The Xbox Series X has been in our possession for a few days now (a non-final preview build from Microsoft), and I’ve been able to experience next-gen console gaming first-hand. We’re a bit limited in terms of what we’re able to talk about right now, especially since we don’t have access to Series X-specific games. But I did see how faster load times and Quick Resume impact the experience. And I think Quick Resume can be a real game changer.
I’ve come away impressed with the practical application of Quick Resume–I said as much in my Xbox Series X hands-on preview. What happens is when you’re in one game and go back to the dashboard to boot up another game, the current one gets suspended in its exact state. You can do this for multiple games, all simultaneously frozen in the state you left it. When you switch back to a game that had been suspended, you’ll just pick up right where you left off without having to relaunch it or reload a save. It’s not a deliberate option you need to choose or enable, it’s just a feature built into the system.
Now, this isn’t news since Microsoft has detailed the feature a while back and even put out a video of their own of Quick Resume in action (and you can see us using it toward the end of the video below). I didn’t think it was that big of a deal at first, but actually putting it to use convinced me that it can make more of a difference than I initially thought.
When combined with Game Pass, where I have multiple games downloaded and jumping between, Quick Resume really proves its usefulness.
Basically, I’m getting more out of my time playing games. I like to jump between different styles or genres of games in one sitting, mixing things up when I’ve had my fill of one type. For example, I’ll pour a few hours into an RPG and after major story events or boss fights, I’ll take a break by hopping into something lighter, then jump into a competitive shooter for a few rounds before decompressing with another chill kind of game. I could always do that before, but the speed at which I can change gears means I don’t really have to think twice about whether or not I want to take the time to switch to another game.
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