Forza Horizon 5’s Launch Represents One of the Best Racing Game Launches in History

In terms of quality, the game offers in every aspect, and the positive impact it leaves every time you close the game because you have to sleep, go to work, or attend a class, after playing more than 50 hours.

For anyone who has played any of the previous Forza Horizon games, they will know that Forza Horizon offers the most enjoyable experience that mixes simulation with arcade elements, which adds fun to racing games and keeps it from the boredom of pure simulation games.

The fifth part takes the positive impact of the series and raises the quality in every form, from graphics and gameplay to the open world full of activities.

Unlike part three, which was set in Australia, and part four, which was set in Britain, part five takes us to Mexico, which is presented in an amazing and diverse way in terms of environments and missions. You don’t just start the game as a participant in Horizon Festival celebrations; you also help create and organize them through various races across the map.

Forza Horizon now presents different Horizon Chapters, each of which rewards you with points that allow you to unlock new races. This is very enjoyable because it moves away from linear events, allowing you to do whatever you like after the game’s introduction.

The concept of an open world and the number of available activities and races is not new to us. Even if you haven’t played before, you’ve surely heard of it. What this part offers, though, takes it to a whole new level, from street races to city races, desert races, jungle adventures, and of course, the open world where you can explore and enjoy activities like Drift Zones, Speed Traps, XP Boards, and Fast Travel locations scattered all over the map. There are also Barn Cars to find, all known activities from previous games.

The new addition here is the “Stories” activity, which presents different missions with side characters. Each story consists of 9 to 18 varied races. To be honest, not all of them are equally enjoyable, and you might get bored if you do too many at once.

A fun and important feature at the start of the game is choosing your character, either male or female, and selecting a voice. This greatly enhances the game’s interactions, making it feel like you have a character that interacts with the game rather than just a mute character. Sure, the dialogue in the game doesn’t add much, except to explain and introduce new things at the beginning, but after that, it’s really just “let’s race” or “let’s explore this new area” or “let’s try this fast car.” But at the end of the day, it creates a vibe.

Another point is the “Showcase Events,” which are special, large-scale races, such as racing a plane or a train. These events are usually presented well, but they’re enjoyable not just because they’re different, but because the game itself is fun and genius in gameplay and presentation. Now, let’s talk a bit about the gameplay.

One of Forza’s most notable features is the mechanics and gameplay it offers, and the enjoyment it brings. No matter the type of race, car, or activity, you’ll be holding the controller and literally having fun. This is what a successful development team like Playground does; they build a game with the aim of making it “fun to play.” I play to enjoy, relax, and be amazed, with plenty of options, experiences, activities, and a wide variety of cars. Also, an important point is the rewards after races and the progression system in the game, which is very satisfying compared to other games that give you packs to sell quickly after a week of playing.

The online mode also offers very fun activities. Unlike last year, you no longer need a VPN, so you can play with your friends or solo. Whether it’s races of all kinds or games like Drag, Drift, Circuit, Sprint, or something like “Eliminator,” which is a battle royale among 72 players, with the last 11 racing to win the finish line. However, the only issue with online mode is that in team-based games, the matchmaking isn’t always fair, and sometimes one team ends up with more players than the other.

The game starts by letting you experience one of the best cars from each type, which motivates you to start saving and buying better, more customizable cars to compete better and win faster to buy the endgame cars.

The game’s shift to Mexico presents a stunning environment, as the map is vast and filled with activities and races in every inch of it. The variety of environments, from mountains to deserts, beaches, swamps, to the heart of the city, along with the tourist attractions, is all presented perfectly with fine details, fully utilizing the Xbox’s capabilities.

Just as the sound department deserves praise in a game of this size, the sounds are beautifully detailed, from car engines to the surroundings.

The game offers two modes to choose from at the beginning, which you can change anytime: Quality Mode, which offers 4K resolution with full graphics support to produce the best image quality, but runs at 30 frames per second. The other option is Performance Mode, also 4K, but with 60 frames per second at the expense of graphics.

In the end, Forza Horizon 5, with more than 530 cars, an amazing open world, and meticulous details, deserves to be nominated for Game of the Year, no doubt.

Pros

Amazing graphics

Strong and stable performance

Variety of fun modes

Cons

Some repetition

No major improvement over the previous version

Final Rating

10/10

Review by: Mostafa Abdelkader