilities. There are moments where using Miles’ unique powers would be beneficial, but they’re rare, relegating the venom strikes and camouflage to very specific situations. And since Miles is more than competent without venom or camouflage, the introduction of new enemy types that can temporarily disable his venom attacks or see him when he’s invisible don’t actually force you to get creative and tackle challenges in new ways.

And so the difficulty of SM:MM remains fairly flat throughout the campaign, only spiking for boss battles–one of which I do really like because it forces you to constantly switch up between Miles’ normal and venom attacks to chip away at the boss and use web-swinging or Miles’ camouflage to safely maneuver around the small arena. But you can’t just spam Miles’ abilities because venom strikes, gadgets, and camouflage are necessary for controlling the crowd of normal enemies that are also present. It’s such a cool battle of attrition and crowd management, one that encourages you to embrace Miles’ powers and fight in a wholly different way to most of the campaign. The whole fight is very representative of how SM:MM could have benefited from more combat encounters that incorporate Miles’ unique powers and highlight how his fighting style is different from Peter’s.

Home Is Where Harlem Is

Like I said at the top of this review, SM:MM feels a lot like a missing chapter to 2018’s Spider-Man. The gameplay is so similar, and the environment is largely the same. It’s in the characters (especially Ganke and the Tinkerer) and the story that it tells that SM:MM manages to break free of what’s been done already to deliver something that you’ll want to see all the way through.

It’s a bit of a bummer to see Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales trip up at certain points, but thankfully, that doesn’t happen often. The game wastes little time jumping you into Miles’ story and rarely lets up on the brakes, packing the young wall crawler’s first solo outing with more super powers and radio chatter than the game needs. And yet, despite its frantic pace, Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a compelling open-world action game that helps highlight why Miles is so special: his culture. It’s Miles’ unique differences and earnest attempts at figuring out how to protect his community that make him into such a wonderful hero, not the mask he wears and superpowers he wields.

Both the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 bring a lot of power to the table as we enter the next generation of video game consoles. But the improvement that’ll probably affect your gaming the most is the inclusion of NVMe SSD drives for internal storage in both systems. These solid-state drives help the consoles to decrease load times significantly, both on new games and those made for last generation’s consoles. But which of the two next-gen machines loads the fastest?

To answer that question, we looked to the backwards compatibility features of the PS5 and XSX and let the two machines battle it out head-to-head. We compared the load times of five games originally released on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to see just how fast the two new consoles would get them ready to play, from starting the games to the first moment you can control. Check out the results in the video above; below, you’ll find the list of games we compared and timestamps so you can skip straight to their comparisons.

• 0:40 -Red Dead Redemption 2
• 2:00 – Final Fantasy XV
• 3:19 – Destiny 2
• 4:22 – Monster Hunter World
• 5:23 – Batman: Arkham Knight

We’ve got lots of PS5 and Xbox Series X coverage with more on the way in the coming days and weeks, so be sure to check it out on GameSpot.com.

In an unprecedented move for a console launch, two options are available when it comes to new-generation Xbox systems: The powerful and fully equipped Xbox Series X, and the more affordable but somewhat limited Xbox Series S. I’ve already delivered my review of the Series X, but what does the Series S offer? Well, it’s a cute and compact console that’ll play previous and next-gen Xbox games, and do so for a relatively cheap entry price of $300 USD.

It’s a sleek system that comes with many of the same great features of the beefier Series X, but it comes with some notable compromises that you’ll need to consider if you’re interested in this itty-bitty Xbox. And it’s not just about the visuals; its limited internal storage space, the nuances to how backwards compatible games look and run, and the lack of a disc drive will influence whether or not this console’s for you–the importance of those things depends on your own needs but, either way, the Xbox Series S packs a punch.

