I just bought a Series X after being a PS5-only owner: My impressions after a weekend

[The Lord of Cereal]

It's funny how when I read the thread title I instantly knew what the first two negatives would be lmao.


Xbox OS and Xbox controller are both good. It's just that they're both different from PlayStation in several and important regards so it's hard to switch or get used to one after the other. I ran into the same problem with PS4 back in the day back when I bought one after being used to Xbox. With time you'll get used to the OS, though maybe because I rarely used the PS4 I will admit I never really did get used to the controller or got over the cramps it gave me.

 

[Astro Cat]

I got a Series S last week after already having a PS5, mainly for Gamepass. It's absolutely amazing but I have a lot of the same complaints about the controller. I hate how it requires batteries and the placement of the dpad. I also think it just feels cheap.

That being said, it's still an incredible value for $299 and I've been playing that over my PS5 a lot recently.

 

[Hoggle]

Yeah, you'll get used to every negaitive in a month except the shit achievement menu which is just worse than the trophy system. IMO the Xbox does everything better than the PS5 out of those negatives but some things like the PS5 UI is easier at first glance to navigate.

As for the asymmetrical sticks, the left stick is more comfortable to hold in the "up" position for long periods of time but makes clicking L3 less comfortable. Considering the left stick is primarily used to move backwards and forwards in a 3d game and the right stick used to move the camera side to side, the asymmetrical sticks make more sense to me, but it does suck that L3 is less comfortable (but I have an elite controller so just bypass that issue).

The PS5 haptics make the Xbox pad feel dated though. Microsoft need to hurry up and get a revision out with at the very least haptic support so all 3rd party games start taking the feature seriously.

Another difference between the two consoles is installing and moving titles, and downloading patches. On PS5 you can download a patch while playing the game and delete the update before it installs if you want. On Xbox if a game is updating you can't even play it.
But on PS5 if you want to move a title between HDD's you need to sit there and wait for the process to complete before you can do anything else with the system.

 

[Mass One]

Lol just got my xbox too. Pretty much echo your thoughts except the controller. I like it more. I do find the interface worse but the settings are more robust.

Will say it's now my defacto console. Replaying my favorite last Gen games at 60fps is fantastic. I just rebought division 1 and 2 at disc replay for 10 bucks total.

 

[GlamPrime]

Both have advantages and disadvantages. Last gen I thought the Elite 2 couldn't be topped but the Dualsense, to me, is a game changer. To the point where I perplexed and assume it's hate, if someone claims they aren't "feeling it" lol

Personal views aside, the best advice is to own both.

 

[StereoVSN]

OP, on the interface:

"The Xbox interface. I am having trouble finding things and navigating the "tile" system on the Series X. I don't think it is as intuitive as the PS5 UI (Then again, I miss the PS3/PS4 cross-media bar, as well!)"

I really recommend that you create some groups (i.e. tag based folders) and sort your games through that (like GamePass games you want to play). Then pin these on the front page, and woila, nice and easy. Once you get a hang of it, I find Xbox interface to be much better vs PS5 when you have a lot of games.

 

[Rag]

My nephew got a Series X for his birthday and I felt bad because I bought him and his dad a couple of disc based games, not realizing that the disc is fucking nothing and that it still has to download the game. It's like digital distribution, but shittier because you still need the disc in the drive. It left a bad first impression on a night when I thought I'd be introducing an 8 year old to LEGO Star Wars and his dad to Skyrim. I'll be curious to actually play some of it the next time I'm over.

 

[Deleted member 93062]

I'm mainly a PC/PS5 currently but I love suspend/resume and the fact PC doesn't have that and I won't be able to do that for Starfield makes me really enticed to buy an XSX. As I get older as well I find sitting at a desk and gaming not for me. I've had serious thoughts about just buying an XSX as my main system with a nice TV and calling it a day. I do hope it gets a UI refresh and improvements to Quick Resume though. I've heard QR has been pretty buggy.

