It's been a really good year for the team at Microsoft Studios, with the success of Forza Motorsport 6 only just in the rear view mirror at this point, they have returned for more with their open world buddies, Playground Games, to produce one of the most magical racing games to date.

Forza Horizon 3 is a shining example of damn good game development; packing challenging racing, open-world driving, beautiful locales and a riveting soundtrack all into one seamless experience. Playground games have truly outdone themselves with the latest iteration in the ongoing music-festival-cum-motor-festival experience. Last time we left Horizon somewhere between Italy and France in what was surely the pinnacle for the series, but alas, apparently Australia had other plans for the series.

Let’s get this out the way upfront. Forza Horizon 3 is one of the best games to be released on the Xbox One. Graphically, it is unbelievably beautiful, the scope of the game is enormous, and the gameplay is just the right side of fun mixed with (limited) realism so necessary for an arcade racer.

It’s About the Driving, Stupid

As with prior instalments, there is a story of sorts tacked on. In this instalment you are tasked with building the Horizon Festival, whereas before you were just a participant. But don’t be fooled into thinking that this is some sort of city builder with an economy to manage and access to a full featured track builder. You are basically the boss tasked with bringing in the fans who will enable you to expand your locations. This is accomplished by driving around Australia like a lunatic, winning races, and performing various stunts. This, in turn, attracts fans to your festival and when you hit a certain fan cap you will be able to unlock more locations. It is a satisfying loop that keeps you coming back and looking for newer things to do, or going back to the different stunts in order to improve your placement on the leaderboard. You have some limited powers of creation where you can use an existing racecourse to set up a type of race such as a ‘Detroit Face Off’ with Ford battling Chevrolet for bragging rights. A nice touch if ever there was one, as you can really go to town building up some pretty sweet custom events and race your mates in them too.


G'day mate! Welcome to Australia!

This is the heart of the game: Forza Horizon 3 is, as expected, is all about the driving. The game starts you off in the Lamborghini Centenario as you race to the first festival site at Byron Bay. The race from the airstrip along the tarred roads takes you through an area that shows off the sky as well as the coastal views and they are magnificent. The most impressive part of this journey and giving you a taste of the variety to come, is when you drive through subtropical forest. The dappled sunshine playing off the purring black beast is simply awe inspiring. And, when you splash down through a puddle for the first time? Well, let me say that the rewind feature that makes a comeback was very much welcome just to marvel at the technical achievement of creating realistic splash effects.

The engine, though, is not solely there to dazzle you with graphical effects, handling of the car is affected as you would expect. When hitting the water at over one hundred miles per hour, the car aquaplanes – to a degree – and makes it very difficult to handle and changes direction, but it’s certainly more forgiving than its sim racing sister, Forza Motorsport 6. As this isn’t a true sim, this is a welcome deviation from physics and reality. Just as you are getting to grips with the Lambo, you are switched to a gnarly off-roader that takes you over the beaches to the festival site. This gives you a taste of how adaptable you have to be, as this vehicle relies on torque and has greater inertia in corners. Once you hit the sand though, watch your steering as the softer surfaces ensure that you will suddenly drift off if you are too heavy on the accelerator and the steering.

The dappled sunshine playing off the purring black beast is simply awe inspiring

Once you get into the festival proper, you have the opportunity to drive to various markers on the map placed there by your assistant Keira and your team of scouts. These are races or PR stunts that bring in the fans as well as swell your coffers so that you can upgrade or buy new vehicles.


Kangaroo your way into first place in with some wild Outback events

You are awarded style points as you drive around and for each race you compete in. This is for silly (but fun) things such as top speed, drifting and, yes, spectacular crashes. This exemplifies the arcade nature of the game as you are never in danger of destroying your car or seriously affecting handling via crashes. This encourages you to perform more and more daring maneuvers on the road. Seeing that counter pop up as you pull off a 180 or a perfect e-brake drift is exceptionally satisfying. When you chain these skills together you gain extra points and gain XP.

A new addition is the drone; not used for racing, but is very useful for zooming around to take screens or to find the elusive barn cars. Barn finds make a welcome return, along with the XP and travel boards. These allow you to unlock such gems as a Ferrari Dino GT240 and more importantly the vehicle that is the basis for the Mad Max Interceptor. Using the various customisation options, you can build the Interceptor sans blades and guns.

