Unquestionably, one of the standout titles from E3 2018, there was also a certain level of expectation for this fourth title in the Horizon sub-series of Microsoft’s exclusive Forza series for which this marks its 11th entry total. As with the previous Horizon games the focus is as always about taking the racing off the racetracks and into the open world, which this time sees the game landing in the UK, or more precisely, Scotland.
For those not familiar with the series, the Horizon games have always straddled the line between being a driving simulation like Gran Turismo and the arcade racers like Burnout and Need for Speed and certainly nothing changes here, but then if the formula works why change it? Instead, series Developer Playground Games have made little tweaks, the most notable perhaps being the introduction of seasons.
While seasonal racing might initially not seem like much here it really changes your racing experience much less the areas available to race in as lakes freeze in winter while tracks get muddier in Autumn. Initially, the season changes happen once you meet the points criteria but once you get into the main rankings of the game the season changes happen on a weekly basis with each season change being introduced with a fun cut scene showing the changes to the landscape.
As with the previous Horizon games it’s really down to you to choose what you do in this large open world, one that combines cityscapes with rural areas and mountains to race around if one of the many events scattered around the map or even just explore in your favourite ride. Even outside of the racing there is plenty to do with influence boards to smash, stunt jumps, speed traps and even tourist spots to visit, all which help break up the gameplay.
To complement this smorgasbord of racing delights there is also over 450 cars to collect and race with this entry seeing the selection, especially with its Barn finds and James Bond DLC seeing the selection really having a British feel including some rather unique choices like the white panel van and the Limo all which can be customised and tuned to meet your racing requirements and with a staggering amount of talent user created content already available it’s not hard to create your own unique ride.
This latest addition to the series also sees for the first time an introduction of a shared universe instead of AI-driven avatars with servers able to host up to 72 racers at a time. It really adds a whole new level to the experience as it enables the ability to cruise your favourite routes with friends or even throw down spontaneous race challenges. Of course whenever you have a shared open world, the constant fear is how the trolls will screw it up though thankfully it’s something that is countered by collisions being removed as cars instead ghost each other.
Even if this is your first entry into the series this is an easy game to pick up even for the more casual racing fan. With its stunning graphics and wide variety of gameplay, it is nothing short of a standout exclusive for the Xbox while the fact that it’s also available through Game Pass only helps add to its appeal.