Forza Horizon 5

Forza Horizon 5 is the fifth installment of the bestselling open-world racing game series, launched in 2012 as a spin-off of the Forza Motorsport series. During the game we take part in the titular Horizon Festival, which is a kind of car festival. The title was developed by Playground Games studio, while it was published by Xbox Game Studios.

Map

Forza Horizon 5 takes us on a journey to Mexico - it's the most extensive map in the history of the series, about 50% larger than the one included in Forza Horizon 4. There are deserts, rainforests, ancient ruins, huge canyons, picturesque beaches, as well as settlements, towns and the big city of Guanajuato. Additionally, the highest point in the history of the series - the top of a volcano - is waiting to be conquered here.

FH5 includes the changing seasons system known from "Four", which has been modified. This time, weather conditions are not universal for the entire map - for example, snowfall may occur only in selected locations. In addition, Mexico has a completely different climate than FH4's England, with previously unseen violent weather phenomena such as sandstorms and intense tropical storms.

Cars

Forza Horizon 5 includes hundreds of cars - more than any previous game had at launch (the exact number is still unknown). There are cars from all eras and categories - popular sports cars, off-roaders and rally cars, historic cars, the latest hypercars, and even machines made before World War II. There is no shortage of vehicles absent from previous installments of the series, such as the Mercedes-AMG Project One, Porsche Taycan, Jaguar XJR-15 or the new Ford Bronco.

In addition, the developers have paid more attention to vehicle modification, significantly increasing the number of available mechanical and visual tuning options. For example, it has become possible to influence the sound of cars by replacing parts of the exhaust system. Another interesting new feature is the ability to open and close the convertible tops while driving.

Gameplay

The open world offers the player a lot of freedom in choosing the challenges. Apart from the traditional races (both on asphalt and off-road) or tasks that involve speeding up to high speeds or making long jumps, some new forms of fun have appeared. The flagship of FH5 is the story mode, in which we take part in expeditions - we explore the picturesque corners of Mexico, facing, for example, a sudden volcanic eruption.

Another important novelty is EventLab. It is an editor in which we can create our own challenges - not only setting races from point A to point B on the map, but also modifying the game world by adding various objects or even constructing special arenas, and setting unique goals to achieve.

You can enjoy all of these attractions while playing alone or in multiplayer mode, modeled after MMO games. The latter option offers additional forms of fun, such as group social challenges.

Graphics

Forza Horizon 5 offers even more advanced visuals than the previous part - thanks to the capabilities of the Xbox Series X console. The car models are covered with realistic reflections generated by ray tracing technology (not applicable for Xbox One), and the map is more detailed thanks to photogrammetry (real locations were recreated from thousands of photos).

Xbox Game Pass and Premium Edition

Forza Horizon 5 game can be purchased in three editions: Standard, Deluxe and Premium. The last one is the richest - besides the game it gives access to two expansions, car pass (also included in Deluxe Edition) and VIP pack. It also allows to start playing four days before the official debut of the production. Moreover, Forza Horizon 5 is available in the Xbox Game Pass service from the day of its premiere.