Forza Horizon 5-The Best Road Trip Ever: Review

And the best Forza Horizon yet

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If you’re an arcade racing game purist, Burnout Paradise has a lot to answer for. By taking the classic series open-world, Criterion essentially obsoleted the concept of traditional racers — here are your cars, here are your tracks, learn to drive the former to perfect the latter — at least in the eyes of major publishers. 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.

After being airdropped from a cargo plane in an AMG One, I arrive at the festival site to fanfare and fireworks. The organisers are delighted—their 'superstar' is finally here—and to celebrate they offer me a choice of starting car. I leave the site and head to my first race in a Corvette Stingray Coupe. This isn't how racing games are supposed to start. I should be battling for wins in some aging hatchback, dreaming of the day I can get behind the wheel of something sleek and fast. Instead, I'm being handed a 500 horsepower supercar to tear through the streets of Mexico.

The Horizon festival itself was a concept you could simply choose not to engage with in prior games, but here the story missions, vignettes, and well-voiced NPCs win you over. Maybe it’s the margaritas talking, but it feels a tiny bit exciting to be both the superstar driver whose feats in previous festivals draw in crowds, and also part of the senior leadership team organising it. Before launch, the game's developers talked about shaping Forza Horizon 5 as you see fit. The main Horizon Adventure mode gives you points, which you can use to unlock the following areas: Mainstage, road racing, dirt racing, cross-country, PR stunts and street scene.

One of these modes, for example, casts you as a stunt driver for a movie; another is all about Baja rally-esque racing.

While most races follow the same "go here within this time limit" or "score this many points" formulas, others also involve exploration. Take, for instance, the Mayan temple of Ek Balam, which challenges you to photograph statues and reach the top of the central ruin.

Without spoiling anything, I will say that these main events are tons of fun. You may wish there were more of them. But for every epic challenge, there's another one that ends too soon. You can do many of them in under two minutes, thanks to shortcuts.

That marvelous Mexico map really does make you want to learn more about the country's culture and history, but the really cool missions are few and far between. Yes, it is cool to race through a film set as a stunt driver, or go up against other street racers dressed as Mexican wrestlers. But these challenges can also feel like just a few extra props chucked on top of an ordinary race. The moments when Forza Horizon 5 really utilizes the landscape and location in unique ways are more limited than I would have liked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv7xLt5yNsM

There are also the Forzathon challenges, which involve jumping certain distances, completing tournaments against "unbeatable" AI drivers (the toughest difficulty level) and more. Each one rewards you with Forzathon points that you can spend in the Forzathon shop. Just finishing these tasks in exchange for rare vehicles can take up a lot of time. Earning the highest ratings on all drift zones, speed cameras, danger zone jumps, road races, cross-country races, rallies, drag strips and more will keep you busy.

PROS	CONS
Fantastic visuals on PC and next-gen consoles	Xbox One version shows its age
Loads of content	Challenges get repetitive
Handling improvements	Familiar car collection
Mexico is a great setting

Forza Horizon 5 Specs

Platform: Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC

Price: $60

Release Date: November 5 (Premium Edition), November 9 (all other versions)

Genre: Racing

Forza Horizon 5 is absolutely worth buying. More variety in the challenges would have been great, but for those who enjoy driving from point A to point B, the game is a blast. The new map, handling adjustments and visual improvements go a long way in helping keep the Forza formula fresh.

Evolutionary rather than revolutionary, then, is the best way to describe Forza Horizon 5. But that is not a bad thing, because I adored Forza Horizon 4. The same addictive racing gameplay feels even more refined than ever, and with fewer drawbacks. Forza Horizon 5 is one of the best games for anyone who likes cars and driving.