You’ve finally unwrapped your freebies, and in the middle of the bundle there’s finally the Xbox Series X or Series S you’ve been waiting for. Now is the time to install it. We guide you so that the first moments go wonderfully.
The Xbox Series X and Series S // Source: Arnaud Gelineau – Frandroid
Next-gen power and play is knocking on your door. Or rather are finally here. Now you own an Xbox Series X or Series S and it’s time to install it.
For the complete tests of the two consoles, we advise you to consult the articles that we have devoted to the two products:
We will offer you the essentials below to make your first steps a success quickly and refine everything before launching your first games.
How to configure your console?
Once opened the console box, excellently designed to be unpacked even with one hand, we find the Xbox Series, its controller, its power cable as well as an HDMI 2.1 cable essential to enjoy the 4K 120 Hz and HDR (if your TV screen is obviously compatible). You plug everything in and the adventure can begin as soon as you start the console.
The configuration is quite simplified and very well explained. You have the choice of following the procedure on the console using your controller, or relying on the Xbox app on your smartphone. It’s more intuitive and easy to use on its touchscreen rather than going through the steps and typing in information with your controller. Not insignificant advantage: if you have a Microsoft account, the application will connect to it and you will not need to type your usernames and passwords on the console. In addition, backups will be done automatically in the cloud thereafter (with your associated Microsoft or Xbox Live account). If you already had an account, you will recover your content and backups. But beware instead, the new console has barely 800 GB of storage for your games.
Follow each step perfectly described, choose your wifi or Ethernet connection system and your power mode. Remember to activate the standby power mode if you plan to play remotely or automatically install updates without having to do anything. This will be particularly useful if you want to enjoy cloud gaming via the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription or possibly play in a streaming console if you are on iOS, Android or Windows (the ability to access content stored on your console remotely) . You will also have to launch multiple updates after configuring your account on your new console. It will take a little while …
The Xbox Series S like the Series X automatically adapts their definition to the screen to which it is connected. You won’t have to bother with this. If you already had an Xbox One and an external hard drive to store your games, you can simply plug it in at the back to continue enjoying your games. Thank you also to the backward compatibility offered by these consoles for the old titles dear to your heart.
And if you are running out of storage space on your console for your latest generation games, there is the Seagate expansion card in particular.
Our advice: take the Xbox Game Pass!
Xbox has been heckled quite a bit not to offer true home AAA to its consoles until the last few months. But it’s been a long time since it’s the exclusive interest of the Xbox One and Xbox Series. The Xbox Game Pass subscription is at the heart of the machine now. For 10-12 euros each month, you can enjoy hundreds of titles, many of them from Xbox Studios with exclusives available Day One, and flagship games from partner third-party publishers at no extra charge in the Game Pass. In addition, it is possible to benefit from many offers sometimes at symbolic 1 euro if you are a new subscriber. For the more gamers and / or ambitious, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate not only allows you to have unlimited access to the very large catalog of games, but also to play on PC, to take advantage of the advantages of Xbox Live Gold and to play in cloud gaming on your mobile devices, certain Android TV boxes, soon on your TV and on additional boxes.
Obviously, if your life as a gamer comes down to focusing on one game at a time (FIFA 22, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Call of Duty Cold War…), It will be of little interest to add this subscription to your daily video game. But if you like to try out games, are curious to rummage in the available tank, you might well get a taste of it. Plus, Xbox is adding loads of games every month to keep gamers happy.
Our tips for getting off to a good start
The essential games
To go with your new console and do it justice, you might as well offer it games that live up to its potential. And this year, whatever may be said, they have not failed. We could have mentioned the eternal FIFA, Call of Duty, Battlefield and other NBA 2K which deserve your attention on more powerful consoles, where they run better and are graphically more beautiful. But we wanted to focus on titles that marked us. Here are our recommendations for next-gen games or, at least, the new version of which is worth running on your Xbox Series X or Series S.
