Since I have first started Forza Horizon 5 on November 26th, I played it from time to time and was able to reach 72 hours of playtime. And I think I can now start giving out my feelings and views for this game…
Graphics
There's no drastic upgrade to the actual graphics, but it's the subtle changes and additions that make the game more immersive than Forza Horizon has ever been.
Its graphics are now more than just the visuals, now it deals with the liveliness…
From ambiances like mist with the daylight and occasional sandy winds to dramatic events like rainstorms and sandstorms, Forza Horizon 5's environment has a sense of liveliness that greatly increases the immersion. Sceneries are diversified and more stereoscopic – exotic places like dunes, waterfalls and jungles are back, ancient temples give a very unique atmosphere, and many canyons now have sharp falls that might cause scary consequences. Sky dynamically changes, from the clouds to the colors – and every moment is gaping.
Forza Horizon series was always known to be a great game for photoshooting, and Forza Horizon 5 made it even greater. With the factors mentioned above, every moment is worthy of taking photos – for the first few days of playing Horizon 5, I had to enter photo mode every 5 minutes.
Sound
I don't know if this is because I'm fine with the cars' sound in Gran Turismo (PSP), but I haven't cared much about Forza Horizon 4's car sounds. There sure weren't many cars that had spectacular sounds, but they all just felt fine… until I got to play Forza Horizon 5.
Engine/exhaust sounds are now enjoyable to listen to. It's fun to hear the reaction based on how much am I pushing the pedal. But what I actually noticed the most was the tire sound. There's a lot more variance into it – based on how you skid, accelerate and brake, the sound varies from flat to squealing. This makes driving be more interactive, more immersive… the feeling of 'I am the driver' is now greater than ever for the Forza Horizon series.
Physics
This change felt much more significant when I got to play using Logitech G29. Unlike Forza Horizon 4, where everywhere felt like a flat surface and driving was unremarkably plain. But now, with richer feedback to the wheel, I was able to know what specific controls should I take, and how the car is doing on the current road. This abundant information makes all kinds of driving a more exciting experience, and now I actually conflict whether to play the game with my G29 (for great driving experience) or with my Xbox controller (for easier photoshooting).
Progression
Seems quite empty? All purpose.
Seems quite empty? All purpose.
Sure, Horizon continues to threat me… but now I don't have to have jumppads, Speed cams, and drift zones all over the place!
Another favorite 'feature' – I can now choose what types of events to unlock. Now I don't think that was the intention of the developers, because every once in a while I am forced to stop my car, hear the festival people's happy threats, and get to choose which adventure to unlock. But I'm still happy that I can back off from doing so and actually let my map just be with paved road racing events. I don't have to deal with jumps, drift zones, speed cams all over the place, and instead have a calm, tranquil environment.
My 'personal' gameplay reminds me of Test Drive Unlimited, where the gameplay is more focused on collections, cruising, and often racing. I love how I can set my playthrough of Forza Horizon 5 to be just like that.
Unfortunately, my Forza Horizon 5 experience wasn't only filled with charms and joy. There have been some considerable issues that often upsetted me.
AI level imbalance
Playing almost all the events with Expert level AI, I was having a 'sweet spot' – AIs do give me some challenges but I can take the 1st place with some time difference. But that was until I got to experience a little bit of Cross Country by the Horizon Playlist.
On a B-class event, Toyota Supras, Nissan Skylines, and Mini Coopers overtook my F-150 Raptor during straights after corners. When my offroad-built truck had to slow down to take the corners, the AI drivers in 90s sports cars had no issue taking a turn without braking. Frustrated, I had to do unrealistic tricks (wall turn, downshift braking…) to finally win them narrowly. For a game that loves doing Cross Country events (to the point of making guardrails meaningless), the experience was very unpleasant.
Horizon system issues
I fear that Horizon's obsession with FOMO will never change…
As it still retains the many systems of Forza Horizon 4, Horizon 4's systematic problems can also be found in Horizon 5 – aggravating FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) by Horizon Playlist awards, making CR reward dependent on Wheelspins instead of races and events, cars only sellable with Horizon Auction & Horizon Auction's pricing system (you can buy Porsche Taycan Turbo S cheaper than Hyundai Veloster N)… sure, wheelspins and Horizon Playlist awards can be great, but I would much prefer the Forza Horizon 1 system (CR rewarded by doing events and races, all cars available at autoshow, auction not forced to be used to sell cars) which won't return.
Son of a glitch!
I don't mind glitches much in video games, because I know and am fine with things not completely perfect. However, Forza Horizon 5 does have some serious issues that distress me for the entire playthrough (as of now). (For those concerned about my PC specs: Ryzen 7 5800H, RTX 3060 (80-100W), 1920×1080 display, 32GB Ram HP Omen 15 laptop. Graphic settings at very high with 8x MSAA, FXAA on, best quality textures and AO.)
Pixel flare… I guess that's a thing.
Pixel flare… I guess that's a thing.
One big issue is actually related to graphics. The render distance is not controllable, and no matter what setting I do, it's not good – I have to see trees and grass suddenly becoming detailed & abundant in front of my eyes. Anti-aliasing isn't as good as Forza Horizon 4, and smokes get pixelated.
Translation: Low system memory. Running low on system memory. Please close nonvital applications or lower the video quality settings.
Translation: Low system memory. Running low on system memory. Please close nonvital applications or lower the video quality settings.
And then there's 'low system memory' issue. No matter how I turn down the settings, or play the game at the freshest PC state possible (booting up the game right after starting the PC), the message pops up, and after a 2-3 hours frame rate starts to struggle.
What irks me the most, however, is the water splash issue and the recent photo mode glitch. Whenever you get to splash a pool of water or encounter rain, the water splash is left on the screen no matter what camera angle you choose. The time won't stop passing during the photo mode, and worse, the time passage is very sudden. I frequently end up missing the beautiful sky and rain moments due to a photo mode glitch, and with the water splash issue, photoshooting during rain is almost impossible. Shame for a game that features such wonderful environments.
Overall
Still, I believe Forza Horizon 5 will be one of the games that I will have a deep nostalgia about. Relaxing cruises, exciting races, and spectacular exploration – Forza Horizon 5 plays very well with those 3 factors that build long-lasting joy. The environment now not only looks amazing but also is lively, with each characteristic region and eventful weathers. There's enough paved road to go over 400+ km/h and enough offroad to do a trailblaze. And, best of all, I can play Horizon 5 by the way I want to play it.
Keyword: How I feel about Forza Horizon 5 after playing it for about a mon