Forza Horizon 5 Preview Reactions: "Familiar", "Evolutionary", and "4 With Cacti"

[Samcastor]

It will be my first Forza game so not really a problem. It will be a nice change of pace from the more motorsport feel of GTS to just chill driving so I am excited.

 

[C_Raccoon23]

It will be a nice change of pace from the more motorsport feel of GTS to just chill driving so I am excited.

Same here. I’m mainly getting Horizon 5 to help kill time while waiting for GT7.

 

[o000o]

Same here. I’m mainly getting Horizon 5 to help kill time while waiting for GT7.

Overall because better no console war, why don't get all the best of what racing genre can provide? Though ofc not everyone can get both so console wars happen.

 

[Samcastor]

Same her

Same here. I’m mainly getting Horizon 5 to help kill time while waiting for GT7.

Yep, pretty much same here. I will be able to play for like 10 days before Endwalker drops and that will take basically straight to Feb. 2022 so I will have no trouble killing time before GT 7

 

[ImaRobot]

Overall because better no console war, why don't get all the best of what racing genre can provide? Though ofc not everyone can get both so console wars happen.

What are you talking about?

 

[MLRSparco]

Regurgitating the same content since 2, yet feels nothing like 1 and 2?

By that I mean content and not the uniqueness/essence of 2. No different than something like COD4 and MW2,they regurgitate the content and concept but it never really feels the way CO4 did.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

It rather looks like the "snarky journos" do also play FH4, otherwise it'd be a bit difficult for them to draw the comparisons between the two games as they have been. The ones blowing smoke about how exciting and wild and varied and pretty it is, or the ones absolutely dumping on it, without mentioning that it really does seem to be FH4 with small improvements and a new place to drive (whether you think this is a good thing or a bad one) are the ones who clearly haven't played both.

That said, the distribution of this preview has me scratching my head a bit. As you can tell from the fact we've not posted a preview review (umm... yeah), we didn't get access. Apparently neither did any site similar to ours - driving/racing game/sim outlets. However, MS gave access to US national newspapers, mainstream gaming outlets, and niche/specialist influencers and streamers, which seems like a weird spread.


Honestly, I'm still pretty keen on it, and whether we get a review code or not (and the "not" would be really weird, but it happens) we'll give it a good workout.

They probably consider us the Pitchfork of (racing) gaming.

 

[breyzipp]

Even if the game was the exact same thing as FH4 (same gameplay, same cars) and the ONLY new thing was the map, I’d still preorder it in a heartbeat.

 

[AudiMan2011]

Evolutionary changes may not cut it this time considering the general premise of the series has gotten stuck in a rut. IMO this game may feel more like filler than ever until FH6 can use the full potential of the Forza engine's next iteration.

 

[Silver Arrows]

I've been saying the same things about the series but as soon as I do everybody hates it. My signature is what it is for a very good reason.

So when you're done making yourself into a martyr, do you have anything else to say? You know as good as I do why people 'hate' your opinions on the Horizon series.

All of the new content could have been added to Forza Horizon 2 or 3.

Citation needed.

I paid £80 on Forza Horizon 4 and I didn't get what I paid for. I won't be making the same mistake again.

Considering you posited that FH4 didn't look as good as FH2 on the 360 did, and believed that Motorsport 4 had the best graphics in the series, when these two aspects are patently not the case, obviously you didn't get what you paid for, but then again, a part of me thinks that what you wanted was so out of left field and unable to be catered towards that you had an axe to grind to begin with.

For the money I'd spend on FH5, I could buy a handful of DLCs for Train Sim World and get a far more enriching, enjoyable experience, made by developers who care about their game.

In what world does Playground not care about their game? Everything done with FH4 speaks to me that they do care about the game in question - but like so many things in life, people's perception of that opinion differ. But I think you and I both know that by most metrics, Playground care enough about the game to support it for two and a half years, and add onto it (mostly for free) in that time span. If they didn't care, they would have left the game for dead after a year and told everyone to pound sand. The only reason people get the perception that Playground 'doesn't care' about the game is that it comes from dishonest actors who have been screaming since Horizon 2 for them to use Japan as a location, and have hissy fits when Playground don't put in the hottest, up to the minute hypercars as the entire lot of DLC.

It will sell brilliantly and get critical acclaim (like pretty much every Copy+Paste title)

Or, and hear me out, it's actually a good game. Shocking concept, I know.