Forza Horizon 5
It is undoubtedly the most beautiful game of this new Xbox generation with its vast and varied landscapes of Mexico. Playground Games, the studio behind Forza Horizon 5, explained that it had time to refine its racing simulation game to make it even more beautiful and offer even more varied landscapes. If you like racing in the great outdoors, Arcade mode, collecting cars and playing with your friends, this is the perfect game to relax (and even show yourself a little competitive for some).
Forza Horizon 5 // Source: Xbox
Halo Infinite
Xbox’s most iconic saga couldn’t miss its landing on Xbox Series. Halo Infinite is the latest installment of Microsoft’s premier first-person shooter. And this time, it offers both a single player campaign and an online multiplayer mode (free) to sign in particular the return of the Master Chief and the Spartans still engaged in an interstellar war between humanity and aliens, the Covenant. To discover in 4K / 60 FPS in addition.
Halo Infinite // Source: Xbox
Note that if you have an Xbox Series X | S and a compatible display, you can also turn to Halo: The Master Chief Collection (the first four games of the franchise) to take full advantage of a game running at 120 frames per second, one of the promises (and prowess) of the new consoles.
Ori and the Will of Wisps
Released in 2020 on Xbox One X, Ori and the Will of Wisps is one of the most poetic games available on Xbox Series, now in an enhanced version. On Series X, it even runs in 4K HDR 120 FPS. The story of Ori, a little being of light who sets off to attack the darkness that has seized Niwen to find wisps and bring back the light. For this, Ori has multiple weapons, powers and tips to defeat his enemies. Do not be fooled by its childish side and its graphic touch, the game is far from simple, but a real and beautiful pleasure to play.
Ori and the Will of the Wisps // Source: Moon Studios – Xbox
It Takes Two
This game is like a little UFO in the world of video games and it is perhaps not for nothing that it was crowned game of the year at the last Game Awards. Because it takes up a concept that we believed disappeared (or doomed to be the prerogative of the Nintendo Switch): the real game for two on split screen. In It Takes Two, you play (with a local or online friend) parents on the verge of breaking up who must work together to get rid of a spell unintentionally cast by their daughter that has turned them into mini-dolls. Understanding and synchronization are essential in this cooperative adventure game filled with humor, reflection on family life and the need to get along in order to move forward.
It Takes Two, the renewal of co-op play that deserves an award // Source: EA
The Medium
If you like to scare yourself, you will appreciate The Medium, strange Polish game that was one of the first exclusives for the console. In this title flirting between the thriller and the psychological horror game, you play as Marianne, a medium who lands in a strange abandoned hotel that she crosses between two parallel and supernatural worlds to understand what happened. An artistic sense that manages to take precedence over the stress generated.
The Medium
All of these games are included with Xbox Game Pass.
And also…
If you haven’t done it on PC, take advantage of the power of your Xbox Series X∣S to discover too Microsoft’s Flight Simulator, available in Xbox Game Pass. The demanding game has landed on the new home consoles and you can treat yourself to a beautiful ride in the air, all over the planet and in all weather conditions. If you like adventure games, Psychonauts 2 and his universe shifted around mental illnesses is a must do. With its strange characters, its hero Raz and the necessary dexterity, it will appeal to young and old alike.
For adventure and action lovers, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and its Vikings have benefited from a nice move upmarket to meet the demands of the Xbox Series and the result is a game of real beauty to explore while taking advantage of the power of the latest consoles. Likewise, humor and a well-executed script, while keeping the spirit of the cinema saga, make Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy an unpretentious game that deserves the detour (high-flying 1980s soundtrack as a bonus!).
Tales of Arise // Source: BandaiNAmco
And for fans of action-packed JRPGs in addition to being visually very beautiful, discover Tales of Arise, last opus of a saga of a quarter of a century, but easy to tame even by the novices. The adventures of Alphen, the amnesiac hero, and Shionne, with strange powers, both from enemy peoples, but who are ready to collaborate to rid the planet Dhana of the bondage imposed by the Renians.
The Xbox Series X and Series S are celebrating their first anniversary. A good console that hit the mark from the start, but games that took a long time to land. But luckily he …
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