Forza Horizon 5 Review

Synopsis:

Your Ultimate Horizon Adventure awaits! Explore the vibrant and ever-evolving open-world landscapes of Mexico with limitless, fun driving action in hundreds of the world’s greatest cars.

Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Reviewed on: Xbox Series X
Also available for: Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC

Cast: Scarlette Douglas, Emma Naomi, Trieve Blackwood-Cambridge, Nikesh Patel, Nicholas Boulton, Steven Cree, Susannah Fielding, Fernanda Moya, Valeria Maldonado

Developer: Playground Games
Studio Head: Gavin Raeburn
Studio Production Director: Adam Askew
Studio Technical Director: Alan Roberts
Creative Director: Mike Brown

There isn’t a racing game out there like Forza Horizon. The franchise continues to be a shining example of making racing games accessible and deep. The pure joy that can be felt through your fingers as you explore Mexico in Playground Games’ latest entry is enough reason to own an Xbox Series X|S. Although there isn’t too much change from Forza Horizon 4, it’s what this iterates on that makes it so good.

As a pseudo-sequel to Forza Horizon 4, the game implies you’re playing as the same character — now voiced — arriving in Mexico to participate in the Horizon Festival. This time you’re not here to prove yourself; you’re here as a headline act to bring in attendance and help build up several different Horizon outposts around Mexico, each focusing on a different kind of racing.

Panoramic view over Mexico in Forza Horizon 5 — *What a view — image captured by the author*

The semi-fictitious recreation of Mexico is the largest open world in Forza history, and it’s beautiful. In the middle, you have the tight street corners of Guanajuato City — perfect for Street Races, whipping under tunnels and nailing narrow braking zones. Travel outward for deserts and Dirt Racing galore. You can even race up and over a slumbering volcano and find a luscious forest on the other side, with temples and ruins that feel like you most definitely shouldn’t be racing on top of. There are plenty of remote locations to discover — including a long bridge that gave me heart flutters when I drove off and safely dropped into the river below.

Close-up glam shot of a car in Forza Horizon 5 — *Sick ride, brah — image captured by the author*

With over four hundred highly detailed cars and the opportunity to spend hours fine-tuning suspension or creating intricate decals and designs to share, there’s room to go deep if you want. If you don’t, no problem — trying a new car every time you unlock one is a joy, and each feels subtly different. The somewhat redundant per-car skill system returns from Forza Horizon 4 and still feels like it needs work. As you drive, you earn skill points to unlock small perks or one-time rewards like Wheelspins. Most of these would feel better as natural milestone unlocks (e.g., give me a Wheelspin after 500 km driven).

Optional activities shown on the Forza Horizon 5 map — *Optional tasks you can tackle instead of rushing the goal — image captured by the author*

Speaking of Wheelspins, they’re still the primary way you’ll unlock cars, credits, and customization items, including clothing and emotes. Credits remain vital for buying vehicles, upgrades, and homes (which add bonuses and new spawn points). Character cosmetics still skew meme-y like Forza Horizon 4, but there are thoughtful additions: you can mix clothing freely, set pronouns, and even select prosthetic limbs — welcome inclusivity in a game of this scale.

Online events still don’t do much for me. I was excited for them in Forza Horizon 4, but they’re mostly a mix of party modes. You can, of course, race against real opponents or jump into random tournaments. As long-time players know, you can start a convoy with other drivers to explore Mexico together and queue up races.

Play

What makes Forza Horizon 5 special isn’t any one feature; it’s the sum of its parts. As rudimentary as it sounds, it’s simply very fun to play. Racing is exciting no matter the event, and the sheer number of options is unlike any other racer. I ignore drifting challenges; others will spend hours three-starring them. I don’t love fine-tuning; I happily download blueprints. Even when the game tells me to bump the difficulty, I don’t — I’m content constantly winning with a bit of focus.

Mexico is gorgeous at any time of day, and it feels alive even without street NPCs. You feel the country’s culture and history in the streets, in the stories you’re told, and in the characters and friends you make. Even if it’s more iterative than revolutionary, Forza Horizon 5 is still the best racing game you can play — and the first true must-play Xbox Series X|S title since the consoles launched.