 

[Silver Arrows]

By that I mean content and not the uniqueness/essence of 2. No different than something like COD4 and MW2,they regurgitate the content and concept but it never really feels the way CO4 did.

Double post, but lol. How can you regurgitate 'modern warfare' as a concept when that's what made COD super popular to begin with, and how can you make a game feel like COD4 when the entire point of MW2 was 'COD4, but super sized', which Infinity Ward did well, to the point that most people would consider MW2 as good, if not better then COD4, and be just
as fondly remembered more then a decade on, if not more?

What applies to one game doesn't apply to the next game in the series, considering most developers of games, and indeed, most forms of entertainment, always look at works before it, either in a series or within the wider medium, and look to improve it, and keep what is there. And if what works, works, then why change the wheel?

 

[FordGTGuy]

This is the last cross-gen Forza that is being built on the older versions of the Forza Tech engine.

I look at it as a "best of" rather than a revolution of design. There looks to be plenty of modifications and additions to the game to justify it's existence as it's own (beyond just the map and setting.). I'm not sure why anyone expected it to be revolutionary rather than evolutionary; we've known what it would be like from the day it was announced.

That being said, there is nothing wrong with pointing out that it is evolutionary; I do think it is unfair to jump directly to it being "more of the same.". The game will clearly set itself apart from Horizon 4. It is just unfortunate that that some journalists are not really into racing games so almost every racing game is the same to some of them.

Trying to say COD is revolutionary and that Forza Horizon is regurgitating is a bit disingenuous.

Bottom-line, the gameplay in COD didn't change a great deal what changed was the setting and story; and all the changes those bring.

Forza Horizon 5 is a change of setting and story too.

In multiplayer, the most played side of COD and Horizon; there is not a huge difference between titles that could be considered revolutionary.

 

[ImaRobot]

That being said, there is nothing wrong with pointing out that it is evolutionary; I do think it is unfair to jump directly to it being "more of the same.". The game will clearly set itself apart from Horizon 4. It is just unfortunate that that some journalists are not really into racing games so almost every racing game is the same to some of them.

I feel that when it comes to the racing genre, there's only so much you can do before you hit a bit of a wall to overcome when it comes to revolutionary changes. It seems like each Dev find's it's base and sticks to that until they no longer exist, continually evolving it rather than making massive changes each time and I think that's ok.

However, that leaves me in an interesting predicament because even though I'm saying that, I tend to get bored of them fairly faster than most other genre's because of that exact issue I think. I'm probably just getting bored of the genre in general over the past year or two.

 

[Dave A]

I feel that when it comes to the racing genre, there's only so much you can do before you hit a bit of a wall to overcome when it comes to revolutionary changes. It seems like each Dev find's it's base and sticks to that until they no longer exist, continually evolving it rather than making massive changes each time and I think that's ok.

However, that leaves me in an interesting predicament because even though I'm saying that, I tend to get bored of them fairly faster than most other genre's because of that exact issue I think. I'm probably just getting bored of the genre in general over the past year or two.

I completley get you, as much as I look forward to each new racing game, the longevity just isn't there anymore with most of them for me. I enjoyed FH3, then got 4 and I just couldn't engage with it the same as 3 (which was my first FH), it's a better game on almost every level when you break down the elements, but I guess it's that feeling of it all being a bit stale as you said. It's hard to quantify, I felt the same with GT5 after GT4 despite the wait and then again with GT6 after GT5.

I'm really hoping GT7 recaptures the earlier magic and I just have a blast with it, but I'm well aware it probably won't even if it is for all intents and purposes a great game. It's both interesting and frustrating at the same time, because I've spent countless hours on far inferior racing games in the past when compared to what is out now.

When I think about it though, I think part of the issue for me is also that I simply don't have the same amount of free time anymore. So when I do have a free evening do I want to go out for a meal, do I want to watch a film or TV program, do I want to relax to some music and open a bottle of whisky, perhaps read a book or do I want to pop a game on.

When I was younger I often could spend a couple of hours gaming and then watch a 2 hour movie, then spend a bit of time doing something else. But I just don't have that free time anymore and I think in some way, that puts me off games that will take considerable time to get the most from.

Combine that lack of free time, with new games that tend to primarily be a rinse and repeat of what came before and I think the racing genre is in a bit of a corner for me. I love it, I love cars, I have loved racing games all my life, but if I am going to play a game, I find that I'm far more drawn to quick fixes these days. Not that I don't play racing games anymore, I still do, and I still get enjoyment out of them, just not for as long or as much as I used to.

