Playground Games have always set high bars for open world arcade racers over the course of their Forza Horizon series. 2018's Forza Horizon 4 explored the vast English countryside, offering an incredible amount of vehicles for players to toy around with in its massive sandbox. For a time, Forza Horizon 4 reigned supreme as the best that the series had to offer, but I can confidently say that Forza Horizon 5 has somehow exceeded those sky-high expectations and delivered something truly special for the racing genre.



Set in the scorching deserts and dense jungles of Mexico, Forza Horizon 5 jets players off to distant shores where a new Horizon festival is taking shape. Much like previous entries, you can create your own character, only this time they're fully voiced and have double the amount of customization options. As the superstar racer on the scene with a ready-made legacy, you're given a handful of starter cars to choose from before being thrown into the rich expanse of Mexico.

Forza Horizon 5 never lets its foot off the brakes in giving players overwhelming freedom and fun.

Forza Horizon 5 follows closely in the footsteps of the series' tried-and-tested formula. You're still essentially doing the same races, activities and building reputation - and I initially thought I'd run into fatigue while playing Forza Horizon 5, but I'm glad to report that the fatigue never once set in. In fact, the experience, largely thanks to improved gameplay, jaw-dropping visuals and a wide variety of activities to partake in, felt remarkably fresh and exhilarating all over again. From start to finish, Forza Horizon 5 never lets its foot off the brakes in giving players overwhelming freedom and fun.



Several features and modes from the Horizon series make a return to Forza Horizon 5. The Auction House (though limited during my review period) is still as intense as ever if you're planning on becoming a virtual entrepreneur, while Wheelspins reward you with an assortment of cars, accessories, emotes, credits, and clothing for your character - and yes, it's as addictive as gambling, but rest assured, you still don't use real-world money for it. Earning XP once again boils down to how professionally or recklessly you drive, while winning races scores you a chunk of points to level up and unlock new activities.

Forza Horizon 5 absolutely does not short-change you on content...

At first glance, all of these familiar features can feel overwhelming. Races dotted around Mexico's enormous landscape consist of the usual road races, street races, dirt rally, cross country, drag races and story-specific missions like racing planes and jet-skis. That's not even taking into account the daily and seasonal challenges that spring up and refresh every few hours. It's a lot to take in, and Forza Horizon 5 absolutely does not short-change you on content either, but it does an excellent job of streamlining the order and ways in which you tackle and unlock new activities.



Progression of content is sorted into categorized charts that unlock new races as you build up XP. It helps keep the activities manageable and focused for the most part, allowing players to unlock each category of races at their own pace as to not litter the map with icons right from the beginning. It's a simple yet effective way to ease newcomers into the game while giving veterans all the same great content at a steadier pace.

These quality of life changes and improvements elevate Forza Horizon 5, showing that developer Playground Games have perfected this formula in more ways than one. The UI, for example, is simplified and bold, easily categorizing and filtering your garage with large tiles. Accessing the menu is simple and stylish too, never feeling too intrusive or cluttered.



Getting into the gameplay, the handling and controls deserves its own high praise. Each vehicle feels and sounds impressively distinct from one another, and controls wonderfully. Unlike the floaty controls of previous games, Forza Horizon 5 grounds its vehicles firmly on the road and tweaks the movement to be as responsive and fluid as ever. You feel each twitch, bump and curve on the road to give you excellent feedback, making driving addictive and rewarding simultaneously. Playground Games have found a great balance of making cars extremely enjoyable to drive while maintaining a terrific sense of speed and mobility. Regardless of which race you take on - including chaotic cross country dashes or scenic beachside sprints - Forza Horizon 5 is constantly firing on all cylinders in keeping you locked in, engaged and entertained across its lengthy journey.



Vehicles once again range from flashy supercars and hyper-cars to off-road beasts and vintage sports cars. While some cars are sadly absent from the initial roster (this coming from a Lamborghini and Audi fan), it makes up for the missing spaces with excellent new additions, including the juggernaut cover car the Mercedes-Benz AMG ONE and the versatile Toyota Supra 2020, which is actually a starter car option. Future updates promises to add more cars to the roster, but there's a lot here for collectors and enthusiasts to sink their teeth into while they wait.

[Mexico] is easily the best location in a Forza Horizon game yet, and one of the best open worlds in a racing game ever.

The star of Forza Horizon 5 is Mexico itself. This is the most diverse map ever put into a Forza Horizon game, populating its massive landscapes with vast stretches of beautiful deserts, dense jungles with dirt tracks that zip across rivers and Mayan ruins, and scenic Mexican towns faithfully recreated from real-world locations. Playground Games have done an excellent job at capturing Mexico in all its beauty, danger and scope. It's easily the best location in a Forza Horizon game yet, and one of the best open worlds in a racing game ever.



The volcano is a notable location in Forza Horizon 5. Dwarfing any peaks seen in previous games, this massively imposing mountain looms over the desert area and features hairpin twists and turns both up and down its rocky cliffs. Even in a Koenigsegg One:1, which is one of the faster cars in the game, it took me almost six minutes in real-time to scale the volcano - and that's only one section. The central highway stretches across the entirety of the map, while the jungle areas feature sprawling ruins, hidden temples and ancient statues to discover. Exploration has never felt more rewarding in a Forza Horizon game.

