DiRT 5 and our first Xbox Series X “enhanced” tests: 120Hz saves the uneven ride

Microsoft provided the following three images of DiRT 5 running on Xbox Series X, which line up with how the game can look in its sweetened "photo" mode. But how does it look in action? Read on to find out. [credit: Codemasters ]

While I have been testing a pre-release Xbox Series X console for nearly a month, ahead of its November 10 launch, I have had very few new games to test on it. Most of my effort has revolved around its massive backwards-compatible feature set—as seen in a very long feature about how older games benefit from newer hardware.

Today, for the first time, I'm allowed to lift the curtain on a game made for Xbox Series consoles: DiRT 5, the latest drift-heavy racing game from Codemasters. What's more, it is the first game I've ever tested for a bespoke game console with frame rates up to 120fps. That's a substantial increase from the 60fps max of past console generations (and a big rally-car leap above the 30fps cap you typically see on current-gen games).

I want to be clear: DiRT 5 is not the best foot forward for Xbox Series X, and I'm not entirely sure it's representative of the console's next-gen promise. I urge you to keep an eye out for more next-gen game impressions before loading ammunition into your preferred "console war" cannon. But DiRT 5's first taste of 120Hz racing on a console, and what it takes to get there, is fascinating enough to merit an asterisk-covered preview.

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