We're talking lush jungles, stretches of desert and yes, those mountain ranges off in the distance are indeed reachable. Like any game touting an open world these days, it offers the gamut of environmental experiences. Or maybe it's seeing the first wisps of sand flit across the dashboard, signaling an incoming, towering sandstorm that forcibly shoves the vehicle back and blinds the driver. Or maybe crossing a river shoots up a stunning display of water to both sides of the vehicle and briefly splashes the camera following it, too. Maybe it's billowing smoke off in the distance from a different biome. It's not an exaggeration to suggest the eye candy and immersion will sometimes steal a player's attention and cause a mishap (thank goodness for the rewind feature, which Forza made a genre staple years ago).Įach event or moment in the open world feels like the game is just bragging about what it can do. Most of the time, Horizon 5 is a showcase of what the next generation can really do. But it also makes a point to showcase a verticality element to the world that is simply staggering and fun to toy with while out exploring.
The opening drive, a staple of the series now upon initial bootup, is again jaw-dropping. Once again, the "Horizon" car-and-music festival is the backdrop for the whole ordeal, though this time it all goes down in Mexico. Horizon 5 just amplifies that through natural, expected upgrades for a new release with a dash of that next-generation horsepower. In Horizon 4, popping into a photo mode was darn near something capable of being its own standalone release-things looked that good and the immersion as a whole was that deep. And the simulation-seekers won't find a better experience and reflection of skill, either. A player who wants to skip the wealth of tuning, roll with a simple control scheme and assists and just have a blast will get exactly what they're looking for. Really, it's incredibly impressive how much the gameplay side can change to fit a given player's need or desires. Compensating for the weekly seasonal weather at a given moment for a certain style of event isn't simple, but it is stunningly in-depth and important in a way that shows up on final leaderboards. And it all matters dearly if that's the path a player chooses. Fine-tuning every little aspect of a ride before a given event is a game in itself. Slowly depressing a trigger to ease into a brake is more applicable than ever now.Īs always, the standard-fare Forza simulation is all here for players who want to seek it out. Instead of an instant application, there's gradual braking allows players even more control. is again very fair and smart, though higher difficulties do seem to feature a ton of contact while making passes.īut there are smaller tweaks to point out. Handling is tight and weighty, and the A.I. On the tracks (or off-road, you get the idea), Horizon overall feels like more of the same from the last game-and given how that one felt, it's quite the compliment. While players across the board maybe don't universally like the seasons system, there's no denying it freshens things up in an interesting way on a weekly basis. Similarly, just as it did for the UK setting of the last game, different seasons tend to open up maps more, whether it's making frozen bodies of water driveable or snowbanks melted.
Hitting a patch of leaves in the fall season, once again, sends things into a tailspin. We're talking massive downpours of rain that slicken roads, to sandstorms that dramatically alter visibility and so much more. Like last time out, the shared world will boast changing seasons (that change weekly for all players) and the surfaces again alter a car's performance based on the weather. But Horizon is just as capable as an arcade-style title-to the point of racing along a volcano and just having a blast. Players who want to turn off any or all assists and bask in the glory of the faithfully recreated gameplay on a vehicle-to-vehicle basis, braving the various track environments as they go, can 100 percent do so. Whether it's twisting tight turns through city streets, drifting through a jungle or mixing it up in the mud during a fun arcade-styled minigame, Horizon again offers a "something for everyone" approach. Paul Lipson, Mike Caviezel, M.B.Like its predecessor, Horizon 5 can be the strictest simulation experience players desire.īut it's the most flexible racing game out there.