As a whole, the game is more than the sum of its parts, you never feel bored zooming around just looking for destinations, the races are visceral – but not overly difficult, and the variety of stunts always keeps you interested.
The one caveat is that the game can be too easy. With my middling skill, I often won races easily by simply bashing my way around the circuit. The game will eventually recognize this and give you the option of bumping up the difficulty, but you can still upgrade your car to the point that straight line speed and bashing away make the race a little too easy. Coupled with this is the rewind feature, it is a seriously limiting tool in that it is too much of a crutch for poor driving.


Australia has some incredibly diverse environments to explore

Forza Horizon 2 made good with creating a diverse ensemble of extra activities to complete. Horizon 3 is no different; gems like the ‘Bucket List’ return to add a degree of flair. These, like the entire campaign, can be completed solo, or co-op. Completing these and the numerous amount of other activities in the game nets you some decent XP. XP, like in previous Forzas, will allow you to spin to win! Yay! Hooray! Gambling! Rewards are similar to previous titles, cars, dosh, and experience are all up for grabs as you level up.

My, What a Pretty Picture, and It Sounds Good Too

Anyone out there that says that this eighth generation of consoles, especially the Xbox One, cannot compete with mid and upper tier PCs seriously needs to be placed in front of a TV and watch this poetry in motion. This is one of the most gorgeous games I have ever seen, and it stands shoulder to shoulder with Driveclub, Uncharted 4, and The Last of Us Remastered on PS4. The technical achievements are mind blowing. The way the sun lights the road and plays off the waxed vehicles is something to behold. The way water splashes on and around the car and onto your screen, and the way it affects the depth of view, borders on black magic. Australia has been captured in every aspect of this game, from its beautiful red outback settings to the sunkissed sands of Byron Bay. The world around you feels truly alive, dingoes scurry through the trees and kangaroos raise a few hairs as they skip out of the way of your charging four wheeled monster.


Horizon 3 is loaded with exciting vehicles to drive

Finally, the sky. The developers are reported to have spent a couple of months in Australia with a fancy camera setup to capture the sky. You won’t spend a lot of time looking at the sky, but it is magnificent. The blues and the way the clouds glide across the sky are so realistic that you may be forgiven for gazing into the big blue and completely missing the start of the race.

Australia has been captured in every aspect of this game, from its beautiful red outback settings to the sunkissed sands of Byron Bay.

This level of detail though, can be a hindrance. The sun can shine in your “face” making that next turn a nerve-wracking test of your skill at the wheel, and of estimating distance based on the minimap in the lower left corner. When you are off road and dust is being thrown up by the car in front of you, it is impossible to see the racing line with the braking indication, making crashes almost inevitable. Finally, rain will be your nemesis; not only will handling vehicles at speed become a problem, but your vision is obscured as water gathers on the screen. Realistic, but frustrating as you crash on that last corner allowing four cars to pass you. Rather than being annoying, these touches are excellent and immersive.

The Xbox One version is locked to 30FPS, so framerate drops won’t be a problem at all. The PC version can be set to higher frame rates and is even capable of 4k. If you have the money and the rig, then that is the definitive version.


Skyboxes and environments are equally breathtaking

A considerable upgrade to the audio feedback from vehicles has ensured Horizon stays on top. Cars sound amazing and lifelike, the sudden pop of exhausts and tinkle of rain on the windscreen is magic. The Lambo has the high-pitched whine, while my Mad Max Interceptor has that deep throaty roar. Tyres crunch the gravel on the off-road sections and squeal like a stuck pig as you drift around corners. The radio stations, though, are somewhat disappointing; you have a choice of a Hip Hip station, two rock Stations, a number of EDM and electronica stations, and a classic station for a total of eight. The licensed tracks are not that varied and repeat often, kind of like 94.7. I know DMX’s X is Gonna Get Ya song almost by heart now. You could mitigate this with your own tracks and the Xbox universal music app that allows you to play your own music via USB or via Spotify (this using a VPN for us poor, deprived South Africans) but that isn’t a great solution. Music is expensive to license, but a bit more variety would be welcome.

The Finish Line

Forza Horizon 3 is right up there with Motorsport 6 on the Xbox One both in terms of graphics and game play. It offers weeks of entertainment around Australia as you careen from race to race, to beauty spot.

The easy racing can hinder your enjoyment, but it does make the game more accessible and fun for those of us not wanting a full simulation. The repetitive soundtrack is a drawback, but you can fix that yourself or just ignore the radio as we do in real life.