The right games can still hook me, Final Fantasy 7 Remake did just that. I played that like a demon until I completed it, the game has nostalgia goggles all over it, but I was just enjoying the trip regardless. But then, it has been over 20 years since FF7 came out, and I can't say I'm an avid Final Fantasy fan in particular, I don't buy them all (in fact I don't buy most of them), but I loved 7 enough that Remake was a no-brainer and that game hooked me. For me, it was probably the best game I've played in a long time in the way it engaged me and I actively sought time to play it.

 

[ImaRobot]

I completley get you, as much as I look forward to each new racing game, the longevity just isn't there anymore with most of them for me. I enjoyed FH3, then got 4 and I just couldn't engage with it the same as 3 (which was my first FH), it's a better game on almost every level when you break down the elements, but I guess it's that feeling of it all being a bit stale as you said. It's hard to quantify, I felt the same with GT5 after GT4 despite the wait and then again with GT6 after GT5.

I'm really hoping GT7 recaptures the earlier magic and I just have a blast with it, but I'm well aware it probably won't even if it is for all intents and purposes a great game. It's both interesting and frustrating at the same time, because I've spent countless hours on far inferior racing games in the past when compared to what is out now.

When I think about it though, I think part of the issue for me is also that I simply don't have the same amount of free time anymore. So when I do have a free evening do I want to go out for a meal, do I want to watch a film or TV program, do I want to relax to some music and open a bottle of whisky, perhaps read a book or do I want to pop a game on.

When I was younger I often could spend a couple of hours gaming and then watch a 2 hour movie, then spend a bit of time doing something else. But I just don't have that free time anymore and I think in some way, that puts me off games that will take considerable time to get the most from.

Combine that lack of free time, with new games that tend to primarily be a rinse and repeat of what came before and I think the racing genre is in a bit of a corner for me. I love it, I love cars, I have loved racing games all my life, but if I am going to play a game, I find that I'm far more drawn to quick fixes these days. Not that I don't play racing games anymore, I still do, and I still get enjoyment out of them, just not for as long or as much as I used to.

The right games can still hook me, Final Fantasy 7 Remake did just that. I played that like a demon until I completed it, the game has nostalgia goggles all over it, but I was just enjoying the trip regardless. But then, it has been over 20 years since FF7 came out, and I can't say I'm an avid Final Fantasy fan in particular, I don't buy them all (in fact I don't buy most of them), but I loved 7 enough that Remake was a no-brainer and that game hooked me. For me, it was probably the best game I've played in a long time in the way it engaged me and I actively sought time to play it.

I'm also hoping for GT7 to be a bit of a breath of fresh air. For the most part, for me it will since I haven't had a GT game in a while, and it's reverting back to what I liked most about the series, so I feel I'll likely spend a bit more time than usual. However, just like you note and how I touched on, it's all getting rather repetitive. I know it's a good game, but It's more or less about the fact that I probably just need to take a small break rather than absorbing every single racing game that comes out.

You're definitely not wrong about free time. My free time hasn't changed much, but how I spend it definitely has - lately it involves a lot more rest and relaxation, so when I do boot up a game, if it's already stale to me in the first place, I feel it puts much more emphasis on how I feel about it.

I still have my "must haves" for sure. One being Diablo. I played Diablo 3 from it's release up until Diablo 2 Resurrected came out. It was off and on sure, but I was still able to go back and just get so into it all over again, even though it was largely the same game for the past 10 years. Lately I noticed I get more excited for remakes than I do for actual new games, there's something about the current climate of gaming that just isn't pulling me in. For instance, I'm desperately waiting for the remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - Once I saw the trailer it pulled me in so hard, and I really don't get that from modern games. I feel like there's a lot less new and exciting and a lot more of the same more or less, with just new settings.

 

[Krakenous]

I disagree completely I've watched multiple things and read multiple things saying nothing but good things, besides sometimes the wheelspins. I for one am thoroughly impressed with the majority of what i've seen, sound design, environments and customization being huge draws, the game looks and sounds awesome thus far.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I completley get you, as much as I look forward to each new racing game, the longevity just isn't there anymore with most of them for me. I enjoyed FH3, then got 4 and I just couldn't engage with it the same as 3 (which was my first FH), it's a better game on almost every level when you break down the elements, but I guess it's that feeling of it all being a bit stale as you said. It's hard to quantify, I felt the same with GT5 after GT4 despite the wait and then again with GT6 after GT5.