The Little Console That Could

Let’s first talk about in-game performance. The RDNA 2 GPU and Zen 2 CPU from AMD that are built into the Series S are scaled-down versions of what’s in the Series X–it’s all part of the same technical architecture. Microsoft’s aim for the Series S is to hit 1440p resolution instead of full 4K, which is still ambitious, all things considered. When playing optimized games on the smaller console, it’s impressive to see just how good they perform while flexing graphical enhancements.

Gears 5 looks and runs great; it might not offer the same clarity seen on the more powerful systems, and the details might not shine through as distinctly on a 4K display, but you still get a consistent 60fps at what looks to be either 1080p or 1440p resolution. The Series S also has room to do 120fps like its more powerful counterpart, if optimizations allow for it and if you have a proper 120Hz display. As part of Gears 5’s optimization, the option to run 120fps in multiplayer is available. A handful of games are planned to take advantage of 120fps capabilities, like Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Dirt 5, although we’re not sure if that’ll come with noticeable visual compromises.

Forza Horizon 4 is noteworthy when it comes to Series S optimizations. It’s a remarkable showcase of what the console can do. It’s able to hit 60fps and maintain its fantastic visual flair at what looks like either 1080p or 1440p resolution. On a 4K TV, I can tell the image isn’t as sharp as it is on the Series X, but otherwise, it looks crisp in motion.

One curious case is Yakuza: Like a Dragon. As of this writing, the game actually offers the same two graphics options as it does on Series X, albeit scaled down for Series S hardware. “High Resolution” mode seems to do 1440p at 30fps, and “Normal” mode looks to be 1080p at a smooth 60fps. (On Series X, the modes offer 4K at 30fps and 1440p at 60fps, respectively). This could mean that we may see similar options pop up even for Series S-optimized games in the future.

Backwards Compatibility With Different Results

As for backwards compatibility, the Series S essentially takes base Xbox One builds of games and goes from there. This has an impact on what you get out of current-gen games when running on the Series S compared to the Series X.

If a game is not optimized for next-gen, the Series X will play the One X-enhanced version, which usually means the game will employ the same graphics options for improved performance or visuals–or just straight-up lock into better visuals, whatever the case may be. For the Series S, however, games will only run the base Xbox One version if they don’t receive a performance update, meaning you’ll miss out on the enhancements that came from the previous generation’s high-end console.

For example, when playing Final Fantasy XV on Series X, you can access the One X enhancements, which allow you to choose to boost frame rate or crank up the visual fidelity. When playing on Series S, you simply play the base Xbox One version that runs at a capped 30fps with its blurry sub-1080p resolution. Doom Eternal is enhanced for One X and runs great on the Series X too, but it’s a bit disappointing to play the base Xbox One version on the Series S, which caps resolution at a fuzzy 900p to maintain 60fps.

The Series S can run non-optimized backwards-compatible games with more stable performance by virtue of the stronger hardware. In situations where a game uses an uncapped frame rate or a 60fps limit, it’ll be able to maintain and hit those high marks. If a game uses dynamic resolution, it’ll maintain the higher resolution permitted. But it’s still beholden to the built-in limitations of the base Xbox One builds in these cases. The reasons for this are understandable–as the power differentials across all consoles in play aren’t so simple–but the Series S has so much power leftover and unused in these scenarios.

Things can always change, though, as it’s basically up to developers to go back and implement optimizations to improve the experience, if they want.

Speedy SSD Without Much Space

While the Series S concedes some graphical horsepower, it doesn’t skimp out on the SSD in terms of speed. It packs the same type of internal storage drive as the Series X, so you get the same ultra-fast load times. Some examples I’ve used in coverage of the Xbox Series X are Final Fantasy XV, The Outer Worlds, and Control, which all load from the main menu and into gameplay in about 10 to 13 seconds. Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Gears 5 only take about five or six seconds to get into actual gameplay. In previous tests for comparisons, the Xbox One X internal drive would take about four to five times longer.

