You could argue that Playground Games just made the same game essentially at least three times in a row with Forza Horizon right now, but while every previous release has had a few things you can point to just out how imperfect it is, you can’t do it here. Forza Horizon 5 almost perfect as any racer has ever been. For this level of quality to successfully cover such a huge and ambitious game world is a monumental achievement and should be celebrated with some kind of festival. A fun festival… OK, yes, you should celebrate by playing it. That would be good.
It’s an open-world racer of monstrous scale, outfitted in stunning, destructible environments unlike old moments. Foliage floats beneath your car, changing with the seasons, and the splashes of water look the best they’ve ever seen in any racing game.
The festive form at the moment resembles a beloved real-life event like Glastonbury or Burning Man. Pubs, stands and confetti have now flooded into Mexico and brought with them catchy, licensed music to stream through your TV speakers. “Let’s have some Gladiator Foo!” DJ said. “Yes, let’s!” you will say, reaching for the volume up button.
Sadly, there’s not much new it can do to impress, as the series has been at volume 11 for quite some time when it comes to its seasons. The start of the game introduces a refined graphics engine, but we’ve raced planes and motorcycles before that. Honestly, returning fans are said to want more of the same things, while newcomers to the series will enjoy the occasional merry sight. Everyone is a winner when the quality bar is always high.
So what is really new? There are massive dust storms you can drive to and an active volcano to explore. Deeper customization options for cars and avatars extend to enhanced bodykits for your vehicle and even prosthetics for your driver. The game also mentions you by name based on your account data (as long as it’s on the list), without you having to enter it, instantly fostering your emotional connection to the game. .
There are also new community event generators in ‘EventLab’, allowing you to set hazards and create your own rules for custom events – much like Dirt 5Playground’s mode. These events appear on the map on replays of ‘Super7’ events, where a series of seven community-generated events must be completed to win a super spin on the gambling prize wheel. . You can vote to like or dislike any such challenge, affecting your ability to appear in other Super 7 games.
But you’ll appreciate the challenge these events bring. Why? Because the main game is extremely comfortable. Sure, you can increase the difficulty of your Drivatar (AI Driver), but the game is a bit too easy to play. Not to win, depending on difficulty settings, but just to drive, thanks to the great controls and great accessibility options – and the rewind button makes it all pointless if you are mesmerized by its charm. While such universal playability is great for more casual riders, serious racing game fans may lament the shallow turns. That’s a criticism that was leveled in Forza Horizon 3, but improved a bit for Forza Horizon 4, so it’s a shame to see this part go Need For Speed again.
However, the game always encourages you to relax, calling you ‘friends’ – and although there are hundreds of events to unlock and beat, carnival centers in different racing disciplines to unlock . cute), the game never feels like it’s forcing you to do anything. You can simply drive into the woods to see what you can find, spend hours setting up a perfect shot, or go online to race others. The game welcomes you to go at your own pace.
When it first launched, the online element was a bit unstable. Disconnect messages are quite common – reported as being caused by known bugs caused by good bugs – and being kicked out of the race while you’re doing well is annoying. But the game works online or off, so a bit of time spent solo is not an imposition.
Then there’s AI. In a game with so many variables, it’s not possible to balance every race perfectly, and the old Forza problem of an enemy car darting forward is still apparent at times, but now only on higher difficulty. That’s less important anyway, as it’s not really a game you play for a tough challenge – it’s a game to relax, so if you’re looking for the race of your life yourself, look elsewhere. This is for entertainment.
The only other surprise is the depth of damage modeling, which is tame by real-life standards, but arguably as good as most licensed games have managed these days, so it’s unlikely criticize it when the developers’ hands are definitely tied. With such beautiful cars from world-renowned brands including Porsche, Toyota and Ferrari, you’ll want to remove the damage anyway.
When Burnout Paradise Remastered Still offering more immersive gameplay on a second-by-second basis while offering the same fun atmosphere, no other open-world racing game is as finely polished as this one. If you’ve played the game Forza Horizon before then you may feel a bit of a deja vu feeling, but you won’t care because the formula is perfected in the end. The best visuals and sounds, the most varied gameplay, the best editors, the amazing car handling… it’s just superb. And so it’s huge. Yes, it really is the best modern open world driving game, so go get it.
