Hello gamers! What's new in the gaming industry? π
Even though I played Forza Horizon 4 before and I had a lot of fun doing so, I wasn't amongst the people who pre-purchased or got the FH5 right away just because I wasn't sure that it was worth paying 59,99β¬ which is the best case if you don't opt in for a deluxe or premium edition, but also because I wasn't convinced that will run on my computer which is an old gtx 970 buddy.
Anyway, along with my birthday, a gaming friend that has a few hundreds of hours in Forza Horizon 5 already, decided to make me a gift and sent an activation key for the game. I can't express my excitement in words because it's been a while since I received a game as a gift and gamers definitely know that level of happiness, but it was a good opportunity to hit that download button and try FH5 out.
The first thing you gonna do after you start the game and complete the intro to get used to the driving method and everything, you will get to that 'fun' part of the game, namely to customize your character which is absolutely the same with Forza Horizon 4. Personally, I'd expect to see a lot more changes on this part of the game and not get the same avatars and faces to pick from, but hey, if there are not too many options when creating your character, fortunately, things are different when it comes to the wardrobe part.
I don't know what it looks like if your character is a male and not a female, but for this side, there are plenty of clothes to pick from, starting with the boring hats until picking the shoes, but what's really interesting is that there are even accessories, like bracelets and watches.
The less exciting part is that none of these are free. You have to either purchase them with the credit points earned by completing missions, races and/or challenges, or by being a bit lucky and get them as a drop when spinning the wheel.
These wheels I'm talking about can be either simple ones where you get a single prize on a spin or Super wheels that come with 3 prizes per spin. Now for the real racers out there, I'm sure the most exciting part is getting vehicles as drops or even credit points that allow you to purchase some cars by yourself, but for me, I always loved to customize my character so I'm happier when seeing some wardrobe pieces being collected. π
Either you share the same passion as I do for customizing your character, or if you prefer collecting vehicles from different decades, these are far from where the whole fun happens, because it's not just another racing game with a bunch of races, because each race has its own story, personality, and even events that can occur.
While Forza Horizon 4 was the first game where I experienced four seasons which are changing once in a while, it would be weird not to see this happening in FH5 as well since it's part of the same series. However, the things were taken to the next level on this one, being able to discuss about dust storms during the summer, tropical storms during the autumn, and the thing that you won't see the same rain on the whole map due to the regions where it's a very rare event to see rain or snow. Though, these do get through all four seasons but in a different way than it happens in the rest regions because the developers tried to reproduce the game as accurate as possible.
Talking about developers, they definitely did a great job with the map too, which didn't disappoint me in Forza Horizon 4 either, talking about lots of details both in the cities and while you are searching for a shortcut to reach a new destination via an outdoors path.
Though, all these details wouldn't feel enough if you wouldn't also have missions on most of the roads where you can enjoy either a race, a skill, a challenge, or some sort of championship. Doing any of these not only will help you level up but also get some more credits in your bank account or even new vehicles added to your collection that once is completed you can earn even more rewards! How cool is that?
Oh, and let's not forget about those purple areas on the map which are a hide and seek game where you basically have to look out for a barn on the indicated area. Once you find it you will get a classic car for free and unlock a new place where you can both send and receive gifts from your friends or random players.
These being said, the game is full of details and perhaps you will end up filtering what you see on the map just because there are a lot of activities that will take lots of hours to be completed, but what is the most important is how well the developers thought about everything, knowing both how to conquer and keep their players.
Anyway, even though I started playing this game a few weeks ago already, I still feel like there are a bunch of things to do and that I'm very far from bringing this to an end, so this is a personal review for the moment I am at with my walkthrough but I'm sure that my opinion won't change too much even though I would have written this in the next year or so because I already know what the developers of the series are capable of and I do feel like this is the best racing game out there for now. π
Conclusions π€
Even though Forza Horizon 5 is a racing-based game, this one is not limited to that, talking about seasons, skills, customizable characters, and more than anything, a bunch of unique stories that make everything more enjoyable.
While it's hard to find cons about the game, there are still people that show themselves being bothered by the GPS's voice which doesn't come with subtitles too, but personally, I feel like it's a small detail that shouldn't be taken into consideration too much.
Anyway, if you are a racing gamer, I'm sure you know how important is to have a good computer to enjoy these supercars in the best graphic settings, but as I said, Forza Horizon 5 is very well optimised, being playable on old computers too. To make yourself an idea, my computer has a gtx970 and the game runs smooth and clean with settings on medium and some of them on high too.
