Xbox Series X gamers now have to deal with ambient occlusion settings too. Welcome to the party

Bright Memory
(Image credit: FYQD Studio)

When the original Xbox launched back in 2001, some laughed at it for being a PC in the guise of a console. Well, they're not laughing anymore. Now that the Xbox Series X is out, the circle is complete: an Xbox game now features a complete PC-style graphical options menu, complete with varying levels of shadow quality, anisotropic filtering, and the ability to turn motion blur off. Turns out Evan was right, we've won the console war.

The game in question is the China-developed Bright Memory, and the screen was spotted by Matt Brown, editor of our sister site Windows Central, who posted it on Twitter.

Bright Memory graphics options

(Image credit: FYQD Studio)

Bright Memory, from one-man studio FYQD, saw a PC release last year, and has been remade for Xbox Series X. It melds a somewhat complicated backstory involving 1,000-year-old swords, raising the dead, a massive terrorist organisation, quantum transporters and a floating island to combo-based first-person hack ‘n’ slash gameplay. 

And also guns, because apparently the swords weren’t enough. It runs on Unreal Engine 4, and looks kinda fun.

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(Image credit: Future)

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It’s not often that the world of PC gaming feeds back to consoleland—it’s usually the other way around—but as the two become ever-closer in terms of architecture  we’re probably going to see this sort of thing more often. Being given a choice between pretties and framerate is a positive move for gaming, but does take away from the original ideal of consoles; being a plug-and-play gaming experience for one and all. 

But if you’re wondering what all those options mean, then we’ve got a PC settings primer right here for all you console folk.

It's maybe just as interesting that just as us PC gamers are more accepting of controllers, such as the epic new DualSense on the PS5, that console gamers are seeing the benefits of typically PC control systems too. As part of its accessibility drive, Ubisoft has enabled keyboard and mouse support in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and they work brilliantly on the Xbox Series X as Dave can attest. 

Ian Evenden
Writer

Ian Evenden has been doing this for far too long and should know better. The first issue of PC Gamer he read was probably issue 15, though it's a bit hazy, and there's nothing he doesn't know about tweaking interrupt requests for running Syndicate. He's worked for PC Format, Maximum PC, Edge, Creative Bloq, Gamesmaster, and anyone who'll have him. In his spare time he grows vegetables of prodigious size.