TheForzaseries, at least at the very beginning, was all about crafting a simulatory racing experience for Xbox on a similar level withGran Turismoon PlayStation. NumerousForza Motorsporttitles have essentially attained and surpassed that goal since the series debut in 2005, but the series has also expanded into appreciating car culture at a more base level. TheForza Horizonseries was born from that desire on the Xbox 360 back in 2012, and since then, has been going very strong as the “Horizon festival” has expanded across the world. This year,Forza Horizon 5is bringing the festival to Mexico, with a slew of innovations thanks to a longer development cycle.
Early last week, Game Rant was provided the opportunity to witness a hands-off preview ofForza Horizon 5ahead of Gamescom 2021, and what was shown is certainly a promising iteration on theHorizonlineage thus far. Carrying with it the vast expanse of launch content and post-launch support plans, while learning fromForza Horizon 4’s excess in player freedom,Forza Horizon 5promises a similar degree of player freedom alongside a more structured campaign and meaningful progression. Detailed upgrades to the game’s physics, an expansive new world map, the return and evolution of seasons and dynamic weather, all culminate in a greaterHorizonexperience.
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Much like the cold open inaugural races in everyHorizongame before it,Forza Horizon 5drops players straight into the muddy jungles and wispy coastlines of Mexico. Whether it’s being airlifted by a cargo plane into the jungle with an upgraded baja-ready Porsche, or taking to the highway in a Corvette Stingray, all of the usual trappings ofHorizonraces are there. However,the world ofForza Horizon 5gets a massive upgradethanks to next-gen technology.
The racing world and biome diversity inForza Horizon 5is certainly upgraded in both scale and scope from the previousForza Horizon 4. While the London setting was the first to introduce seasons, as a method of implementing dynamic weather and conditions,Forza Horizon 5appears to be taking things up a notch.WithJust Cause-like weather eventslike the prominently featured sandstorms,Forza Horizon 5introduces several new and challenging obstacles for racing and exploring its version of Mexico. These dust storms in particular limit visibility, forcing players to think on the fly and rely on reaction speed during tense and blinding storms.
Given thetropical landscapes within real-life Mexico,Forza Horizon 5is doing its best to emulate that setting. Driving through the jungle requires vehicles with offroad prowess, which is part of the reason why the Ford Bronco Badlands is one of twoForza Horizon 5cover cars. The demo in particular showed off environments on the Gran Caldera volcano, mixing together snowy and slippery vertical landscapes alongside the exotic active volcano brewing at the center of the mountain.
Mike Brown, the Creative Director forForza Horizon 5, made a point to emphasize this isthe highest point in anyHorizongame to date. Brown emphasized the methods of photogrammetry and other technology that Playground Games used to faithfully recreate the South American country. The development team is also partnering with professional Mexican racers, Mexican actors, writers, and artists in helping research car culture influenced by Mexican car enthusiasts and fans.
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Playground Games also mentioned that later on this week, the development team is planning to release the launch car list forForza Horizon 5, including the aforementioned Bronco and Mercedes-AMG One cover cars. Brown did not elaborate on how many cars are launching with the game, but players can likely expect a numbersimilar to the 450+ cars that launched withForza Horizon 4.
One interesting tidbit shared by Brown, related to the Mercedes-AMG One as well as other cars in the game,Forza Horizon 5is planning into implement the various “modes” that most sports cars feature in real life. In the AMG One’s example, players can activate sport mode in-game, and actively watch the car lower its suspension and deploy its spoiler as it would in person. ThisForza Horizon 5preview did not feature any additional cars with that capability, only confirming that players could do so with several cars in-game.
Brown did elaborate that these new modes were born out of the additional development time that Playground Games spent tweaking the suspension and driving model forForza Horizon 5. Citing the benefits of an extra year, alongside adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic/working-from-home development environment, the team ended up rebuilding the game’s suspension model to improve immersion.
Additionally, Brown elaborated onthe new EventLab systems coming toForza Horizon 5, which are community-fueled side events that players can customize. EventLab essentially acts as an “in-depth rule editor,” according to Brown, which was designed around some of the same tools Playground Games used to developHorizoninitially. EventLab is meant to be a sort-of stage and scenario designer that players can utilize to create custom races/events across theForza Horizon 5map. Playground Games had previously shown off this mode in a previous trailer, showcasing a bowling alley-esque custom event that showcased what players could create in EventLab.
Overall, this preview ofForza Horizon 5mostly emphasized the degree of replayability that Playground Games wishes to inject into the latest entry. While the campaign is being designed to be a bit more structured compared to the open-endedness ofForza Horizon 4’s campaign, that doesn’t mean players will be on rails the whole time.
Even outside of race variety and player choice, things like sandstorms and weather effects have potential as interesting ways to shake up the core racing gameplay dynamically, so long as it’s done right. There is a fine line between gameplay variety and annoyance, but based on the preview alone, the seasons and weather effects inForzaHorizon 5are a promising iteration onForza Horizon 4. Blended with thealready-expansive variety of race types in previousHorizongames, the fifthHorizongame is only enhancing the degree of flexibility its racing formula can emphasize.
Forza Horizon 5’s Mexico setting appears to be iterating on theHorizonformula in meaningful ways, and should be enticing forHorizonfans. EventLabs seems to follow theGTA Online-esque formula of customizing the gameplay experience in wacky ways as well.Forza Horizon 5is certainly taking ambitious steps to iterate on the racing formula, which could genuinely make this one of the bestHorizonentries to date.
Forza Horizon 5releases on June 14, 2025, for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