Did you play it? π
I doubt I'm the first one to write a review of this game, so most likely our Hive community has quite a few players of FH5, thus, I'm curious to hear your thoughts about it. π
NOTE:
- all the pictures attached are in-game screenshots taken by me (unless if other stated). πΈ
- this article is trying to stay away from revealing spoilers. β οΈ
- this is a personal review and should not be taken as a real advice of either playing the game or not because the opinion might be subjective. π―
- this article was written exclusively for the Hive community and its members. β€οΈ
A list with some other games that I wrote a review about and you might like:
....
14.Euro Truck Simulator 2 π - 2/5
15.Tell Me Why π³οΈβπ - 5/5
16.The Sims 4 π¨βπ©βπ§βπ§ - 4/5
17.A Plague Tale: Innocence π - 5/5
18.Fall Guys π₯ - 4/5
19.Rogue Company π« - 4/5
20.Forza Horizon 5 π - 5/5
| Game | Forza Horizon 5 |
|---|---|
| Release Date | 1 Nov, 2021 |
| Played On | Xbox |
| Price | 59,99β¬ |
| Genre | Racing, Open World, Driving |
| Completed | Main |
| My Rating | β β β β β |
| Hours Played | 22.3 hrs |
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Forza has always been one of those very well optimized games; they've been quite consistent with the content and update they provide and the experience too. All of these aspects are the reasons for which Forza is in a level and zone of their own; a mix between a fun "arcadey" experience combined with a lot of simulator mechanics and vibes, very few racing games can offer that I'd say.
The credit for the optimization goes to XBox Studios I guess, they have a good record of creating and maintaining well optimized games.
You said everything do damn well that I don't even know what to reply! π
But yeah, Xbox Studious definitely do magic with their games. Before starting FH5 I had hundreds of hours on record on The Crew 2 which started having weekly and monthly updates a few years ago with all kind of things to do not to get bored. But lately I felt like it becomes repetitive in a way or another...
I'd say if we're really looking to have some fun with racing games, then Need For Speed still holds the number 1 spot for that category. Yes, they have been slacking in the past few years, but the older titles they have, almost of all them are iconic; I can still play those games for hundreds of hours and not get bored.
NFS Underground for example, a revolutionary game, which paved the way for the upcoming titles, like Underground 2, Most Wanted and even Carbon. No other title or game has that many iconic games under their names, and NFS has done it in a streak, a perfect hattrick.
I totally agree with you. The same applies for Assassin's Creed series which again, the older games are a treasure in comparison with the new releases. I guess it's about the gold times when the quality of a game wouldn't be limited to just looking amazing and that's it
I say it's more about effort; studios and developers these days are lazy and are just focused on the money. They can take all the money they want, but they should least create a game that's worth every penny, a game you'll remember decades later.
Absolutely. But they also know that especially the newer generations are sick of getting to play a cool-looking game with top-notch graphics, which in the end represent nothing if the story and concept of the game is trash. But releasing a game with cool graphics is a good excuse to ask for a crazy price which again, the fans of these aspects would pay no matter what, even if they end up spending 10x the worth of the game collecting all the DLCs released after.
That's another issue, some of the fans and consumers, who are paying for every DLC, skin and addition, no questions asked. That's when these studios stop caring, because the money is coming in right? Why should they work/invest more?
That's the sad part really, we ourselves are killing the whole industry because we're ready to pay the premium with our eyes closed. Whereas we should be asking/charging ourselves and the studios for very bit of information a certain addition provides; why we should be paying the premium, what are the benefits here, are those skins really necessary or worth the price?
Sadly, everyone just goes with the hype and the trend, no one really wants to ask questions.
I have some serious hours under this game. Tho Im not a big fan of the route they take with DLC-s.
I have played almost every Forza game. Including Forza motorsports.
Yeah it's definitely a game where time flies while playing it. But the part with the DLCs it's a serious problem for most of the game. Which is not fun at all..
Horizon 4 Fortune Island DLC was actually nice but then came LEGO explansion, like wtf π.
My friend refused to open this DLC even once, eventhough we have seasonpass and dont need to buy it.
Lego DLC? Didn't even know about its existence but doesn't sound like the right game for that, lol
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I played Forza Horizon (the first one) a long time ago on the Xbox and absolutely loved it - the whole car music festival with a great soundtrack and customising the cars. Reminded me of the Need For Speed games when I used to play those.
If I had time to play on these games again, I think FH5 looks pretty sweet, the graphics can only get better and the landscapes more dynamic with the more recent editions. Looks great little sister!
Oh, I never tried out the first one but yeah, you said it right about the soundtrack which is amazing. Honestly I am a person who loves listening to music while gaming so I'm happy this game comes with various genres to get through while driving. Thank you so much for stopping by, little brother! It's good to see you! π€