 

[El Crono]

I couldn't agree more. I bought my first Xbox this past November for the Halo launch and while I've been enjoying Game Pass a lot, the overall Xbox experience left me a bit disappointed. Another thing that annoys me is how inconsistent Quick Resume is. When it works it's a life (and time) saver, but when you have to quit the game because something is bugged it makes the feature moot.

I'm very eager to get into Infinite's second season, but for the time being, given the option I still prefer to play on my PS5.

 

[vixolus]

With screenshots/videos, another way to do it is to use the guide button: if you are struggling to hit the button,
Press this and it will actually take the screenshot/video at the point of you doing so - but not save it.
On screen you will get the option to take screenshot or video - this will actually save it.

Navigation tips : use the mini guide that pops up - there is little need to go to the main dashboard.
Any game or app you have is found inside "my games and apps" which is the first option here.

Create some groups (these are folders that you can put a pin tile into)
You can also pin specific games/apps to the home page, where they will always be, alongside "social" things related to the game/app.

If like me you are more of a searcher (I don't do organised desktop icons or iphone screens)
At the bottom of the mini-guide you will find the search - this will search your installs, owned games, and the store at any place you need it - I often just search for something by name as I have a large library.

You've probably see the xbox app a bit already, but from there you can boot games that are installed and/or install them.
You can use the search here too and boot the game directly on the Xbox.

Click to shrink...

I think you can press Y to search from pretty much anywhere in the dash without needing to open the Guide, too

 

[rokkerkory]

Congrats on your XSX!

 

[Adryuu]

My first xbox was a 360 and I kinda hated the interface on that after I got a ps3 a bit afterwards, you should have seen that. Then the 360 broke and I completely ignored the xbox ecosystem since then until late last gen (after years of playing on ps4) when I got a used one S for game pass and... yeah, the UI is definitely hard to get used to... but you will, and from what I've seen, you will browse it maybe faster than the ps5's. I still preferred the ps4 interface at first but now I don't even mind, it's fast and just works when you have it set up your way. What I still miss is patch notes btw.

The controller, I like asymmetrical thumbs, but it's way too clicky and noisy in every fucking button, and rumble is ridiculously strong, even if it was somehow even worse in the xbox one gamepad. I still like it better than the dualshock 4, but yeah, I am very eager to finally get my hands literally on a dualsense and a ps5. That's an unquestionable pro point for PS, solely due to haptics.

The trophies vs achievements though, I don't really get it, for me it's been the absolute same, and I was very invested in the PS ecosystem until I stopped buying new ps4 games to play them on a future ps5 and moved almost all my (little) purchases and (huge) gaming time (game pass) to xbox (actually, I kept buying ps exclusives for ps4 and little to nothing for xbox at first). Just there is no platinum trophy anymore, but sometimes there's an achievement that is the same, and if not, you measure the platinum by getting the 1000G (it's usually 1000, but whatever, the full gamerscore, it's just the same shit as a platinum, for the 5 minutes I care when I get any).

Enjoy your xbox! And I'm looking forward to enjoy a ps5 of mine sometime in the future, too!

 

[Humanity]

I always preferred the 1000/1000 Achievement system more than Trophies but I guess thats because I was a heavy X360 user and had a PS3 for exclusives on the side. Both systems have a rarity tier so I guess it's just an aesthetic thing. Personally I enjoy the numerical value I get with Achievements.

 

[SilverArrow20XX]

The Series X controller is maybe the best of all time.
I generally prefer the Playstation layout, but it's just ergonomically perfect, and the texture and buttons also feel great.

The Dualsense on the other hand has been giving me wrist cramps, which I've never had with any other controller.
My first Dualsense also had mushy face buttons, and the second one, while having good face buttons, has a mushy feeling L3 (which felt fine on the first).
Disappointing as a primary PS5 user.