I'm really hoping GT7 recaptures the earlier magic and I just have a blast with it, but I'm well aware it probably won't even if it is for all intents and purposes a great game. It's both interesting and frustrating at the same time, because I've spent countless hours on far inferior racing games in the past when compared to what is out now.

When I think about it though, I think part of the issue for me is also that I simply don't have the same amount of free time anymore. So when I do have a free evening do I want to go out for a meal, do I want to watch a film or TV program, do I want to relax to some music and open a bottle of whisky, perhaps read a book or do I want to pop a game on.

When I was younger I often could spend a couple of hours gaming and then watch a 2 hour movie, then spend a bit of time doing something else. But I just don't have that free time anymore and I think in some way, that puts me off games that will take considerable time to get the most from.

Combine that lack of free time, with new games that tend to primarily be a rinse and repeat of what came before and I think the racing genre is in a bit of a corner for me. I love it, I love cars, I have loved racing games all my life, but if I am going to play a game, I find that I'm far more drawn to quick fixes these days. Not that I don't play racing games anymore, I still do, and I still get enjoyment out of them, just not for as long or as much as I used to.

The right games can still hook me, Final Fantasy 7 Remake did just that. I played that like a demon until I completed it, the game has nostalgia goggles all over it, but I was just enjoying the trip regardless. But then, it has been over 20 years since FF7 came out, and I can't say I'm an avid Final Fantasy fan in particular, I don't buy them all (in fact I don't buy most of them), but I loved 7 enough that Remake was a no-brainer and that game hooked me. For me, it was probably the best game I've played in a long time in the way it engaged me and I actively sought time to play it.

With you. I even still play FH4 often. I want to love it but something always pushes me away. Some annoying bug, some bad design decision, some poorly implemented feature, some old & inaccurate asset or generally its cold, aimless, and distant presentation. I think FH1 was the best in the series purely down to its consistency of presentation, its better sense of immersion and it's sort of intentionality - that game felt a lot more self assured than it's successors. I also think the lower fidelity (and more stylized art style) of the visuals in the first game provided a better sense of suspended disbelief meaning it felt a lot less Truman Show-esque. I feel like the limitations of the game world feel much more apparent the closer to photorealistic the presentation gets. FH4 feels claustrophobic in a way that FH1 did not. I just can't get into FH4 and I don't expect FH5 to be any better.

 

[Auditore]

Horizon is just running into the same problem GT(and Motorsport) ran into.
Although if i have to be honest,the way Horizon's roads are laid out is kinda boring.And i know that later entries are way more popular but god i wish they went back to the street racing vibe of Horizon 1.

 

[ScottPuss20]

I'm not completely sold on this game either. It looks good on the surface but when you dig a little deeper you'll find a lot of similarities with the previous game. The car list hasn't expanded that much and some of the omissions are extremely questionable - no Alfa Romeo, no Abarth, no Fiat, no Lancia, no Chrysler and no Peel. Moreover, money is too easy to come by, you get heaps of rewards, you can't walk around or modify your house, the roads are too big and the characters are forgettable. Where's the heart in this game? It just lacks connection and I fail to get excited about it. Adding personal pronouns is not enough.

 

[ImaRobot]

I'm not completely sold on this game either. It looks good on the surface but when you dig a little deeper you'll find a lot of similarities with the previous game.

Racing games in a nutshell.

 

[Silver Arrows]

Racing games in a nutshell.

I am more confident in Playground's ability to change things though then other developers, though.

some of the omissions are extremely questionable - no Alfa Romeo, no Abarth, no Fiat, no Lancia, no Chrysler and no Peel.

Considering the fact that the organization all but one of these OEM's are now apart of was only brought into being in January of this year, and probably is a pita trying to get the proper channels for licensing that have now closed, I don't think you can hang this one on Playground.

 

[ScottPuss20]

Racing games in a nutshell.

So my point is moot then? Seriously? There's an expectation that a new game will bring new things across the board, and I don't know if Horizon 5 brings enough to the table in this regard. At least GT7 has enough points of difference from GT Sport that it can be considered a new game. Yes, both games are built on previous titles but GT7 hides it better than Horizon 5. That much is obvious.

