Forza Horizon 4
Publisher: Microsoft Studios
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Platforms: Xbox One, PC
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Driving
Tis The Season
Written by Jesse Seilhan
Simulation versus arcade. This is an age-old battle in almost all video game genres, but sports, and specifically racing, has had to choose one or the other since the dawn of digital time. Go too far toward the hobbyists and you lose the joy of doing dumb car stuff with your friends. Lean too much into wackiness and car purists won’t touch the game at all. The Forza franchise has had it both ways, taking turns pleasing both crowds year after year, putting out Forza Motorsport on odd-numbered years while throwing in a Forza Horizon every even one. This year, we got Forza Horizon 4, the latest giant open-world racer from Playground Games, built from the ground up for high-end PCs and the Xbox One X. It is, without a doubt, the best looking racer to ever hit the market, chock full of hundreds upon hundreds of vehicles and just as many hours of gameplay. But is there more under the hood?
If you’ve played or seen one of the Horizons before, you know the general structure: there is a gigantic music festival taking place and it’s up to you to drive around the world, racing, drifting, and tearing up the roads one kilometer at a time. This year, the structure is the same but the progression is drastically improved. Prior games never forced you to play a certain way, but FH4 actively rewards you for trying just about everything. Each event type (head to head race, drift zone, speed trap, etc.) has its own progression available. Every level you hit earns you some sort of goody, from a stack of cash to spend on cars or a chance to spin the wheel of car fortune, which can grant everything from cars to dances. Yes, you can now customize a character and equip dances to perform after you’ve won a race or pulled off to the side to check out the returning Beauty Spots. It’s silly to watch your dude or lady floss next to a pond, but why not give it a whirl?
What makes this year’s entry so special are seasons. While other games have instituted weather effects before, they’re never so bold as to completely transform the world for seven straight days, altering the events and environments in a fundamental way. Each Thursday, the leaves change and you go from one season to the next, regardless of your level or location. Lakes freeze over in the winter, drift zones become mud pits in the spring, fields become lush in the summer, and brown leaves fill the road in the fall. Your vehicles can be modified for each season, if need be, but most high-end vehicles perform well no matter what time of the year it is. This baked in switch-up does give you a good reason to play with new toys week to week, trying out thick tire trucks in the winter and slick foreign speedsters in the summer, each with their own unique handling and feel.
The rest of the package is as stylish as usual, with great radio station diversity letting you rock out in Edinburgh or rave through the English countryside. Showcases return, where players can race against completely unique vehicles such as BMX bikes or a train. One of them is an awesome nod to fans of the Halo franchise, putting you in the driver seat of a Warthog while you and Cortana race to outrun a Covenant fleet before they destroy the planet. Mini-storylines are also present in a few events, including a love letter to racing videogames. A 10-stage journey lets you air out some of the most famous video game vehicles of all time, from the Outrun Ferrari Testarossa Spider to the Porsche 911. This trip down gaming’s memory lane is awesome and should be a joy to anyone that grew up with Namco, Sega, and more.
Most gamers know if they are into simulation or arcade, but Forza makes the case that you can do both. There is realistic damage modeling, but nothing that truly affects your ability to drive. You can ride in a litany of insane cars both old school and modern, but you don’t need to know a lug nut from a wrist watch to have fun. There are tuner options and an extensive car detailing system, for those with that touch, but the game never makes you feel bad for not dabbling. Throw in a top-notch photo mode and you have the recipe for the best racing game of the generation and a high water mark for years to come.