Forza Horizon 5 released back in November 2021 for the Xbox Series consoles and PC. The game was immediately welcomed by fans due to its visuals, new cards, modes, location and other features that make the Horizon entries stand out. With the latest outing taking us to the beaches, towns, and jungles of Mexico, is the PS5 version worth getting into?
Gameplay
I will skip talking about the story. There is one but its barely anything. The main attraction for the game comes from driving to locations on the map and engaing in various activies. These can range from races, to tasks, and even storm chasing. There is always a variety of races and modes to do in Mexico and once you get used to the controls, the driving is enjoyable.
You start off with a good selection of vehicles, with your choice of off-road, drift, or speed as your priority. You can unlock more cars with the in-game currency or by just doing challenges, missions or other tasks, there is nothing preventing you from expanding the garage.
Of course one of the key features in the series is the ability to rewind. Did you mess up a turn and feel like you have now effectively lost the race? With rewind, you can go back to a few seconds before your wipeout and do course correction to make sure you can win the race.
Once you do get used to the controls, you have to learn how to manuever each type of car. I eventually settled on the Toyota Supra but my time with the Corvette taught me that no two vehicles control alike.
The one gripe I had was almost every bit of gameplay is broken up by a loading screen. While I do not mind them, coming straight from Indiana Jones where loading was non-existent, I was expecting a smoother experience where I would not have so many breaks from waiting for the game to load in or load my next challenge.
There is plenty of content here for newcomers and returning players, and there is even an accessibility option to let you progress the story even if you do not meet the requirements for some challenges, which reduces the skill gap needed to enjoy the game. This is however the point of Horizon games, as opposed to the Motorsport series which is known for its difficulty.
Presentation
The game looks visually stunning, having played it on the PS5 Pro, I enjoyed my time with the game on Quality mode. While you will have to wait for Digital Foundry to do their analysis, I personally found the 30FPS easier to drive with as opposed to the 60FPS, and in some parts, you can see the anti-aliasing with more ease on Performance, which is why I chose to stick to the Quality mode.
Near, Far, Wherever you are, the game is stunning. And that should be expected of a Forza entry. Whether you are looking at the reflections on the road in the rain, or the mountains in the distance, every part of Horizon is stunning in detail. With the weather also playing a key role in showing beautiful the game can be in various weather situations.
All of the cars look visually stunning and well-detailed. You will do well to enjoy all of the hard work put in by Playground Games and enjoy every pixel. I highly recommend playing on the Quality setting if you can, even if it is capped at 30. The controls barely feel any different otherwise, and are not an issue once you do get the hang of them.
Conclusion
Forza Horizon 5 is a brilliant game that deserves a lot of praise. It’s well-grounded, offers a lot of variety in content, and visually beautiful. With more Microsoft games coming to the PlayStation, I know I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the first Forza game on Sony’s console and maybe hopefully look forward to more entries in the future.
