Yesterday Microsoft released FPS Boost, a new feature compatible with later versions for the Xbox X and S series. FPS Boost … will dramatically increase the frame in specific and old games when you play them on a new generation Xbox. After playing around with FPS Boost a bit, I’m excited and impressed. This could mean a big change in the way we experience old console games.
Microsoft has big plans for FPS Boost, promising to support many more games in the future, but so far only five are compatible with them. These are Far Cry 4, New Super Lucky’s Tale, Sniper Elite 4, UFC 4 and Watch Dogs 2. Two of these titles, New Super Lucky story i Sniper Elite 4, are currently on Game Pass. So I downloaded them to see how FPS Boost works.
My first impression was not great. I booted Sniper Elite 4 and it was not 60 frames per second. It still worked at 30, with lower descents. Then I booted up New Super Lucky story and it was the same. It worked at 60 fps, not the 120 promised. A quick Google search seemed to show others that they had this problem. (There’s currently no icon on the screen to tell you that FPS Boost is turned on, and there’s no way to turn it off or on. A system update is coming this spring.) I restarted the Xbox Series X and I booted the games again and luckily FPS Boost started working. But I’m glad it didn’t work at first, as I was able to better compare games before and after activating the feature.
People, I’m very, a lot impressed.
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Sniper Elite 4 it was slow and thick before FPS Boost. It was hard for me to play. With FPS Boost, it now runs at 60 fps almost locked. I’ve played throughout the first level and I’ve only seen a few minor drops, which I think most people in most situations won’t even detect. Double the frame rate greatly improves the game. With the aim, the shot, the movement, everything feels better. For example, I didn’t intend to play at the entire first level, but I did because I was just enjoying myself too much to stop.
One thing to keep in mind is that while FPS Boost seems magical, capable of doubling performance in old games, it’s not a miracle feature that improves everything. The resolution, textures and HUD on screen that are in Sniper Elite 4 they remain the same as on Xbox One. On my big, silly 4k OLED display, this is noticeable, but the smoother performance still greatly enhances the overall experience. I’ll probably get to play on the other levels now.
New Super Lucky story it is more interesting. Microsoft claims that FPS Boost will end up doubling the frequency in many games, and will even benefit about 60 fps. Case in point The tale of luck, which now runs at 120 fps. This can only be seen if you have a TV or monitor that supports 120Hz. This big, silly, expensive TV, which I mentioned earlier, supports 120Hz and shit, New Super Lucky story feels great in FPS Boost mode.
Before FPS Boost, New Super Lucky story I felt good and looked nice enough. But running at 120Hz, everything feels faster and more responsive. Even investing and opening menus feels better at this frequency. Running and jumping benefit a ton of double performance. It seemed to me that I had more control over the character and, combined with the improved loading times of the Xbox Series X, made the game stop more difficult. I like Sniper Elite 4, I am delighted to go back and play more of this delightful platform game. I was worried about playing The tale of luck just after playing the recently reissued Super Mario 3D World it would not be fair to the poor fox. But now I worry about going back Super Mario 3D World.
The awesome thing about FPS Boost is that, according to Microsoft, these improvements require little or, in some cases, zero work from the developer. This means that older, less popular games that are unlikely to be remastered or next-generation patches could see radically improved performance in the future if Microsoft puts them to the FPS Boost treatment. This is also exciting for games that will never be they launched on PC and are kept on consoles like the Xbox One. Without PC ports, huge performance improvements are unlikely to occur. Now, things have changed. We could see Red Dead Redemption finally running at 60 fps? I won’t bet my life on it, but I’m happy to say yes, that now seems like a possibility. The future is exciting.