 

[ImaRobot]

So my point is moot then? Seriously? There's an expectation that a new game will bring new things across the board, and I don't know if Horizon 5 brings enough to the table in this regard. At least GT7 has enough points of difference from GT Sport that it can be considered a new game. Yes, both games are built on previous titles but GT7 hides it better than Horizon 5. That much is obvious.

Where in my reply did I say anything like that? Talk about a ridiculous leap to conclusions.

GT7 is backtracking to what made everyone love it. It’s not differentiating itself from GTS. It’s going back to what GTS differentiated from GT6 with. It’s not hiding anything any better because neither games are hiding anything about it at all. Racing games in a nutshell. You’re just more fond of one than the other so you’re giving it a pass.

 

[ScottPuss20]

You’re just more fond of one than the other so you’re giving it a pass.

Hey I played Horizon 4 and it was a lot of fun. Also, where did I say that I was giving it a pass? I just said that I wasn't completely sold on it. The game hasn't been released yet so my opinion could change; I'm only making my judgement based on the information and footage we have right now.

 

[willbsn13]

I'm not completely sold on this game either. It looks good on the surface but when you dig a little deeper you'll find a lot of similarities with the previous game.

I think in that lies the crux of the proposition with FH5.

If you liked FH4, then you'll like the evolution PG has created with FH5.

If you didn't like FH4, chances are PG isn't changing your mind. And that's fine. FH4 was a very successful game both commercially and critically so you can't really blame them for not trying to overhaul the series.

 

[ImaRobot]

Hey I played Horizon 4 and it was a lot of fun. Also, where did I say that I was giving it a pass? I just said that I wasn't completely sold on it. The game hasn't been released yet so my opinion could change; I'm only making my judgement based on the information and footage we have right now.

That’s fine. It doesn’t change the fact that both games are running off what they’ve been doing, and neither are really differentiating themselves from what they’ve been doing for a while now, GT especially considered it’s going back to what it originally moved away from. I said you’re giving it a pass, because that’s exactly what you’re doing when you’re saying exactly what you said in the post I responded to.

 

[ScottPuss20]

That’s fine. It doesn’t change the fact that both games are running off what they’ve been doing, and neither are really differentiating themselves from what they’ve been doing for a while now, GT especially considered it’s going back to what it originally moved away from. I said you’re giving it a pass, because that’s exactly what you’re doing when you’re saying exactly what you said in the post I responded to.

Oh right. Enough of the semantics and stop putting words into my mouth.

 

[UKMikey]

Yes, both games are built on previous titles but GT7 hides it better than Horizon 5. That much is obvious.

It’s not hiding anything any better because neither games are hiding anything about it at all.

That doesn't sound like putting words into anyone's mouth. He responded directly to what you said.

Personally I don't know how many people will reject the new game because you can't get out of the car and walk around or because it's too easy to progress. I doubt it'll be a significant number of people for PG to care enough to make such changes this generation.

Test Drive Unlimited's casinos, extensive character customisation and general lifestyle simulator elements were somewhat lost on me to an extent. What I remember most was the inferior driving feel compared to Forza, because driving's what I spent most of my time doing in the game.

 

[Rob192005]

That doesn't sound like putting words into anyone's mouth. He responded directly to what you said.

Personally I don't know how many people will reject the new game because you can't get out of the car and walk around or because it's too easy to progress. I doubt it'll be a significant number of people for PG to care enough to make such changes this generation.

Test Drive Unlimited's casinos, extensive character customisation and general lifestyle simulator elements were somewhat lost on me to an extent. What I remember most was the inferior driving feel compared to Forza, because driving's what I spent most of my time doing in the game.

Just to carry on from what you said,Horizon isn't even about a sense of progression as it isn't a "serious" game,Horizon is about building a garage at your own pace and ****ing around in a new(if slightly recycled) enviroment.

 

[Samus]

my point is moot then? Seriously? There's an expectation that a new game will bring new things across the board, and I don't know if Horizon 5 brings enough to the table in this regard. At least GT7 has enough points of difference from GT Sport that it can be considered a new game. Yes, both games are built on previous titles but GT7 hides it better than Horizon 5. That much is obvious.

GT7 so far offers literally nothing new of significance at all. Just cars and tracks, everything else they've shown so far, other than minor things, is from the past games. The fact GTS changed the focus a bit doesn't change that.

It might be what people want but it's bringing nothing new to the table, at all. So far anyway, since it's also not released and fully unveiled either.