 

[Nameless]

PS4 was far & away my primary console last gen. I didn't even get an Xbox One until late 2019, and only used it sparingly. Got both Next-Gen consoles at launch assuming PS5 would once again be primary, but that all changed quickly. Series X just provided the superior combination of hardware + ecosystem for me.

-Far better Backwards Compatibility (Auto HDR, Auto AF, FPS Boost, Resolution bumps)
-Better QoL(Quick Resume, Smart Delivery, seamless Cloud integration, automated refund system, peripherals BC, etc...)
-More robust feature set (VRR, Dolby Vision, 1440p output, PC integration, etc...)
-No restriction on 3rd Party digital sales, meaning you can find most digital games at a discount via sites like CD Keys and Eneba. On PS5 you're solely at the mercy of the PS Store.
-Microsoft Rewards. Hundreds in free money with very minimal effort.
-Game Pass. Speaks for itself.

The last three in particular, 3rd party digital + MS Rewards + Game Pass have saved me an INSANE amount of money. Well worth making the jump by itself.

 

[Duxxy3]

Lack of cloud saves and the dual sense are the biggest negatives for PS5 for me, and they're biggies. Controller wouldn't be as big of a negative if I could just use a DS4 with PS5 games, but for whatever reason it's not an option.

My biggest issues with the series x is the heat coming out of the system, no USB audio output, and it's missing a lot of games that come to PS4/PS5 and Switch.

I switch between the PS5, XSX and PC depending on the game and other factors. I tend not to play my series x when it's hot and humid. I avoid most shooters and racing games on PS5. Most of the time I end up with the PC version, assuming it's on Steam and doesn't run like shit.

 

[JustinH]

OP, on the interface:

"The Xbox interface. I am having trouble finding things and navigating the "tile" system on the Series X. I don't think it is as intuitive as the PS5 UI (Then again, I miss the PS3/PS4 cross-media bar, as well!)"

I really recommend that you create some groups (i.e. tag based folders) and sort your games through that (like GamePass games you want to play). Then pin these on the front page, and woila, nice and easy. Once you get a hang of it, I find Xbox interface to be much better vs PS5 when you have a lot of games.

Click to shrink...

I was about to recommend something similar.

I have many groups and pinned damn near all I could on the home page so I never actually have to go into My Games & Apps unless I'm playing something that rarely gets used.

This is many months old. I have more groups pinned now and those groups are more "filled in" too. I just don't feel like making another gif, lol.
The "Pins" group is my "currently playing/on deck" group.

 

[namerson23]

Quick resume is seriously one of the best features. You just really need to pay attention to which games actually support it. I played some Wild West the other day and booted up another game assuming it had quick resume and lost only about an hour of progress, but it was still a bummer. I used quick resume in Nier: Automata and after about five minutes the game crashed and I lost some progress. Not sure if it was a quick resume issue or game issue though.

 

[StereoVSN]

I was about to recommend something similar.

I have many groups and pinned damn near all I could on the home page so I never actually have to go into My Games & Apps unless I'm playing something that rarely gets used.

This is many months old. I have more groups pinned now and those groups are more "filled in" too. I just don't feel like making another gif, lol.
The "Pins" group is my "currently playing/on deck" group.

Click to shrink...

Yep. I have Entertainment Apps in one folder (YouTube and Blu-Ray player pinned by themselves), and different game genres all pinned there as well as "Backlog" and "Next" folders where I sort out games appropriately.

 

[Spinluck]

not sure if i should wait for a white XSX or just buy one and dbrand it all matte white.

my XSS has been serving me just fine and i love the way it looks lol.

i am currently building a PC, just need a good gfx card and MB then I am set. i love what Xbox is doing so much this gen i just might bite if i see a white XSX.

doesn't help that my PS5 and SWOLED a white and i like making them all match, same with my PC case as well. smh.

 

[Jroc]

Vita and Series D-Pads are my favourite.

