One key to the success of the Forza Horizon open-world driving games has been how easy developer Playground Games made that success look. From day one, these games have had a rock-solid certainty of what they were about. They have all been slick and accessible to play, and have all offered an insouciant, easygoing, thumbs-up kind of hedonism: pretty cars, lovely places, pumping tunes, good times guaranteed.
Forza Horizon 5 reviewDeveloper: Playground GamesPublisher: Xbox Game StudiosPlatform: Played on Xbox Series SAvailability: Released 9th November on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC (Windows or Steam). Available on Game Pass and Xbox Cloud Gaming. VIP access from 4th November.
Playground has maintained the games’ quality and iterated so carefully that it’s hard to pick a favourite or a standout. That said, 2018’s Forza Horizon 4 was undoubtedly the series’ boldest step, shifting the emphasis toward an online world and regular in-game updates. At the time, I was a little hard on what I felt was a carelessly disorganised campaign and unfocused persistent multiplayer, while I recognised – but still underestimated – how transformative the weekly changes of season and Festival Playlist updates would be for the game’s longevity. Between the Playlist, the game’s natural affinity with its British setting, and the later addition of a buzzy battle-royale-style Eliminator mode, Forza Horizon 4 cemented the series’ popularity in new ways.
Forza Horizon 5 is not as much of a trailblazer as its predecessor, notwithstanding the globetrotting glamour it drums up from its Mexican setting. This game leans heavily on the (many) things Forza Horizon already does well, makes a few judicious tweaks, and focuses most of its energy on a structural revamp of single-player which gives the campaign a colourful, storytelling sweep. Although the game only launches today for VIP players, it is such a known quantity – and Playground is such a safe pair of hands – that I feel comfortable reviewing it straight away.
Forza Horizon 5 – the Eurogamer reviewscast Watch on YouTube
Case in point: that all-important Festival Playlist. Although the game’s content updates don’t officially kick off for another week, a preview version of the Playlist is available to try, and it still provides the most challenging, hooky and carefully curated way to tour the riches of the game’s map and garage. This is where you’ll find the fantastic co-op Trial (the racing game equivalent of a raid dungeon), the themed seasonal championships, and the Forzathon weekly challenge, where a different car is the star each week. The Playlist has been expanded with more casual challenges and online components – and I was delighted to note that seasonal PR stunts now come with car restrictions, which will make executing these jumps, drifts and speed trials that bit more interesting each week.