Weather has received a major improvement as well. Certain weather effects like heavy rain, storms and fog all occupy specific parts of the map at any given time. Some may need to be triggered by races, but for the most part, weather is more naturally integrated into the open world and, like the blazing heat of Mexico's deserts, keeps the scorching summer front and center. Wet weather will also naturally affect how you race too, requiring you to drive a little more carefully or switch out to a car with better-suited wheels. The same can be said about the awesome sandstorms, which roll in occasionally and drastically obscure your vision to a mere few feet of sight in front of you, adding to the intensity of these big set piece moments.



Customization extends to both the vehicles and your character in Forza Horizon 5. While not the most in-depth, it offers just enough to get you experimenting, both with the performance and look of your car, as well as the appearance of your character. Car customization is deep and satisfying, allowing players to optimize any kind of build for their chosen vehicles. Parts from a range of international manufacturers are plentiful and there's never a shortage of things to tweak in your garage. As for your character, you're given plenty of clothing options, hairstyles, accessories, and even prosthetic limbs chosen from a preset. It's not quite an RPG, but it's just as engaging.

...your character isn't a silent blank canvas and instead is fully voiced, which allows them to interact with dialogue more naturally...

Unlike previous Horizon games, your character isn't a silent blank canvas and instead is fully voiced, which allows them to interact with dialogue more naturally and gives them defining characteristics. Adding to that agency is the returning real estate, letting you purchase homes, both lavish and rusty, across the Mexican map. We've seen these features before, but in Forza Horizon 5, they just add to that great amount of freedom.



Make no mistake, Forza Horizon 5 is a dense and massive game, both in its actual scale and sheer amount of activities to take part in. Even after completing the main story missions and rolling "credits", I was still left with a hefty chunk of races to complete, secrets to find, and a few more barns to discover. In no time, your influence in the Horizon festival reaches far and wide, and in a racing game about reputation and building your image, it's absolutely pivotal to the experience.

In one jaw-dropping set piece, you're racing through a raging storm that rips apart the jungle as lightning strikes the land inches away from you.

Forza Horizon 5 digs its feet deep into its arcade roots and embraces some of the more over-the-top and bombastic set pieces that the series has become known for. From the opening mission which sees you parachute out of a plane, race down the volcano, and drive head-first into a sandstorm, there's no shortage of impressive eye-candy on display here. In one jaw-dropping set piece, you're racing through a raging storm that rips apart the jungle as lightning strikes the land inches away from you. By the time you're racing monster trucks, jet-ski stuntmen and trains, it can feel a bit familiar but thanks to the absurdly fun nature of these big events, you're still going along for the ride - and what a ride it is.



Moving onto the technical aspects of Forza Horizon 5, this is a beastly video game. The trailers showing off the game's gorgeous visuals only touch the surface of what it actually contains. The graphics are mesmerizingly photorealistic, especially in the desert and jungle areas where the visuals stand out the most. Given the options of both Performance and Quality modes, both look and run superb on Xbox Series X at a rock-solid framerate. I never once encountered any graphical hiccups or framerate issues, which is truly remarkable considering how intense some portions of the game is.

Most of all, Forza Horizon 5 is a true demonstration of the power of next generation tech. Playground Games poured their heart and soul into making the game not just play the best, but look the best as well. The developer's passion for their craft shines in every facet of the experience, right down to the minute details like realistic rock textures or astounding volumetric lighting (that you probably won't notice doing 300 down the road). Pop open Photo Mode and you'll appreciate the game's finer visuals, which admittedly took up a lot of my time. Forza Horizon 5 might possibly be the best-looking game I've played to date.



Accessibility has become an important (and thankfully improved) setting in modern video games, and Forza Horizon 5 delivers on that front too. From adjusting every part of your driving experience to tweaking difficulty, AI and visual options, Playground Games went to lengths to ensure all players are accounted for. It makes Forza Horizon 5 the most accessible entry in the series yet thanks to these handy adjustment options, and even though small in retrospect, makes all the difference.

For as good as Forza Horizon 5 looks - and trust me, it's a visual masterpiece - it sounds equally as good too.

Finally, I'd like to address the sound design: it's incredible. The roaring of engines and the ambiance of the environments with a lovely selection of infectious radio songs all combine to make a symphony of adrenaline-fueled racing and beauty all at once. One particular set piece involving "research" on top of the volcano particularly blew my mind in the sound department (I won't spoil it any further). For as good as Forza Horizon 5 looks - and trust me, it's a visual masterpiece - it sounds equally as good too.



Playground Games' Forza Horizon series has always had a distinct winning formula, but they've finally fine-tuned and perfected it with Forza Horizon 5. Not only is this the best game in the series, but one of the best racing games of all time. Mexico is grand, varied and wonderful to explore with a deep understanding and appreciation of its culture that's reflected in some lovingly crafted races and vistas. It's also visually on another level, boasting some of the most eye-opening and photorealistic graphics ever put to a video game yet. Forza Horizon 5 is a triumphant achievement, and puts Playground Games in the pole position of being one of the most talented developers in the gaming industry.

*Review code provided by Xbox | Reviewed on Xbox Series X