So tactile and clicky

 

[ShapeGSX]

I played all of Tunic without reloading the game once, despite me also playing Halo Infinite and my wife playing Stardew Valley inbetween Tunic sessions. Quick resume loaded Tunic in less than a second every time.

BTW, don't sleep on Tunic on Game Pass. It's fantastic.

 

[Gibordep]

I've had both systems since launch, and overall your comments-- both positive and negative-- are strikingly similar. Gamepass is fantastic. But past that, I prefer the controller, the UI and yes the trophy system on PS.

The trophies insight is something that I don't think gets talked about enough. Though I'm also not a trophy hunter, on Playstation I feel a genuine urge to get the platinum trophy for my favorite games. I also like how the trophies themselves have grades. It just makes it... much more interesting to get them.

But especially the platinum. I just don't see any real motivation on Xbox side to actually completely finish a game, when there isn't a platinum to go for, and getting that last really difficult or time consuming trophy just... gives you a few more gamerscore. My gamerscore or on PS side the number of trophies I have doesn't matter to me. What does is that I've platinumed my favorite games. It becomes kind of an expression of what games I appreciate most, if that makes sense. If I really enjoy a game, I feel like I owe it to the devs and to myself to earn it. Unless it has some ridiculous requirements.

And I don't think we're alone in making that observation. Hop on over to the Returnal OT (or the returnal subreddit) and look at just how many people proudly post a screencap of their platinum popping on that game. It's a real achievement. And there's really no equivalent on Xbox.

Click to shrink...

I prefer the achievements over the trophies. This is my first Xbox and In the PS4 generation trophies and platinums were a factor for deciding what and how much I played a game. Now my opinion is that achievements and trophies should not be a factor on the playing habits, so I prefer to have a score (that don't have the platinum carrot).
Completinionism would spoil on of the great advantages of Series X, gamepass. I want to have freedom to play and try all the games I possible will like, I don´t want to think on platiniums and 100%.
I don't consider that a game is finished when the platinium is obtained(now ), that is some list of tasks made by developers. For me a game ideally ends in the credits or when i don't want to play it anymore.

The UI for me it was a question of days to be addapted.

The controller going from dualshock 4 to Xbox series I like more the feel of the Xbox controler , although it was dificult to me to adapt that the D-pad was above the left stick. And in the begining any quick time event was complicated because I had to look to controler. The duration of the controllers with recharble bateries is way higher than DS4 (and for what i read dualsense).

Quick Resume it's almost essencial.

 

[thatJohann]

It's a great console using a really dated UI. Can't wait for a refresh with a proper OLED theme.

the current shade of gray is just terrible looking, not to mention the blurry giant tile icons, it's soooo dated.

 

[Plinkerton]

As someone who has used both Xbox and PlayStation systems extensively, I don't understand a preference for one over the other. What's the difference?

Click to shrink...

To be honest there isn't a massive difference. I think having a Platinum for each game makes 100% completion somewhat more meaningful.

But I'll fully admit that for me it's more a case of already being tied into the trophy system whereas I don't really have that with achievements. Maybe if the situation was reversed and I was just getting into the PS ecosystem, I'd feel the same about trophies?

 

[ravnelis]

I went the other way, XSX -> PS5.

I vastly prefer the DualSense, Sony games and Trophies. However, I feel that everything else is better on Xbox.

The console is quiter, more powerful, has more advanced features and Game Pass. Depending on what PS+ Premium ends up being, I may come back to Xbox. Value of Game Pass is insane, even if I won't be able to play even half of what's on offer there due to time constraints.

 

[dlauv]

It's the best console I've ever owned. PS2 was untouchable for the longest time, but XSX easily surpassed it. SSDs, emulation, BC, quiet, quick resume, game pass. It's also the most comfortable Xbox controller I've ever used, but I agree it feels creaky and the triggers rumbling got on my nerves because it tickled at first. After buying Eneloops, I've come to believe that controllers using batteries are superior (you can always buy a play and charge kit too). The UI took about a weekend to get used to. I don't like how clunky it is, but I like how many options it offers. The other negative is that there is no USB audio, and they inexplicably removed Groove music in lieu of WMP, which changes the audio CD experience (yes, the XSX can play audio CDs). The final negative is that disc games need to be installed. I know this can't really be helped for games that need to take advantage of the SSD, but if the games played from the disc it would make storage more efficient.

