Halo Infinite’s latest technical tests are in full flight. Last weekend, the action kicked off with the trio of maps we saw in the initial preview, backed by new game maps, offline training options and the surprise debut of a new ‘Behemoth’ map. The testing continues this weekend, and the arrival of big team battles is enticing. Based on what we played, the console versions are looking more impressive overall – and there’s good news in terms of improvements to the game’s performance modes on Xbox Series X and, perhaps surprisingly, Xbox One X.
However, the truth is that for the most part, the technical make-up of Halo Infinite is mostly unchanged from the game’s multiplayer test debut. So, to recap, Xbox One S is clearly the most challenged version. It attempts to run at 1080p but has aggressive dynamic resolution scaling, independently shifting pixel counts on both the horizontal and vertical resolutions. This can look rather rough, a situation not helped by a 30fps cap that sees new frames delivered unevenly, adding extra choppiness. However, it is Halo Infinite, it is playable and while you’ll be disadvantaged playing against Xbox users on any other console, it is still enjoyable.
Xbox Series S? Again, it is mostly unchanged from the first time we saw multiplayer code and runs smoothly at what is essentially a locked 60 frames per second. There are no 1440p pretensions here – you’re getting a consistent 1080p experience and while dynamic resolution scaling is still used, it’s hard to find areas where consistent drops are noticeable. However, the 120Hz mode found in the first test flight is gone. When we first took a look at it, it actually ran more smoothly than the Series X equivalent mode but resolution could hit lows of 540p. Perhaps 343 Industries is having a rethink.
In the meantime, Series X’s performance mode is clearly in a much better state than it was before. With the exception of one-off frame drops (essentially invisible to the human eye), it’s a 120 frames per second lock, with a DRS window of around 1080p to 1440p. Aside from some 60fps animations, the movement and fluidity is brilliant, the visuals hold up nicely despite the fluctuating resolution and overall, it’s a triumph. Interestingly, accessing 120fps is achieved via the quality/performance toggle that didn’t work at all in the first preview. This time, the option does work, allowing you to swap between 60fps and 120fps modes but only if the dash is set to 120Hz output. Unsurprisingly, if you’re set to 60Hz output, you’ll get the quality mode only – which seems to offer an 1800p-2160p dynamic scaling range. Both options are basically running flawlessly and right now, Series X offers the premier experience.