Xbox Series S - review: entering the next-gen with style (but on a budget)

Some might think the Xbox Series S is the polar opposite of Digital Foundry. Its mission, in fact, is clearly to put performance aside in favor of a low-priced next-gen. Together with Xbox All-Access, or the excellent Xbox Game Pass, it is a console designed to guarantee access to the games of today and tomorrow without having to wait for the Xbox Series X to drop in price within a couple of years (what which, at the moment, Microsoft denies it will happen).

Series S brings home exactly the result it aims at but is not the polar opposite of Digital Foundry, quite the contrary. It is an excellently designed machine, it is the most economical and efficient console of all next-gen. Of course, there are some sacrifices to be made but the style is not lacking and the console seems to meet the demands of a world animated by economic uncertainties and the search for sustainability.

We start with a good-looking and clear packaging. present the console inside, along with accessories: an HDMI 2.1 cable equal to that of Series X and a white version of the controller, along with two AA batteries. The initial set-up is simple, made even more intuitive by the Xbox application for smartphones that interfaces with the console and guides the first steps during the software update phases (which, it must be said, seems to be the only field in which Microsoft does not managed to reduce waiting times).