Forza Horizon 5 Review – Firing On All Cylinders

Since the spin-off series’ inception, Forza Horizon’s approachable and exciting racing action has appealed to a broad audience. Forza Horizon 5 continues this tradition of delivering stellar driving mechanics within a gorgeous destination, this time taking players to Mexico for one of the best, most expansive racing games I’ve ever played.

Driving through Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 is an utter delight thanks to superb, dynamic driving mechanics that consider the terrain, weather, and handling of the more than 500 vehicles you drive. Forza Horizon 5 aptly demonstrates this through an incredible opening sequence, where different cars drop from planes and land in disparate biomes with sandstorms, snaking rivers, and wide-open straightaways, all set to music. However, Horizon further hammers home both the differences in the handling and the outstanding mechanics the longer you spend cruising around the world.

Forza Horizon 5’s sense of speed is incredible. Whether you’re tactfully navigating an off-road course in the lush rainforests or screaming down a desert highway, the difference between staying on the road and spinning off into the brush is razor thin. Forza Horizon 5 excels in delivering diverse courses that throw unique challenges your way, ranging from traditional races to courses with objectives. The Drivatar system – which replicates your friends’ tendencies using A.I. racers – is a series mainstay now, but I loved developing rivalries with specific friends, even though I wasn’t racing against them in real-time.

Playground Games’ lovingly crafted interpretation of Mexico and its 11 distinct biomes deliver some of the most stunning visuals I’ve ever witnessed in a video game. This open world houses a venerable cornucopia of activities available to players, which is astounding – if not a little overwhelming. It’s sometimes challenging to find some of the events I wanted, given the number of activity icons on the map. Thankfully you can apply map filters or ask your car’s A.I. to set your navigation to nearby events of your liking. Still, that didn’t stop me from getting distracted by the many events on offer along my route.

If you grow tired of competing in standard racing activities, you can participate in barn finds, where you search for and rescue classic cars rotting in countryside barns. Meanwhile, stories have you helping characters through driving-based missions. I loved hunting down and completing those mission types, but the open world also offers a ton of quick, fun activities such as seeing how fast you can drive through a speed trap, how far you can launch off a ramp, or how much you can slide through marked drift zones. These are fun ways to gain experience and accolades to level up your driver and vehicles with new perks, but my favorite part of these random world activities is how they instantly compare to your friends. More times than I could count, I noticed my friend hit a higher top speed, causing me to turn around and try the challenge again.

While exploring Mexico, you may also stumble upon online events. These public activities let you seamlessly join with other players to complete a common goal, such as accruing a set amount of distance off a jump or drifting and destroying piñatas in an area. You can even participate in a battle royale-style Eliminator mode where you’re challenging other players in the session, knocking them out of the competition, taking their cars, and trying to be the last player remaining. These are fun diversions, but my favorite online activities involve creating a convoy of players, driving around the world, and entering events with one another.

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