I started my Horizon adventure just early 2021 when FH4 came to Steam. Instantly loved it, by October I had all the achievements and cars excluding 4 pre-order machines. Understandably I awaited FH5 since it was announced during E3. After 30 hours I can say the new instalment exceeded my expectations.

From the moment menu kicks in with its captivating music evoking Mexico vibe so much, till the final Goliath race across the map, there’s so many aspects neatly executed here. It’s a step-up from the already good FH4 in almost every department.

Graphics, lighting, map design (especially its huge verticality, which I haven’t seen in any other racing title to date). Audio, highlight of which being the sandstorm both looking and sounding insane. Everything is bigger and better. 1.5x the map size of FH4. Longer drift zones. Online Forzathon events more fun to participate in. Online racing revamped in an immersive way (you drive to another destination with the same people you just raced with).

Horizon Stories now having different episodes scattered throughout the world. Trailblazers, treasure hunts and pinnable challenges incorporated from FH4’s DLC. Weekly festival playlist with new event types and twists (car brand/class restrictions for PR stunts – I’m looking at you). Mexico rendition is so sunny and vibrant compared to gloomy Britain, with every part of the narrative telling its interesting culture.

Driving model has also been improved upon. It needs a bit of time to get used to. Cars have more weight to them so understanding (and utilizing) weight transfer rules while cornering is more important. There are assist and difficulty settings to help you with the learning curve.

FH5 runs great on my old i7-6700 and GTX 1060 GB. 60fps, bit less in intensive races (1920x1200 display, 'high' graphics preset which the game recommended itself). This was a nice surprise as before the launch I was sure I’d need to sell my kidney to buy RTX 3060.

Online connectivity hiccups during early access weekend for Premium edition owners spoiled the fun, unfortunately. Seriously counting on some in-game compensation from Microsoft…

To people saying it’s just another FH4, let me explain. The series has always had two words in its name, every time both of them being forza and horizon. It’s just the following number that kept changing, and boy… I wish every other numbered series improved at least as much from the previous iteration, simultaneously preserving its best features as successfully as FH5 does. 9/10

I started my Horizon adventure just early 2021 when FH4 came to Steam. Instantly loved it, by October I had all the achievements and cars excluding 4 pre-order machines. Understandably I awaited FH5 since it was announced during E3. After 30 hours I can say the new instalment exceeded my expectations. From the moment menu kicks in with its captivating music evoking Mexico vibe so much, till the [i]final[/i] Goliath race across the map, there’s so many aspects neatly executed here. It’s a step-up from the already good FH4 in almost every department. Graphics, lighting, map design (especially its huge verticality, which I haven’t seen in any other racing title to date). Audio, highlight of which being the sandstorm both looking and sounding insane. Everything is [i]bigger and better[/i]. 1.5x the map size of FH4. Longer drift zones. Online Forzathon events more fun to participate in. Online racing revamped in an immersive way (you drive to another destination with the same people you just raced with). Horizon Stories now having different episodes scattered throughout the world. Trailblazers, treasure hunts and [i]pinnable[/i] challenges incorporated from FH4’s DLC. Weekly festival playlist with new event types and twists (car brand/class restrictions for PR stunts – I’m looking at you). Mexico rendition is so sunny and vibrant compared to gloomy Britain, with every part of the narrative telling its interesting culture. Driving model has also been improved upon. It needs a bit of time to get used to. Cars have more weight to them so understanding (and utilizing) weight transfer rules while cornering is more important. There are assist and difficulty settings to help you with the learning curve. FH5 runs great on my old i7-6700 and GTX 1060 GB. 60fps, bit less in intensive races (1920x1200 display, 'high' graphics preset which the game recommended itself). This was a nice surprise as before the launch I was sure I’d need to sell my kidney to buy RTX 3060. Online connectivity hiccups during early access weekend for Premium edition owners spoiled the fun, unfortunately. Seriously counting on some in-game compensation from Microsoft… To people saying it’s just another FH4, let me explain. The series has always had two words in its name, every time both of them being [i]forza[/i] and [i]horizon[/i]. It’s just the following number that kept changing, and boy… I wish every other numbered series improved at least as much from the previous iteration, simultaneously preserving its best features as successfully as FH5 does. 9/10