I’m in love with the Xbox Series X. Waiting for it to arrive was one of the longest weeks of my life, but since it got here? Heaven.
Now, one of the interesting elements about this generation of consoles is the lack of an obvious graphical wow factor. In other upgrade cycles there’s been a clearer visual upgrade, while with the Series X and PS5, improved graphics is something you notice more when you go back to the previous machines.
This means that, for a lot of people, there’s not a clear reason to get a new machine. But there is one. A huge, glorious one. So, bow down, to the Xbox‘s Quick Resume.
God, I adore Quick Resume so much. I want the scientists across the world to drop what they’re doing and make Quick Resume into a physical being, so I can bust it out of whatever twisted lab it was made in and we can elope together, and start a new life in the Appalachians.
“But Callum,” you cry, clawing at the earth so soil lodges itself in the webs between your fingers, “what the hell actually is Quick Resume?”
“Oh child,” I say, kneeling down and kissing your forehead like I’m the Pope or some shit, “Quick Resume is a feature on the Xbox Series S and Series X that allows you to switch between a number of games instantaneously.”
At this point, I imagine you’d ask why the tone and rhythm of the dialogue switched completely in that second half, then I’d get into a huff, and storm off. That leaves us here.
Basically, Quick Resume should work with up to five games at once — and you can move between them as though they were literally just paused. Honestly, it completely changes the way you play.
Currently, I’ve been spending most of my gaming time between the intense action and story-driven Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla and the more casual Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 remaster. Quick Resume allows me to switch between these two titles almost instantaneously, meaning that when I get tired of sneaking around and slaughtering scores of Anglo Saxons, I can spend some time skating around schools.
I can’t wax lyrical enough about how refreshing and fun and magical this is.
How does Quick Resume work on the Xbox?
Without getting bogged down in technical details, it’s possible because of Microsoft‘s Xbox Velocity Architecture. This uses a combination of the console’s SSD, data decompression, new APIs, and Sampler Feedback Streaming.
The best part is you don’t need to enable anything. If the game you’re playing is optimized for the Xbox Series X or S (and Velocity Architecture), Quick Resume will just happen. And how will you know? Well, a “QUICK RESUME” notification will appear on the top right of the screen. Subtle, I know.
A quick note to temper my gushing: Microsoft is still working on the feature, so it’s not completely reliable. In other words: always save your game no matter what. But, more often than not, Quick Resume works. And even when it doesn’t, the Series X is so damn fast at loading games, it’s not a huge concern either way.
Unfortunately for PS5 fans, this feature is only available on the Xbox. I’m truly sorry for your loss.
Anyway, this is both more than enough words about Quick Resume, and nowhere near enough to truly express my deep-seated feelings for it. So, I’m going to do the only logical thing and go and play the Xbox Series X. Catch you chumps later.
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Published December 18, 2020 — 09:36 UTC