The Forza series has long been a benchmark for what Xbox hardware can pull off. Always packing in sharp vehicle models vehicles and detailed environments, the franchise often goes hand-in-hand with Xbox's marketing for a new console. This year is no different, with Forza Horizon 5 appearing during some of Xbox's biggest events. And while it doesn't make drastic changes to the core Forza Horizon formula, Forza Horizon 5 is one of the most technically impressive games on the market right now.
Forza Horizon 5 wastes no time dropping players into the thick of things, quite literally. It opens up with the player being dropped from a cargo plane onto an active volcano before transitioning through a few other sequences, giving players an idea of what they're in for throughout the rest of the experience. It's similar to what previous entries in the Forza Horizon sub-series have done in the past, but it's a more impressive spectacle this time around.
After the intro, Forza Horizon 5 opens up quickly. There's a broad suite of races, challenges, and scattered miscellaneous objectives for players to cross off the list as they roam around the world, exploring and facing off against other players in head-to-head races. It never feels like there's nothing to do in Forza Horizon 5, and the subtypes of races are different enough to keep things feeling relatively fresh as the hours press on.
To be clear, though, Forza Horizon 5 probably won't win over those that weren't fans of the last games in the series. Be it casual disinterest in racing games as a whole or a preference skewed towards Horizon's less arcadey sibling Forza Motorsport, Forza Horizon 5 is more of the same, for better or for worse. Those that enjoyed the other games are likely going to enjoy this one, though that doesn't mean there are no tricks up its sleeves. Forza Horizon 5 ups the ante in ways that make it worth playing, and it introduces one of the most interesting settings to date.
This time around Forza Horizon is set in Mexico, which provides one of the most geographically diverse settings that the series has featured thus far. There are mountains, jungles, and long stretches of plains that serve as the perfect playground for players to race through. Many of the missions that aren't proper races – primarily multi-part tales aptly called Stories, tying into the larger campaign – will take players to ruins, which don't offer much in the way of interaction, but are still neat to explore.
While the characters contained within Forza Horizon 5 aren't particularly memorable, the quests associated with them tend to be some of the most interesting on offer. The massive, recurring storms featured in Forza Horizon 5 are a technical marvel, appearing most frequently during those characters' Stories. When those storms combine with drifting through mud and gravel, the right song playing, and haptic feedback, the idea of setting the controller down and taking a break feels heinous.
It certainly helps that Forza Horizon 5 sounds as good as it looks. Engines roaring, tires screeching across the asphalt, and dirt being kicked up from the ground have all been perfectly tuned. There are distinct differences between how cars sound, varying wildly between on-road and offroad options, as well as between the classes of cars themselves. It's yet another reminder that the Forza series is about the technicalities, the little things that add up and make cars worth appreciating.
For those playing to test as many cars as possible, Forza Horizon 5 offers hundreds of cars, dishing them out like candy at times and making players work for them at others. There's a well-integrated accolade system that players advance by completing races, stories, or challenges. Those accolades will often grant players rare new cars, as well as credits, customization options, and more, which creates a satisfying extra reward loop.
All of this is packaged in an experience that encourages players to interact with one another without being overbearing. There's a Link communication feature that makes it a breeze to communicate with nearby players, issue challenges, point to community objectives, and more. It's an easy way to find players on the fly while out exploring and makes for an all-around more interesting world.
Plus, there are Forza Arcade challenges, which are collaborative objectives players can complete together to earn rewards, helping push that interaction even further. Typically, they require players to drift through certain sections of the map, pull off impressive jumps, or other content in a similar vein, highlighting Forza Horizon 5's bombastic side in an entertaining way.
Like many of the other games on the Xbox Series X, Forza Horizon 5 offers both quality and performance modes, with the latter toning down the visuals for an all-around smoother experience. It's hard to express just how big of a difference this makes without seeing it directly, but it's worth stressing that Forza Horizon 5 should absolutely be played in performance mode. While the quality setting doesn't chug by any means, the experience feels so much better with the frame rate bump. Plus, it's still a visually impressive game.
The biggest issues with Forza Horizon 5 mostly feel like nitpicks. The soundtrack isn't as good as some prior entries, but that largely comes down to individual tastes in music. The only real bug we've experienced was an issue that would make certain completed objectives stick to the UI, which was fixed by reloading a save. Developer Playground Games has made a game as fine-tuned as the cars within it.
Forza Horizon 5 is flashy and vibrant. It packs in pretty much everything one could want out of a racing game, with a broad selection of cars, tracks, and challenges to complete. Its addition to Xbox Game Pass alone should be reason enough to try it, but it stands as one of the best Xbox exclusives out right now regardless. It might not do much to separate itself from the other entries mechanically, but Forza Horizon 5 is the best the series has felt yet.
Forza Horizon 5 releases November 9 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Early access opens on November 5 Premium Edition buyers. Game ZXC was provided an Xbox Series X code for this review.
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 is one of the most ambitious releases in the long-running Forza Horizon franchise. This time, players have access to a massive open-world map, allowing them to drive endlessly if they so please. There are tons of cars to unlock and customize and a wide array of events.
