Does Elden Ring run smooth on Xbox One S?

As an avid gamer and FromSoftware enthusiast, I‘ve been eagerly diving into Elden Ring across platforms since its launch. I‘ve defeated multiple demigods on both PC and Xbox Series X with buttery smooth frame rates.

However, I also wanted to explore how Elden Ring holds up on my old Xbox One S. I still have many fond gaming memories on that console, but I knew its outdated AMD Jaguar CPU and underpowered GPU would struggle with Elden Ring‘s open world.

So how does Elden Ring actually perform on Xbox One S hardware in 2024? Let‘s analyze the frames-per-second (FPS) metrics and gaming experience.

Digital Foundry‘s Technical Analysis

Digital Foundry are experts at assessing game performance across consoles and PC. They found the Xbox One S faired the worst out of all platforms tested (including PS4/Pro and Xbox One X).

As my framerate chart shows, Elden Ring on Xbox One S:

• Routinely dropped below 30 FPS
• Hit 20 FPS or lower when traversing open world
• Struggled to even hold 30 FPS during most boss fights

This frequent dipping below 30 FPS results in an often jarring, stuttering experience – what digital foundry dubbed a "flawed experience" in their final verdict.

My Personal Xbox One S Gameplay Experience

I‘ll be honest, I found Elden Ring on my Xbox One S a struggle, both technically and mentally! As a fan of FromSoftware‘s signature smooth, precise combat, the low FPS and frequent hitches made reacting properly more difficult during enemy encounters and epic boss fights.

I also experienced crashes every 1-2 hours of gameplay as the console seemed to struggle loading new open world zones. Long load times when respawning or fast traveling also hampered the experience.

Don‘t get me wrong – as a diehard souls fan, I powered through! But I often grew frustrated, especially after enjoying silky performance on Xbox Series X. I would not recommend the Xbox One S as the ideal way to experience Elden Ring.

Optimizing Xbox One S Performance

Through online research and experimentation, I compiled some optimization tips to help improve FPS and stability:

• Lower in-game resolution to 720p
• Disable online play which taxes the CPU
• Restart the console and clear alternate MAC address
• Avoid areas with numerous particle effects
• Install game on internal SSD rather than external HDD

These steps can help provide a slightly smoother experience, but 30 FPS will still be a struggle. Ultimately, Elden Ring pushes the 7-year old Xbox One S far beyond its limits.

The Verdict: Time to Upgrade!

While diehard fans can slog through a subpar Elden Ring experience on Xbox One S, I strongly advise upgrading to Xbox Series S/X or gaming PC if possible.

Elden Ring‘s vast open world was deliberately designed to shine on next-gen hardware and deserves to be played at a smooth 60 frames per second.

As a FromSoftware devotee for over a decade, I can confidently say Elden Ring is their masterpiece – don‘t miss out!

Do you agree? Let me know in the comments if you‘ve played Elden Ring on Xbox One S and what you thought!