Developer: Playground Games
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Release Date: 9th November 2021
Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One & PC
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
▫️ Review code provided by the publisher ▫️
Rev your engines because Forza Horizon 5 is here and it’s wheely good. Ok car puns aside, it’s fair to say that Playground Games have set the new standard for next-gen racers – again. On the face of it, Forza Horizon 5 is exactly what you’d expect, following on from the previous blueprint of the previous Horizon games. However, small additions in loads of areas combine to take the crown of the best racing game to date.
Whenever I play an arcade racing game these days I am reminded of Burnout Paradise. The reason for this is that it came along in 2008 and flipped the script – for me at least. No longer did you have a set amount of tracks that you mastered over time, before moving on to the new, inevitably shinier release. The open-world aspect was one of the many things that made Paradise stand out, and ever since then, developers have tried to replicate its brilliance. I would argue that none have accomplished this as well as Playground Games with their Horizon spin-off.
Forza Horizon 5 takes us to Mexico. A decision that seemed to be almost universally praised when it was first announced. What’s this? The internet both agreeing and being happy about something? That’s when you know you’ve struck gold. The reason for this unprecedented excitement was the stark contrast that areas of a Mexican map can provide. We here at Pure Dead Gaming loved Horizon 4’s UK setting. Driving by a Carphone Warehouse in Edinburgh and declaring “I got a replacement SIM card there once!” was a buzz and something we rarely get to experience. But Horizon 5 can provide tropical beaches, wet rainforests, volcanic mountains, narrow small-town streets and loads more in between.
The UI and approach have remained the same for several iterations and I found myself asking the question – should this be seen as a negative? In the end, I don’t think it is. The team has pretty much perfected the formula and the lure of new entries in the series now is as much about the new location as anything. This is the ultimate racing sandbox and if we can get this level of detail and polish every few years in a stunning new part of the world then I am all the way in. My hope is that this continues to happen despite the Motorsport arm of the Forza franchises looking like it will migrate to a service.
Forza Horizon has always been a technical masterpiece and so it is no surprise that the game has once again delivered in this regard. You have the option of both performance and quality mode. On the Xbox Series X, which is the system we reviewed the game on, performance mode runs at 4K/60fps, while quality mode drops to 4K/30fps, but dials up the level of detail for a better overall visual look. Quality mode also allows you to check out ray tracing on the vehicles, but only in the Forza Vista model viewer mode, not during gameplay. The lure of a buttery smooth 60fps was enough for me to stick with performance mode, which aside from some minor pop-in at times still looks as good as anything else we have seen on consoles to date.
As with the previous entry in the Horizon series, you’ll literally never run out of things to do. Complete a race and five more icons appear. Stunts, speed cameras, collectables, endless amounts of races, classics cars to grab in hidden barns and a bunch of new, admittedly ultra-arcadey mini-games ensure that Playground Games have accounted for every racing game fan. In my week with the game, I can’t count the number of times I have used the phrase “just one more race”.
One of the things that make this series so special is how it is simultaneously easy to pick up, yet offers plenty of depth. You can adjust the difficulty to meet your requirements, and as you improve the game will nudge you to bump it up. I also appreciate how the game automatically populates races with a similar car type to what you chose. I have had instances where the likes of a Toyota Supra just wasn’t getting the job done and I was able to switch to a Ford Bronco without the worry that all the other racers would be driving faster cars. You can of course tune and customise cars, giving you total control over pretty much every aspect of your ride, however, as a more casual racing fan, I never felt it necessary to dabble in this area.
There is a bit of a story mode that guides you through the Horizon Festival, but it is unlikely to be any sort of main hook for gamers. The structure does now allow you to choose which specific types of events to unlock as you progress, rather than completely flood your map with everything. It’s a small touch, but all these little quality of life additions add up over the course of what could be hundreds of hours of gameplay.
This brings me to my conclusion. It’s a difficult one, because other than the superb setting and proper top-tier graphics it could be argued that there hasn’t been a massive amount of innovation since our jaunt to the United Kingdom in 2018. But the simple fact is, that the formula Playground Games have crafted is near perfect. I said in our Forza Horizon 4 review that it was the greatest racing game ever made. Well, the best just got better.
-Jes
