Forza Horizon 5 is a racing video game set in an open world environment based in a fictional representation of Mexico. The game has the largest map in the entire Forza Horizon series, being 50% larger than its predecessor, Forza Horizon 4, while also having the highest point in the Horizon series. The map was described by creative director Mike Brown as one of the most diverse Forza Horizon maps the team has built. The map contains an active caldera volcano, jungles and beaches, ancient Mayan temples, and towns and cities such as Guanajuato.
Players can explore the open world freely, though they can also compete in multiplayer races and complete the campaign mode. Both the cars featured in the game and the player character can be extensively customised. Players are able to create custom liveries and tunes for cars, and perform engine swaps, drivetrain swaps, or install body kits on certain vehicles. The game is the first in the franchise to support ray tracing on cars . Like with most AAA titles these days, Forza Horizon 5 will let players choose between a performance mode or graphics mode on the Xbox Series of consoles. For the Series X, both modes output in 4K with the graphics mode having a maximum frame rate of 30 while performance mode bumps this up to 60 with some adjustments to the graphics settings.
On the Series S, the frame rates for the modes are identical to what's found on the Series X, but the resolution maxes out at 1080p. If you're playing on an Xbox One X, you'll be able to output in 4K but at a max of 30 fps. With exception to the original model Xbox, all consoles support HDR and raytracing is available in the ForzaVista mode when playing in graphics mode on a Series console. Meet new characters and choose the outcomes of their Horizon Story missions.Take on awe-inspiring weather events such as towering dust storms and intense tropical storms as Mexico's unique, dynamic seasons change the world every week. Keep coming back for new events, challenges, collectibles, and rewards, and new areas to explore.
No two seasons will ever be the same.Play on Xbox Series X and Xbox One consoles. For the small sliver of campaign available to me, I got a look at some of the different races and events I'll be attempting to complete in the final game. There is a nice mix of short, lapped races and long cross-country treks. The game is very welcoming of players of all skill levels as it lets me set the difficulty for any race I participate in. I also got a chance to experience two adventure missions that are more character-driven.
In one, I help a photographer grab a bitchin' shot of my car in action during a sandstorm. While neither are all that interesting, they are decent showcases for the types of cars you'll be able to unlock in the game and just how varied and detailed this recreation of Mexico is. Just like Forza Horizon 4, Forza Horizon 5 is a cross-gen game that is also being released on Xbox One consoles, but it's still a big leap forward for the open-world racing franchise. It's definitely one of the best-looking games you can play on Xbox Series X|S consoles today, featuring the largest open world ever seen in a Forza game. It's also an excellent casual game for players who aren't really into racing games, and it remains far more accessible than the pretty demanding Forza Motorsport series.
Is Forza Horizon 5 Coming On Xbox One A new Forza Horizon game always comes with at least a handful of new features and improvements over its predecessor, but Forza Horizon 5 delivers even greater amounts of content to players. The extra year of development Forza Horizon 5 got over previous entries in the series clearly helped things along because there is a lot about which to talk. Not only has Playground Games baked in significantly more content into Forza Horizon 5's base game, but it's also given the community a way to add essentially infinite new events and races to Forza Horizon 5 over time. FH5's online features have seen significant improvements to more completely connect players all around the world. Create your own expressions of fun with the powerful new EventLab gameplay toolset including custom races, challenges, stunts, and entirely new game modes. Customize your cars in more ways than ever before with new options such as the ability open and close convertible tops, paint brake calipers, and more.
Use the new Gift Drops feature to share your custom creations with the community. Forza Horizon 5 is also an impressive test case for Microsoft's cross-generational hardware strategy. I played the game for several hours on my Xbox One X, and it doesn't feel compromised compared to anything else on the console. It's still a better-looking game than 3 and 4, and it looks more or less the same as the Series X version's 60fps mode — just running at half the frame rate. The One X is generally a machine designed for 4K/30fps games, and that's what you get here with Forza Horizon 5. Would the Series X game have looked even better if it didn't have to run on Xbox One consoles?
Maybe, but it's hard to complain about the performance on either platform. Fans of racing games will get everything they want and more from Forza Horizon 5's stunningly realistic open world. Players are treated to unlimited gameplay opportunities thanks to the intricately detailed user customization and accessibility options. Despite this, Forza Horizon 5 has pushed the capabilities of the new Xbox consoles to its limits, offering the most stunning and varied racing experience yet. This consists of a series of mini-multiplayer games strewn across the map. One of these mini-multiplayer games is called "Piñata pop" where the Horizon Festival's cargo plane drops piñatas.
The goal is to pop as many piñatas as they can with the help of other players. It also introduces the "EventLab", a toolset in which players can create custom games, races, and more depending on their personal preference. According to Brown, it is an AI assistant that tracks the current statuses of players, helping them to link with other players online and play together. Forza Link can also link players' GPS systems if they accept the invitation from another player. Being the fifth instalment in the series, Playground Games has taken huge steps to make the driving experience more immersive.
