For those who are not familiar with the Forza Horizon series; it is the ultimate sandbox racing game. You can race online or offline. On the street, on the track, off-road. You can do challenges, buy cars or auction them. Think of something that’s in a racing game somewhere and it’s in Forza Horizon too. Except realism. That’s not really in it. The cars look fantastic, like you’re watching TV, but after a jump from a monumental building, they fly 200 meters to land effortlessly and continue on.
And so there is a new version. Number five. After Colorado, the south of France and Italy, Australia and the United Kingdom, we have arrived in Mexico. Can I bet that the next country will be Japan, by the way? Mexico has everything from volcanoes to desert. From sandy beaches to jungles. From ancient ruins to colorful cities. The variation is therefore pleasant in the new game.
For Xbox Game Pass members, Forza Horizon is a free download for PC or Xbox. For the rest, the Standard edition costs 70 euros, the Deluxe edition 90 and the Premium 100 whole euros. The deluxe version gives you the car pass. With that you regularly get new cars in the game. The Premium version gives you a Welcome Pack with four cars on top and the two expansions for the game that have been announced.
To make sure they squeeze that extra tenner out of your hands, Microsoft also gives you more points per race and regular so-called wheel spins for extra items. If you already have Game Pass, but you also want all the goodies, you can buy a code for 50 euros for only those extras without the game.
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After a few hours of playing, Forza Horizon 5 feels quite like number four. The cars are partially similar, the types of events are similar and the aim of the game is the same. The map may then be 50% larger than that of the United Kingdom from the previous game.
The experience is very much the same. That’s good and bad. It’s good because Forza Horizon 4 is one hell of a game. It’s bad because you would actually expect a bit of innovation. But how can Microsoft do that in a game that has almost everything in it already.
Creator Playground Games worked with a Mexican scriptwriter to avoid cluttering Mexico’s imagination with disturbing clichés. So here and there there is also some Spanish in the dialogues. But the most eye-catching is the upside-down exclamation point in front of the word Go when you start a race.
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If you already have Game Pass, you only have to make one decision: whether or not to buy the extras for 50 euros. I recommend it. Because despite feeling like it’s a new season in an existing game, no other racing game can give you as many hours of fun as Forza Horizon 5.
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