PC Gamer - UK (2022-01)

Forza Horizon 5 doesn’t needtodo

what other racinggames would do. It

just needs tobea Forza Horizon

game. It’sa serieswithnoserious

rival, and assuchit feels

unchallenged. It’snot

being forcedto

reinvent the wheel, and

soit’scontent tojust

honeand refine – tobe

the best Forza Horizon

itcan be.

If you haveplayed

any previousForza

Horizon games you

already knowwhatthismeans. A

map filled withmoreicons thana

Ubisoft openworld, eachdenotinga

raceevent, a PRstunt, a rumour

about somevintage car, ora seriesof

challengesorganised intoa handful

of stories. Asyou win races and

completeevents, you’rebombarded

withrewards. You earnaccolades –

mini achievementsthatact asForza

Horizon 5’s careerprogression system

• someof which rewardnew cars
  and new phrases tospaminchat. You
  earnwheelspinsthatcan dropcars,
  cashand clothes.
  The rewards comesothick and
  fast, thatcollectingnew carsismore
  about broadeningyouroptions than
  straight progression. You’ll likelyget
  anS2class car – among the fastest


• inyourfirsthours. But, thanksto
  the restrictionspresent inthe
  seasonal playlist, you’reencouraged
  tochase different makes and models.
  The seasonal playlist isthe heart
  of Forza Horizon 5’s liveservice. Each
  weektakes place ina new seasonand
  offersa variety of eventsand
  challenges, usually withrestrictions
  toclass, type, and difficulty. Assuch,
  itsucceedsbyforcing you out of your

comfort zone, and makingyou think

about how toovercomethe

restrictionsit presents– givingyou

reasons tothink about yourgarage

and whatfits yournext goal.

MEXICAN WAVE

You’ll noticeat this

point thatI’venot

talkedabout anything

new toForza Horizon

5. There’s a reasonfor

that. Yes, there’s a new

event type– an

‘expedition’ – usedto

unlockthe outpoststhatcontain

different racingdisciplines. You goto

a new area, completesomeobjectives

and yourmap fillsupwithnew road,

street, dirtorcross country races.

Evenso, calling thisa new feature

may beoverstating the point. Withso

manyevent types already, any slight

variation struggles tostand out.

Really, then, the major new

feature of Forza Horizon 5 is, simply,

its setting. Mexicoismorevariedand

vibrant thanForza Horizon 4’s UK

• withrainforests, towns, deserts, and
  many, manycacti tobashinto. The
  weather ismoreinteresting too.
  Throughout, the game’scharacters
  reference Mexican culture and
  history, althoughit’sall filtered
  through the series’ relentless
  positivity. It’shardtothink of its
  world asa real place, not because it’s
  a pick-and-mixtruncationof real
  locations, but because itexistsina
  universewhere bad thingsdon’t
  happen. Everyoneislovinglifeall of
  the time– the festival isa constant
  party, where destruction means skill
  chainsand harsh vibes don’t exist.
  ThisisForza Horizon’s whole
  deal, though, and while I might roll
  myeyesatthe dialogue, I can’t
  pretend I don’t get swept upinthe
  atmosphere. InevitablyasI play, I
  havea big, dumbgrinonmyface.
  It’sjustthatkindofgame. Similarly,
  I can’t reallycriticise itfor not
  innovatingthe series– makingbig,
  sweepingchanges for the sakeofit
  feeling moredifferent. It’seasyto
  forgetgiven how effortless
  everythingfeels, but the sheer detail
  ofits environmentsand the level of
  craft evident ineachofits over500
  carsisastounding.
  Thisiswhathappens whena
  seriesgetstoexist without any
  serious competition. It getstofocus
  onand perfect the thingsit’smost
  interestedin. While I’d lovetoknow
  what Forza Horizon would looklikeif
  ithad any serious rivalsforcing it
  towards greater innovation, I’ll
  happily makedowithplaying the
  most polishedand confident Forza
  Horizon gamemadetodate.

90

The seriesgetsa new,

lushsetting, but

otherwise iscontent to

simplyfine-tune an

already winningformula.

VERDICT

A

fterbeing airdroppedfroma cargo plane in an AMG One, I

arriveat the festival siteto a fanfare. The organisersare

delighted – their ‘superstar’ is finallyhere– and to celebrate

theyoffer me a choiceof startingcar. I leave the siteand

headto my firstracein a CorvetteStingrayCoupe. Thisisn’t

how racinggames are supposedto start. I shouldbe battlingfor winsin

somehatchback. Instead, I’m being handeda 500 horsepowersupercar.

CRUISECONTROL

FORZA HORIZON 5 is more ofthe same, and that’s OK

ByPhil Savage

Inevitably

asIplay, I

haveabig,

dumb grinon

myface

NEED TO KNOW

WHATIS IT?

A ridiculous car

playground

masquerading as an

open world racing game

EXPECT TO PAY

£50, free on Game Pass

DEVELOPER

Playground Games

PUBLISHER

Xbox Game Studios

REVIEWED ON

RTX 3080Ti, 32GB RAM,

Ryzen 7 3700X

MULTIPLAYER

Yes

LINK

bit.ly/3FxV0uI

AFTERPARTY

Forza Horizon 5’s multiplayer explained

OPEN RACING

Weirdness rating:

Low

It’s a race, just with

real people. Pretty simple, really,

but there’s plenty of variety

between the different cars,

classes and terrain types.

HORIZON TOUR

Weirdness rating:

Still low

Team up to take on

an AI team in a series of races.

The better each racer on your

team places, the more points

you earn.

PLAYGROUND

GAMES

Weirdness rating:

Slightly higher

FPS standards like capture the

flag and king of the hill, but with

cars. In my experience, these are

often wildly unbalanced.

ELIMINATOR

Weirdness rating:

Off the charts

It’s battle royale, but

with cars. It’s got loot drops that

give you better cars, a slowly

closing ring and eliminations.

Extremely bizarre.

Forza Horizon 5

REVIEW