Starting with the map size, which is 50 per cent larger than Forza Horizon 4, the game features countless locations such as an active volcano, jungles, beaches, ancient Mayan temples, and the narrow, colourful streets of Guanajuato. Besides the standard campaign mode, players can take part in online multiplayer races and explore the open world with no restrictions. Forza Horizon 5 is set in a fictional representation of Mexico.
Players will race through various kinds of biomes in the game, and will have access to a number of professional racing cars. Several game modes allow players to play online against others, and "The Eliminator" battle royale mode has also made a return from Forza Horizon 4. I played Forza Horizon 5 on both my Xbox Series X and Series S consoles over the past week, and I'm happy to report that performance is excellent on both consoles.
Players get to choose between Quality and Performance modes, and I think that Forza Horizon 5 is one of the rare racing games that don't feel too uncomfortable playing at 30FPS. If you're an arcade racing game purist, Burnout Paradise has a lot to answer for. Ever since, virtually all big-budget arcade racing games have been made in the shadow of Paradise, with most tracks consisting of lines drawn across vast, explorable maps. But there are possibilities for even more modes thanks to the new Eventlab.
The new toolset lets players create their own races, game modes, and gameplay experiences, with a whole suite of customisation options. Forza Horizon 5 has finally hit consoles and computers for all users , so racers ready for the latest racing experience can enjoy some truly impressive graphics and customization options. One of the things we love about Forza is how friendly its various Tours and racing matches are, from trying out different competitive modes to joining a team and making your way through a world tour together. Keep in mind thatHorizon 5 also includes Kudos and Gift Drops to share with the community, so teamplay is a core aspect for many gaming modes. Obviously players can expect crisp graphics, but there a number of other additions to the game as well. The gameplay video shows a new exploration-type campaign mode, and a larger list of arcade games that reminds us of lighter racing games like Mario Kart.
Microsoft makes a big deal of accessibility, including in its flagship events, and its Xbox games are continuing in that spirit. Like many other Xbox games that span generations, Forza Horizon 5 supports Xbox Smart Delivery. This means you have to buy Forza Horizon 5 only once for Xbox consoles, and Xbox will automatically download the best possible version of the game for the console you're playing on, at no additional cost. This also includes Xbox cloud saves, meaning there's full cross-progression between generations. Even when FH5 players have gotten through the majority of content in the base game, Forza Horizon 5's multiplayer is grander and more accessible than ever before, with a nearly endless amount of content to explore. Playground Games has delivered their latest masterpiece with Forza Horizon 5, which features the series' most diverse map and largest car list yet.
Forza Horizon 5 somehow fulfills its ambitious promises to be the best open-world racer right now, and one of the best racing games in general. On Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, loading times are almost instantaneous, which is really convenient when you want to use the map to teleport yourself to another location. Compared to Forza Horizon 4, the game's menus have also been simplified and it's now easier to browse your car collection or check your progression in the game. It's also easier to see the other online players on your server, though you can still opt for the "Horizon Solo" experience and play the game offline.
You can run it at 60 frames per second on Xbox Series consoles, or there's a 30fps mode that further boosts the graphical features; I personally find it hard to play racing games at 30fps, but each mode delivers a convincing presentation. Forza Horizon 5 doesn't change the basic structure, and there's still a huge amount of stuff dotting the Mexican map. But it does do a better job of easing you into its mountain of content.
You're able to choose which specific types of events to unlock as you progress, so, for example, I preferred to focus on closed-track road races early on before delving into cross-country rallies. I feel like if I stopped playing the game and came back to it weeks later, I'd have a much better sense of what I'd been doing and where would be best for me to spend the next couple of hours. In turn, that makes me feel better about simply driving around the landscape in search of whatever esoteric quest I might come across.
Unlike with 4, I've never felt like I'm wasting my time in Forza Horizon 5, as I always have more of a sense of what I could be working toward. Similar multiplayer content from previous games will be included, allowing players to partake in a variety of street races. More modes will be included, including the ability for players to create their own races and game modes. Of course, if you do run out of events, you can always create your own. Forza Horizon 5 includes a new EventLab feature for user-generated content. With it, you can create all manners of races, stunts, and challenges.
EventLab in Forza Horizon 5 allows you to insert objects, fashion a route, set car class and more. You can even define all sorts of rules, be it handing points for hit objectives, changing car torque or gravity to mess with racers, or upending race parameters for an added dose of fun. Once you're done with your blueprint, you can use it to give your event a name, take it for a test spin, and then publish it for the community to enjoy. Forza Horizon 5 is akin to a "car-lovers sandbox," and lets you play however you want. While there is a story and full-blown campaign with the Horizon Adventure, Expeditions, and smaller Horizon Stories, it's still up to players how they progress and what path they take.
All in all, the focus of Forza Horizon 5 is the vast arsenal of cars, the wide variety of races and events, the sheer level of creative freedom available, and the deeply integrated online multiplayer gameplay. Forza Horizon 5 also features a brand-new weather system, where players will be able to experience different climates in different parts of the country. Additionally, you are also introduced to the Horizon Arcade, where you can play a series of mini-multiplayer games spread across the map. However, Forza Horizon 5 is on another level on Xbox Series X and it's one of the few games where I prefer the 30fps quality mode to its 60fps equivalent.
