Forza Horizon 5 Review

I have been a massive fan of the Forza Horizon series since I played the first game in 2012. It’s crazy to think this series will be ten years old next year. It feels like I was driving around Colorado just yesterday during the first Horizon Festival. Playground Games has consistently delivered with every new game they have released since then. That hasn’t changed with the release of Forza Horizon 5. Mexico is your playground, and there is never a shortage of things to do or sights to see.

Presentation

The visual upgrades in Forza Horizon 5 are very pronounced, as the lighting, tire smoke, and dust effects are better than ever. It makes doing donuts in the middle of the road much more satisfying as the smoke engulfs the car. Similarly, driving through dust storms can be pretty dangerous. They’re visible from miles away. The lighting is equally incredible, and nowhere is that more noticeable than racing at night and seeing the neon of the festivals or how the sunlight hits a metallic paint job. It looks so much more lifelike than ever before. Hundreds of new custom parts, performance mods, and rims allow you to put more character into your vehicles than ever. 

Mexico

Mexico is a diverse setting that gives you a little bit of everything. You’ll see sandy beaches, deserts with dust storms, tight cobblestone city areas perfect for street racing, lush, marshy forest areas, farmland, a soccer stadium, and even a volcano. It’s not an exact recreation, but it captures the best aspects of Mexico, all blended into one incredible open world. The Gran Caldera Volcano is the highest point in the Horizon series to date, and it’s impressive to get to the top and see how far the draw distance is from that point. You can see practically the entire map up there, and it’s awe-inspiring to park your car at the edge to look at the ocean in the distance. 

Cars

Forza Horizon 5 features over 500 cars, easily surpassing the number of vehicles in rival racing games on the market. There aren’t a boatload of brand-new vehicles in the series, but the new performance and visual upgrades make sure that each car can feel fresh even if you’ve used it in previous games. Higher-resolution liveries are also available, but you still can’t place them on glass. The game shines in 4K/30FPS quality mode or 4K/60FPS performance mode. I played it on both, and the frame rate was solid. I chose quality mode, although noticing the differences without analyzing them was challenging. It looks gorgeous no matter how you play.

To me, the cars feel better than ever before in Horizon 5. The physics and the handling feel very lifelike, and each car feels very different from the next. I noticed a big difference in how the off-road races feel. They felt more authentic and required more precision than in previous games. Playground is hitting its stride in making the cars react correctly to every terrain. The audio has even been revamped, and most of the vehicles in the game sound much more distinct. You can even hear the changes in real-time as you rev your engine when swapping out performance parts. It’s a pretty nifty little addition for the true car buffs. 

Gameplay

I appreciated how the primary career mode unfolds gradually as you gain Accolade points to build new Horizon Festival outposts. These points are awarded for achieving major and minor goals all around the map. They’re reminiscent of the brick challenges in the LEGO expansion in Horizon 4. I found that I earned many points simply by messing around all over Mexico, and before I knew it, I was ready for the next outpost. Once you’re prepared for the next outpost, some expeditions will see you driving to a specific area to build the next outpost. Some even have optional challenges that offer cosmetic items and rewards. My favorites were the ride to the top of the volcano and the drive through a thunderstorm as lightning strikes all around you. 

Game Modes

The Festival Playlist and seasons return, offering new activities every week. The Eliminator returns with Horizon’s take on battle royale racing. Super 7 Challenges also allows players to create stunts and challenges for other players. PVP modes are no longer hampered by players who want to grief others when they’re not winning. Forzathon Live has evolved into Horizon Arcade, offering a wider range of co-op events where players collaborate to achieve a shared goal. These are still a lot of fun unless the event lasts ten minutes, which can become repetitive. Story challenges, barn finds, and bonus boards remain essentially unchanged. There is an excellent feature that allows you to gift cars to other players as well. 

Co-Op

I enjoyed the co-op racing with my friend as we battled many other AI cars. It’s a fun way to race together that is unrivaled in other racing games. We had a ton of fun just driving around to the point that we’d race maybe three races in the 3 hours, as we’d get lost in the Horizon 5 game world and upgrade our extensive garages full of cars. It says a lot for a game to be fun to play with other people while you’re doing other things, and Forza Horizon 5 is. It’s great to jump in a convoy and travel around the map. 

Final Thoughts

Forza Horizon 5 is the best racing game I’ve ever played. It’s Playground Games at their very best, giving you many different ways to enjoy Mexico in hundreds of various cars you can customize almost any way you want. I played this game for 7 hours the first time I jumped into it because I couldn’t put it down. You’re consistently rewarded for everything you do, and everywhere you go. It’s a world full of activities, yet it never feels daunting. It’s always a relaxing, fun experience driving down the roads of Mexico with good music, good friends, and fast cars. What more could you want?