As far as trophies vs achievements, I like the achievements sound more, and I like the way the UI tries to make achievement hunting competitive between you and friends for a given month. When a Rare Achievement pops, it gives a different sound and shows the % of players who have gotten it. That's fun. Trophies are a pig on PS3, and I never really noticed them on PS4 unless I wanted to go for a Platinum and manually navigated to them. Achievements also go towards MS Rewards points, so there's that too. But ultimately, I don't really care.

Also, for those of you who have sort of done the same thing -- gone from PlayStation (and PS5 specifically this generation) -- then bought an X/S, how have your experiences been?

Click to shrink...

Just got a "5" in the Walmart drop just now. I'll let you know when it gets here in May.

 

[MercuryLS]

Best console I've ever owned, easily. Just a joy to play games on it with so many QoL features and a pin drop quiet console.

 

[Astronomer]

I prefer the achievements over the trophies. This is my first Xbox and In the PS4 generation trophies and platinums were a factor for deciding what and how much I played a game. Now my opinion is that achievements and trophies should not be a factor on the playing habits, so I prefer to have a score (that don't have the platinum carrot).
Completinionism would spoil on of the great advantages of Series X, gamepass. I want to have freedom to play and try all the games I possible will like, I don´t want to think on platiniums and 100%.
I don't consider that a game is finished when the platinium is obtained(now ), that is some list of tasks made by developers. For me a game ideally ends in the credits or when i don't want to play it anymore.

Click to shrink...

Good that I am not the only one that see this advantage.

 

[ShapeGSX]

• As an aside, it seems that my XBox is running a bit "hotter" than by PS5 when I put my hand over the top vent. It is still whisper quiet though (as is my PS5, contrary to some reports out there of loud PS5s).

Click to shrink...

This is not a negative. Feeling that the air coming out of a heat extraction system is "hot" just means it is working (i.e. a good thing). What matters is the temperature of the silicon, and you don't know what that is in either system.

 

[Lobster Roll]

Reading through the list of negatives and I gotta say, if those are the negatives, Xbox did something right this gen. Controllers, UI, Achievements, and temperature coming from the vents are all under "preferences" for me.

 

[calvinised]

Got a Series S last summer (Haven't used it in a while) but I echo the same points, but one more on the controller, its so damn noisy.

 

[bushmonkey]

I totally agree about the UI. even after years of owing a One S, It's never been intuitive. Every time I mention that I find the Xbox UI confusing on this forum, I get Xbox fans arguing with me that I'm wrong and I must be an idiot if I can;t navigate it…

 

[Jakartalado]

The value provided by Game Pass is outstanding. And the overall feature set that Xbox is providing ahead of Playstation is very good for the hardcore gamer such as Quick Resume, VRR, Dolby Vision and so on....

Sadly I found the exclusive lineup pretty poor, the overall navigation through the dash a terrible experience. Plus the content management with downloads, updates and quick access are one of the worst I've ever seen.

I mean.... I can't play a single player game without its patch that regularly doesn't download while my console is in sleep mode? Seriously? (Not turned off, not using power saving options, always connected to the internet).

 

[finalflame]

I think my most jarring contrast between the two machines is that despite having more power, the XSX UI feels distinctly slower and less streamlined, despite not really being "slow" per-se. The UX just feels jankier.

Having a functional quick-resume that doesn't crash the console when in rest mode is nice, though.

Also, loading in Elden Ring is freakishly slow..something is definitely not optimized on the platform for that game.

Game Pass, as always, is a treat.

