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Xbox Series S Check-In: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
When the new consoles launched in 2020, the only machine I was able to find (and afford) was the Xbox Series S. I ordered one from the Microsoft web site on a chaotic Tuesday night just before launch while everyone else was watching US election returns come in.
Microsoft made big claims about the Series S, pitching it as the budget-friendly slim refresh that was available at launch instead of years down the road. Where the big fridge-like X would tackle 4K, ray tracing, and 60FPS gaming…the Series S would do all that without a disc drive and target 1440p instead. It was a bold set of claims, but on paper the hardware seemed to line up enough that it was at least plausible. The CPU and storage are essentially as capable as those in the bigger machine, though the RAM and GPU took sizeable reductions to get the price down under $300.
While I think the Series S is a fascinating and fun machine, and still one of the best bang-for-the-buck pieces of gaming hardware you can buy — the reality hasn’t lined up with the early promises. I’ve been fortunate enough to upgrade my PC and acquire the other two consoles in the intervening two and a half years, and the Series S is now a curiosity I use more for reviewing stuff than for any…