The increase in fidelity and the more graceful LOD transitions combined with the upgraded visuals elevate it significantly beyond performance mode. True, it's not 60fps but the motion blur is the best I've seen in bridging the gap. Of course, it is possible to play this game at full frame-rate with Series X's mixture of high, ultra and extreme settings - and that's where the PC version comes into play.
We'll be reporting back on our testing and experiences there soon. Crucially, there are advantages to playing Forza Horizon 5 on Series consoles that aren't just about graphics or frame-rate. Hosting the game on SSD makes for a more streamlined experience on Series consoles - and it's noticeable right from the beginning of the experience. The intro drive is a Playground staple, a spectacular preview of the action to come. It's a glorious, seamless, load-free experience on Xbox Series machines, but Xbox One consoles simply can't deliver the data for each new stage in time, leading to second pauses from one segment to the next.
It looks the part, but the loading delays interrupt the flow and don't leave the best impression. While these transitions are indeed instant on the new consoles, there is still loading in the main game but it's much faster than last-gen console equivalents - around 3x to the better in my tests. In my tests I found that - generally speaking - there are three tiers of graphics fidelity on the consoles. Xbox One is at the base of the pile, as you may expect, but still gets the job done.
Xbox One X's graphics profile at dynamic 4K is broadly equivalent to the Series machines in their 60fps modes - but each version has its own plus and minus points. In some areas, Series X's performance mode seemed to deliver improved ground detail over Xbox One X. Elsewhere, Series S's textures didn't look as detailed as Xbox One X's (and resolution is lower at a dynamic 810p-1080p). Series X performance mode matches One X's 1600p-2160p DRS Plus profile - however, I do want to stress again that resolution changes are difficult to track by eye. It's also nigh-on impossible to find any drops from the target 60fps in the Series console performance modes.
Developer Playground Games has quite the track record when it comes to optimizing its games, and the latest Forza Horizon installment is no exception. As expected, there are graphical and performance differences between the platforms with the PC version running the game on maximum settings on an NVIDIA RTX 3080. Interestingly, however, is that the Xbox Series X matches the highest PC settings in the game's quality mode (4K@30FPS). The Series X also supports a performance mode that runs the game in 4K resolution at 60FPS – this mode decreases the quality of reflections, ambient occlusion, shadows texturing, and vegetation in order to maintain a steady framerate. Driving around and viewing the scenery is brilliant, the day to night changes and seasonal changes make the game always feel fresh. On the first circuit of the game, I didn't realize I had passed lap 1 until I looked and was on lap 3.
Somehow, the game stays fresh during repetitions of the same race. There are 5 subcategories of offline activities in Forza Horizon 5. Basic circuit races, PR stunts, Expeditions, cross-country sprints, and storylines that add so much depth to the game.
This is basically GTA without the ability to get out of the car, and without the gruesome subject matter. The developer also shared information about the game's file size in the past two weeks, though Forza Horizon 5 recently received a live 20 GB update despite not yet being released. Until the release of Forza Horizon 4 three years ago, Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios used to alternate with a new Forza Motorsport and a new Forza Horizon game every year. However, the transition to a new console generation has affected this well-oiled release cycle.
As a result, Microsoft's next-gen Xbox Series X and Series S consoles only had two "next-gen" racing games at launch, an updated version of Forza Horizon 4 and Codemasters' Dirt 5, which I personally found quite disappointing. Forza Horizon 5 is the best game in the series and another essential release from PlayGround Games, and it sets a pretty high bar for the upcoming Forza Motorsport 8 from Turn 10 Studios. In many ways, Forza Horizon 5 can feel like more of the same, but the graphics are truly stunning on Xbox Series X and the gameplay is still just as addictive as ever. Playground Games has definitely cemented its place as one of the best studios Microsoft acquired in recent years, though we'd love to see the studio try something a bit different and take more risks with its future games. Despite the name and the hundreds of accurately modeled real-world cars, Forza Horizon has little in common with Turn 10 Studios' Forza Motorsport series, which is more of a serious racing simulator. While Horizon isn't exactly a Ridge Racer-style arcade game, it's certainly on the more accessible side of things.
The physics feel somewhat grounded in reality, and you'll notice big differences in how various cars handle, but the driving model is very forgiving, and it's easy for anyone to pick up and play. Accessibility options for difficulty and needs, as well as the ability to finely tune each vehicle, ensure a truly unique experience for all. However you want to experience the expansive world of Forza Horizon 5, somewhere here there's a way to do so. As you play the game, you'll earn experience points through skillful driving. Level up to unlock cars and outfits at home bases you acquire as you uncover the map. In these first few hours, I tested cars like the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe, Ford Bronco, and Toyota GR Supra.
The driving itself still sits at a nice sweet spot between mainline Forza's stodgy driving simulation and a more accessible, forgiving arcade racing game like Need for Speed—especially if you activate the assists. Switch from 30fps to the 60fps 'Performance' mode and you'll immediately feel the difference. Playground state that this is still running at a maximum 4K resolution, but that "additional graphics settings adjusted to maintain target framerate".
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