To follow my review of Forza Horizon 5 which was posted on Tuesday, I wanted to put a few more of my thoughts out there now I’ve had more time with the game. My perfect score is unchanged so, if anything, here are yet more reasons why it’s the best game of its genre of all time.
The most notable omission from my review was talking about the storms which can spread across Mexico in an unpredictable fashion. Whilst they are incredibly cool to race in, the promotion of the game covered them to such an extent that I doubt anyone could be going into the fifth iteration of the Horizon festival without knowing they’ll be there. Watching a sandstorm build on the horizon, knowing you’ll have to get through it get where you need to go, is always exciting as they aren’t as common as you might think, though as you’d expect all my encounters with sandstorms so far took place in the desert.
There are heavy tropical storms with torrents of rain accompanied by thunder and lightning, where the latter can actually strike the ground this time (!), as well as heavy snowfall. I have had one rainstorm in my time playing but as it was fairly early on I don’t remember enough about it to talk about it. This is because the Seasons return from Horizon 4 but in a less central way, and as Horizon 5 kicks off with the ‘Hot’ season it explains how there hasn’t been much rain to speak of. I only found out through the launch trailer that there would also be snow in the game so I’m very much looking forward to when that materialises too!
The Forza Horizon franchise has usually been pretty good with its post-launch expansions, with a weak entry in the form of the Lego expansion for Horizon 4 as the sole exception. It has already been confirmed Horizon 5 will receive two expansions, both for release next year, though we do not currently know what either of them will be. The Hot Wheels expansion for Horizon 3 was such a resounding success I would be shocked if they don’t follow it up with a Hot Wheels 2 for the most recent game. The main question mark which hangs over this is that Hot Wheels just released its own game, but I hope the owners of the brand, Mattel, won’t be too terrified of money and success as to not allow Playground Games to make another one of their own.
I used to know someone who had never played a video game in their life as they had no interest in them, but made an exception when the Hot Wheels expansion for Horizon 3 released, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Last I checked they hadn’t played another game since..
I mentioned in my review that there are over 90 races in the game, and while I also said there’s lots of side activities to do, I neglected to mention the sheer scale of them. There are dozens of speed traps, speed zones, danger signs (jumps), drift zones and trailblazer (point to point) challenges to complete, and even if you don’t overly enjoy a particular type of them, Horizon 5 applies no pressure in convincing you to have a go at them anyway. I am certain it won’t take long for it to break down your defences, as it did mine, and have you trying some of them over and over again, as I previously had not been that enthusiastic about drift zones or trailblazers. There must be something in the air that has made me determined to three star every single one of them!
Finally, I want to sign off with a reminder that Forza Horizon 5 is free to play through Xbox Game Pass and is most definitely worth your time, even if you’re not a usual fan of the genre. The Horizon festival truly has something for everyone, and is a must-play for any Xbox or PC gamer. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you on the road!