To me, this is a real game changer–a practical and tangible benefit that makes the gaming experience much more fluid, letting you spend more of your time actually playing games. It’s a thing that permeates the entire experience, particularly valuable in games that have frequent resource- and data-intensive scenarios to load into. Once you get a taste of super-fast loading in games, you will not want to go back to anything lesser.

Where the Series S makes a major cut is in its SSD’s size. The 512GB internal drive actually comes out to 364GB of free usable space. Considering the size of games, that is not a lot of storage. If you consistently play something like a newer Call of Duty, well, that’s basically a third of your drive gone.

One thing Microsoft has brought up is that some games actually have smaller install sizes specifically for the Series S version thanks to Smart Delivery. Forza Horizon 4 takes up 71.4GB on the Series S as opposed to the 84.6GB on the Series X, and Gears 5 takes up 55.1 GB down from 71.9GB, respectively. This helps somewhat, but not by much. However, Sea of Thieves chops off a significant chunk, going down to 17GB for Series S from 46.6GB on Series X. Developers can decide which assets to include as part of the installation, and since the Series S doesn’t need 4K assets, the shrinking of game sizes should be a little more common (although your mileage will vary).

How To Overcome Limited Storage

You have some options for expanding storage if this presents a problem for you. The 1TB Seagate drive is technically the best solution, but it’s also the most expensive. At $220 bucks, you’d be paying more to pair the drive with a Series S than you would for just a Series X console.

Another solution is to use an external USB 3.0 drive. You can play backwards-compatible games that are installed on the drive, and the load times can be pretty quick if you’re using an external SSD. However, you can’t play next-gen or Series S-optimized games straight off a USB drive–you have to transfer the install files to internal storage, which thankfully doesn’t take that long.

Regardless, if you want to move beyond that 364GB limitation of the Series S’s internal SSD and you don’t already have an external drive, it’s going to add to the overall cost of moving to this console.

Other Matters In Brief

Most other things across the Xbox Series X and S stay the same in terms of the user experience. The UI is the same; it’s as snappy as it is on the Series X, and Quick Resume works exactly as it’s intended. As I’ve said before, suspending up to five or six games and jumping between them in a matter of seconds is pretty sweet and a useful feature for how I play games. And the fact that games stay suspended after powering off the system, or unplugging the power cord, is cool too.

As we move closer toward adopting digital distribution wholesale, the lack of a disc drive on the Series S makes sense, especially considering the emphasis on Game Pass for Xbox’s future. But those of you who kept your physical Xbox One and Xbox 360 games will be out of luck with a Series S (or if you want to use your system for entertainment on Blu-ray discs). If those things are important to you, the Series S is a no-go.

If it’s not the absence of a disc drive that jumps out at you when looking at the Xbox Series S, it’s the elegant physical design of the console. Whereas the Series X has a sort of low-key yet imposing vertically-inclined presence to its appearance, the Series S is cute and leaves a small footprint. Maybe you think it’s just a plain white box with a big fan vent on top, but considering the power it packs and the fact that it’s an actual next-gen system, it’s impressive–tiny and light, sporting a minimalist aesthetic, and literally the smallest Xbox ever.

It’s The S… Or Is It?

It’s nice that you can access next-gen for $300 USD with a compact box like the Xbox Series S–an entry-level option is just cool to see available right at launch. Moving forward, games will naturally accommodate the Series S with proper optimizations, so cases like Forza Horizon 4 and Gears 5 will be more common. And off the bat, you have the advantage of quick SSD load speeds. Whether or not it should be your system of choice for next-gen is determined by how much its compromises affect you, and also if you even care about 4K resolution. If you think its concessions make it a dealbreaker, consider saving a bit more for the Xbox Series X.

The Series S could serve as a great, cost-effective system that is complementary to, say, a PlayStation system or Nintendo Switch. If you just want to access what the platform offers now or what’s to come in Xbox’s future, and don’t mind the gap in graphical details and storage space, this is the Xbox for you.