Forza Horizon 5 review: Open world packed with racing — is it too much?

In five editions spread out over a decade, Forza Horizon’s most distinguishing quality is not high-fidelity visuals, a deep fleet of stylish cars, or immersive handling and acceleration. It’s the uncanny sense of place I get from the setting. It’s a fictional representation of a real place, and in some cases, I’ve never set foot in the country inspiring it. But no other racer has ever made me feel like my mind’s-eye recollection of a highway sunset, a woodsy switchback, or a tree farm’s precisely planted rows riffling by like a thousand dictionary pages was anything other than a lived memory.

Mexico is the perfect setting. Forza Horizon 5, is both a quasi-return to the series’ origins, and the best execution of a racing open world to date. Forza HorizonColorado is where the state was founded. Much of Colorado’s territory was actually made from Mexico. The arid canyons, above-the-treeline mountain roads, and rolling farmlands all feel like a reunion with what Playground Games did so brilliantly — and did with an Xbox 360 — nine years ago. Forza Horizon 5 This is not only the greatest game in this series but also a great reminder of the quality of the previous games. The key is knowing how to navigate the game’s expansive offerings, without drowning or getting distracted by the heft of them.

Forza Horizon 5Its jungles, swamps and beaches immediately impress. The terrain is a significant difference in the race, often with three different vehicles. Road racing can mean technical corners that require something like a rally car. Or it could involve driving on the freeway, where you have the speed and agility of a Pagani or Bugatti hypercar.

However, no matter which way I choose to drive, my handling was excellent. Forza Horizon 5 supported me. This arcade-style or action-style racing video has more options for control and delegability than other games. In terms of pick-up-and-play usability, it’s better than any motorsports simulation I play, too. It also provides a feel of momentum and motion, with 60 frames per second. The preview made this clear. I was amazed at how much speed racing can produce. Be betterIf I shut off the traction or stability aid.

Driving in is easier if you have a lighter attitude Forza Horizon 5I. Only when I used “arcade” steering did I feel like I was fighting against a vehicle constantly trying to re-center itself, as is typical in Need for Speed and similar series. I could still drift in sim and standard steering with stabilization assist on.

Grid View

Driving any event cleanly and finishing it successfully, even if it’s a bone-rattling, top-speed plunge through La Gran Caldera’s rubble-strewn alluvial fan, is easy enough. (There’s always the rewind feature, but only perfectionists should need it.) Fight against Forza Horizon 5’s hard-spiking AI, though, is where the real work lies. Unfortunately, the most important pieces that I needed were sometimes drowned in an interface and user experience that could fairly be called information overload.

Just start with the game’s map, which after barely an hour of play already looks like the bulletin board for an overworked police detective — so many leads, where do I begin? Las Alfueras? This is an event that combines street racing and point-to–point. That’s fine, but “street race” might be deceptive for how much of the course is on a two-lane rural highway. The event’s recommended vehicle type and performance classification would give me a clue about what to prepare for, but I’d only learn those details once I drove to the event and entered it. These details would help me save time when selecting the car, tuning it and upgrading it before I enter the race. Attacking a map this large, it’s disappointing how much information is thrown at me, and how little of it helps me make a decision.

There is no limit to the type of vehicle that I can race in, however, it doesn’t matter if the car has the best possible performance. Then, if I don’t know the last setup or set of tires that I put on this ride, it’s another trip through the menus to find out. This kind of work may be acceptable for serious racers, however it can cause conflicts with the “pick-up and play” spirit. Forza Horizon 5’s core gameplay loop.

Image: Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios

It is important to plan ahead, even if it’s against stronger AIs. Run it several times to get a feel for the course.

I don’t mind shakedown runs, but I’m also hugely invested in racing games, and ready to sink hours into the task of achieving a flawless run. See how obsessed I am with practice, qualifying, setup, and other motorsports game settings. It seems strange that I have casually entered races with high strategy requirements. Forza Horizon 5’s overall relaxed tone, and especially with a map dotted with an endless number of things to sample and enjoy rapid fire.

It is also densely detailed, which can make it difficult to keep my eyes on the road. The argument about presentation is almost like fighting over a delicious buffet. While there’s a ton of value on Forza Horizon 5’s map, I feel constantly pinged with mentions and suggestions, from all directions, like two teenagers are blowing up my DMs. There’s the “New!” flag on an event, in a series different from the one I’m looking for. En route to the next leg of a story-based expedition, a voice on the in-game radio interrupts with a “skill song,” where my open-world hooning is now worth double the XP. Use X for the map!

Image: Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios

Finally, woe betide me, should I cross territory of an active Horizon Arcade event, I’ll be automatically entered, with its goals and route overriding whatever I was doing. If there’s a way to opt out of Arcade events until I actually want to participate, I can’t really find it. The minigames aren’t bad, but I really would like to approach Forza Horizon 5’s offerings more purposefully. The game doesn’t allow me to do so often.

In this way, the game’s Stories and Expeditions — the biggest narrative experiences, calling on Mexico’s unique setting and themes — can get lost in the shuffle. You can find new places to hide or create your own vehicles. To complete the five stages of my Expedition early expedition, it required a lot more willpower than I had previously. There were many distractions. I had to do a few level ups in order to get a couple wheelspins. This was what rewarded me with a It is great car (the 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera), which, I mean, isn’t going to paint or tune itself. Playground Games gives me ample time to do what I want. Unstructured play can feel chaotic and disorganized.

Forza Horizon 5’s two largest suites for user-generated content — the paint job and livery editor, and the new Events Lab — likewise don’t supply much orientation. For vehicle cosmetics, this isn’t that much of an issue, especially if you have experience with previous Forzas’ customization tools. To achieve the desired effect, I had to navigate through several menus and understand the implications of each option.

Image by Playground Games/Xbox Game Studios

Although the Events Lab does not have a tutorial, it’s easy enough to make and share an event. You can place checkpoints but that was the most I saw. There were no instructions on how to do this (before each turn). What happens after? or any visibility into how wide or narrow I’d made them (though that may have been a glitch). The Events Lab really puts the “yourself” in do-it-yourself, and the polish, coherence, and challenge of a standard Forza Horizon 5Race is difficult with only a little guidance.

It would figure that a lot of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is at work in my review: the need to sample as much of this game as I can while writing on a deadline. When left alone, I will probably be much more focused on racing through the main event branches. This will allow me to avoid distractions and unstructured fidgeting within the customization suites. The game does have characters, does tell stories, does present everything as part of an overall career — but its goals don’t have any real imperative to them. So there shouldn’t be any fear of missing out in Forza Horizon 5, especially since it’s on Xbox Game Pass day one.

I feel my chest tightening and feeling a little numb as I think about all the things in. Forza Horizon 5, and the difference between everything I You can find it here — with a V sound — and everything I have — F sound — to do. It’s the difference between opportunities and obligations. This is the only field in which Forza Horizon 5When I get so many of the former, it makes me stumble.

Forza Horizon 5 The publication is set to go live on Nov. 9, 2009. WindowsPC Xbox OneAnd Xbox Series XEarly access will begin Nov. 5 for the game Microsoft sent a code to review the game before it was released. Vox Media also has affiliate relationships. They do not affect editorial content. However, Vox Media might earn commissions for products bought via affiliate links. Here are some links to help you find. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here