 

[ForoBud]

The negatives you listed are all very reasonable, and for the most part I think are things that will improve over time as you get used to them.

Regarding the achievements, I agree, and most people do, that Xbox need to overhaul the system and modernise it.

But one way to make achievements feel worthwhile, is to dive into the Microsoft Rewards system. You get 50 points a day for earning an achievement, and there are also daily/weekly/monthly Game Pass quests that earn points. (There are also Web based things you can do everyday in certain countries like the US to earn more, but they aren't available in my country.

If you are amazed by the value of Game Pass, if you put a bit of time into the rewards system, the value is even more insane. Game Pass covers the games within that subscription obviously, and then I am able to purchase basically any other game outside of Game Pass that I'm interested in more or less free of charge due to my reward points (I was able to buy Elden Ring and Final Fantasy: Strangers of Paradise purely from reward points I earned).

If I can build enough up by the time it releases, I even plan on buying (or the majority of it at least) the new console mid gen refresh with reward points. If there will be one of course!

 

[ethanradd]

I have been mainly playing on Xbox since 360 days and I agree, the UI is trash, it's ugly and a lot of it's elements rely on streaming data, things are hidden in layers, wish they would overhaul it again.
Achievements have always felt pointless to me, yet I find trophies alluring, probably it's simplicity.
Gamepass is amazing, I also love the controller, I'm too used to the asymmetrical stick layout at this point.

 

[Gestault]

I'm always a big proponent of these so I'll recommend them again - if you're really not getting on with the controller then invest in a Brook adaptor and use whatever controller you want on your consoles. Totally lag free.

I bought a Brook Wingman XB recently which lets you use any controller on the Xbox. I bought it so that I could use my PS4 Taiko drums on Game Pass Taiko no Tatsujin but it works with most other controllers too. Played a few rounds of Halo Infinite with a Switch Pro Controller for a giggle.

You can get versions for each console. I've got multiple for PlayStation so I can use my 360 arcade stick or my Xbox Elite controller on PS4 etc.

edit: lol neoak

Click to shrink...

Seconded, re: more controller options. I use a Brook adapter to use my PS5 controller wirelessly on my Xbox 360.

 

[christocolus]

Reading through the list of negatives and I gotta say, if those are the negatives, Xbox did something right this gen. Controllers, UI, Achievements, and temperature coming from the vents are all under "preferences" for me.

Click to shrink...

This.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

I've had them both since launch and game pass is great. The haptics in the Dual Sense is great. It did break a trigger in my first controller though. Other than that I prefer the shape of the Xbox controller. I vastly prefer the UI and the store on XBox over the PS5. I find it much easier to find my games and what I want to buy. I like that I don't have to fight with my Xbox over downloading the X/S versions of games where the PS5 is always trying to install PS4 versions of games. They're both good and worth buying.

 

[digitalrelic]

I enjoy my PS5 but Series X is the best console I've ever owned, and frankly the Xbox ecosystem in general is the best console gaming ecosystem ever produced when taking Game Pass, xCloud, being able to preview/demo games via cloud streaming without ever having to download them, Enhanced BC, FPS Boost, Auto HDR, Quick Resume, etc.. etc.. into account.

 

[ClamBuster]

you wait until you've had it a few months OP, and have experienced the obscene amount of gamepass games that are added on an endless conveyor belt

 

[RPGam3r]

Your achievements score makes every achievement worth something bc it acts as a high score against your friends (the feature makes the most sense when you have friends you actively engage with). My daughter and I compete for high score all the time.

Trophies to me are the ones that don't work for me anymore. I really dislike the idea of a platinum trophy.

 

[AfterTheFall]

I also prefer the DualSense, though saying that it always amazes me how long the Series X controller battery lasts. I'm always having recharge the DualSense.

 

[rsfour]

I'm not a fan of how loud the buttons/dpad is on the controller.

