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 . 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. 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. 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. Forza Horizon 5is out now on Xbox Series X, Series S, Xbox One, and PC.
The brand-new racing game is getting rave reviews, which, naturally, has players on other platforms wanting to get involved. But, is there a Forza Horizon 5 PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, and OLED model release date coming up? Here's the lowdown on Playground Games' FH5 launching on additional console platforms in the future. 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. 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.
Will Forza Horizon 5 Be On Xbox One 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. But sometimes a game can be so pretty that it helps you appreciate an experience that you would normally feel mild about. For example, I'm not the biggest racing game fan in the world. When I do enjoy a racer, it's usually a more arcadey experience like Ridge Racer Type 4 or the more recent Cruis'n Blast. 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. Xbox gavean extended gameplay of "Forza Horizon 5" during E3 2021, showing off some of the locales, different modes, and social aspects. One of the biggest changes to the gameplay is the Horizon Arcade, which allows players to queue up to play wacky mini-games and challenges. The infamous battle royale racing mode from "Forza Horizon 4" returns, meaning that fans can still participate in the chaos of The Eliminator. In this chaotic mode, cars fall from the sky to engage in races, with the loser of the race being eliminated from the competition.
Microsoft makes a big deal of accessibility, including in its flagship events, and its Xbox games are continuing in that spirit. 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.
Firstly, there is the choice between the standard edition of the game and the premium one, which offers a plethora of early game unlocks and promised expansion packs, but costs almost twice the price. Whether you're struggling to find the rare cars hidden in various barns across the map, or you want the latest kooky sounding horn or wacky emote, Forza Horizon 5 has the in-game shop for you. Many can be unlocked via gameplay and chance, but you're certainly encouraged to pay upfront to unlock your favorite in-game items. 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.
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. Some will prefer the expanded frame rate and see that as a necessary trade-off, but we have to say that the 30fps quality mode still plays very well indeed and you get the maximum visual effect, to boot. Convertible cars have existed in Forza Horizon games before, but with FH5 you're able to put the top off or take it down with the click of a single button, even when you're out in the wide FH5 world! While the story or plot in a racing game may not be the most crucial element for some players, it can still add a lot to the experience for those who do appreciate it. Forza Horizon 4 was gently criticized by the community for its lackluster story and general lack of direction for players, so Playground Games went back to the drawing board for Forza Horizon 5. FH5 takes players on a journey through the Horizon Adventure to have their name added to the Hall of Fame, and the drive there should be pretty wild.
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. You can choose between Performance and Quality graphics settings, both of which are 4K. The former is limited to 30 frames per second, and looks a tad prettier. The 60 fps Performance mode is superior for most racing games, though, including this one.
For the most part, Forza Horizon 5 does support cross-saves, meaning that you can continue your progress on other platforms, which is great if you've got multiple gaming set-ups. However, it's worth noting that players on Steam will not be able to use the cross-save feature, though they'll still experience the benefits of cross-play with other platforms. Highlights here include the accessibility menu, offering subtitling and colorblind-friendly gameplay, and a wide range of difficulty options that allow you to adjust everything to your preference.
There are even extensive tuning options for every vehicle, so you can get them to drive just the way you want them to. Outside of the menus, you're spoilt for choice – to open up cross-country tracks, or road-racing, to finish story missions or excel on one type of track; it's all down to you. 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. Allowing you to explore fictionalised Mexican landscapes by car, users can drive hundreds of the world's greatest vehicles with complete freedom. Whether undergoing challenges, embarking on an expedition or racing other players, you can enjoy customising your races, stunts, cars and more. Forza Horizon 5 was officially revealed by Microsoft during their Xbox and Bethesda E3 presentation just two days ago.
The upcoming fifth main entry in the open-world racing game franchise will be set in Mexico and will support 4K and raytracing when played on either an Xbox Series X console or a Windows PC with the appropriate hardware. Here, "crossplay" means that, when playing, you can match with gamers who are on PCs or other Xbox systems. That greatly improves the pool of gamers to draw from, which makes it easier for races to fill up and get started. It also makes it easier to play with friends who may prefer to use their PC racing setups — and vice-versa for those who enjoy racing on a console in front of their TVs. To an extent, cross-saving is also supported, so some gamers are able to switch between PC and console without losing progress.
There is no denying that the fourth edition of the driving series is rightfully considered as one of the greatest racing games ever made, leaving a lot of pressure on Forza Horizon 5 to shine on the brand new consoles. 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. That brings us to the campaign (playable solo or co-op, as before), where most Forza Horizon 5 players will spend their time naturally.
The biggest introduction is the new story-driven Expeditions mode — it's a bit of a guided adventure as someone will either be driving beside you, flying above you, or sitting next to you in your vehicle. Expeditions usually involves driving to a place, like say an active volcano or Aztec ruins. Once you're there, you can unlock a bunch of optional accolades by finding objects of interest, if you're willing to spend the time in the area. Then you reunite with the non-player character partner who takes you on a wild journey, be it sprinting through a tropical storm or running down the side of an active volcano.
It's meant to be the highlight of a region — and unlocks a new festival site in turn. Traxion is a collective of racing, esports and gaming enthusiasts. Bringing you the latest news, reviews, updates, opinions, and insight from the most recognized and respected names from the world of racing games. We are building a positive community of likeminded gamers, sim racers and fans and we want you to be a part of it.
Ultimately, Playground has delivered an excellent game for all Xbox systems. The surprise package for me was Xbox One X - level of detail pop-in and longer loading are blemishes but perhaps it's only because these areas of the game are so dramatically improved on Series hardware. Graphically, it's a treat, and the Scorpio Engine continues to surprise in its ability to service a 4K display. Judged on its own merits, it's a good version of the game and a worthy sequel. The fact that it retains Forza's signature 1080p 4x MSAA image quality and a consistent 30fps helps immensely in mitigating some of the more obvious cuts - it adds immensely to the overall polish.
Quality mode looks excellent, performance mode is locked at 60fps and for those still gaming on 1080p displays, I can't foresee any complaints. 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. It is stunning to look at, with 4K 60fps racing available, and has the biggest open-world map of the series so far. It can feel more an extension of Horizon 4 at times, but that's nothing to be sniffed at as that game was already at the pinnacle for arcade racers. If the Xbox Series X was demanding a game to hang its hat on, this is surely it.
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