 

[logash]

Bought a Series X after being full PS since the original PS. Had a brief stint on Xbox during the beginning of the 360 gen but quickly moved back to PS after it started picking up steam.

Controller: fits like a glove compared to the DualSense. I was a big fan of the DS4 and was disappointed with how bulky the DualSense felt. Xbox controller is nice and compact, the sticks are in the right place and I love the indent that makes it so my thumb doesn't slip off.

UI: I like the PS UI better. Despite not using an Xbox console since the 360, the UI still feels old to me. Also, for some reason, I feel like the store UI looks better and doesn't match it.

Achievements: much worse than trophies in my opinion. Need a platinum equivalent and better tracking. Don't like that dlc trophies add to the total.

Gamepass: best deal in gaming. However, when it comes to first party, they still have very little I'm interested in. This'll change with Starfield and the rest of their WRPG lineup starts dropping.

Overall, I've been liking the freedom the Xbox gives me. I used to download videos and watch them on my PS4 but they severely stripped down the media player on PS5 and force you to use HDR on it unless you turn the feature off completely. On Xbox I have a browser and I can use multiple media players (even vlc!). As a result, Xbox has turned into the console I idle on because of the media features and it makes me want to buy more third party games on it.

 

[ArkkAngel007]

I'm sitting okay on the Xbox One X for now since there hasn't been all that much necessitating the upgrade on Gamepass, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited to get there sooner rather than later. The Microsoft ecosystem is just on a whole other level, and it's a shame that we'll likely never get anything in that ballpark on Playstation when it comes to how SDKs are handled, the rewards program, and day one drops on their collection service.

As for the controller, I haven't spent much time with the Duelsense since I only just managed to nab a PS5 this past week. Feel-wise, I'm not as into it as the Xbox One controllers, which seem near identical to the Xbox Series controllers. Maybe that'll change once I have time to actually spend with the Duelsense, but Microsoft has been my favored controller-wise since the 360.

The PS5 UI though is really really good once you get through the initial flounder of a new layout. I still struggle to remember how to get to things on Xbox, and even the times I do it feels like those layers are fighting me on getting to where I need to go.

 

[Captain of Outer Space]

I upgraded my Series S to an X recently and was surprised how bad the download queue was when I went to use the 3x size of the internal drive for downloading stuff that highlighted how bad it was. Trying to move smaller games up to download was impossible since it moves three games up at once, including two mostly random games with the game I wanted to download never being the top game. I'd have to just pause all downloads, if it let me, and unpause the stuff I wanted to download. The order meant nothing since random stuff would move up after a game finished downloading. It's a wild process.

 

[Fabtacular]

It's funny how when I read the thread title I instantly knew what the first two negatives would be lmao.


Xbox OS and Xbox controller are both good. It's just that they're both different from PlayStation in several and important regards so it's hard to switch or get used to one after the other. I ran into the same problem with PS4 back in the day back when I bought one after being used to Xbox. With time you'll get used to the OS, though maybe because I rarely used the PS4 I will admit I never really did get used to the controller or got over the cramps it gave me.

Click to shrink...

I'm mixed on the OS. I feel like it could be significantly simplified.

But at least it's snappy, which it wasn't during the early XB1 days.

 

[Watership]

OP, on the interface:

"The Xbox interface. I am having trouble finding things and navigating the "tile" system on the Series X. I don't think it is as intuitive as the PS5 UI (Then again, I miss the PS3/PS4 cross-media bar, as well!)"

I really recommend that you create some groups (i.e. tag based folders) and sort your games through that (like GamePass games you want to play). Then pin these on the front page, and woila, nice and easy. Once you get a hang of it, I find Xbox interface to be much better vs PS5 when you have a lot of games.

Click to shrink...

This. Create groups for apps, games, etc. Pin them to the Dash, move them around to your liking. Put your games/apps in those groups and the interface is fantastic. Pin Game Pass and Games with Gold as well. You can also now also pin your quick resume games as well to see what's ready to resume.