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Forza Horizon 5

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Forza Horizon 5
A black 'F'-shaped logo appears over black text that reads 'FORZA'. A parallelogram with a left-to-right orange-magenta gradient with 'HORIZON' in italic white text and a magenta '5' to the parallelogram's right appear underneath 'FORZA'. The logo and text are imposed over the sky above a Mexican coastline showing mountains and a coastal village in the background. The middleground and foreground shows three vehicles; a red Mercedes-AMG sportscar speeds through a dirt road in the foreground, while two Ford Bronco SUVs, one grey and one orange, drive off-road in the middleground, with the grey SUV airborne.
Cover art featuring a Mercedes-AMG One (foreground) and two 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands[1][2]
Developer(s)Playground Games[b]
Publisher(s)Xbox Game Studios
Director(s)Mike Brown
Designer(s)Ryan Greene
Programmer(s)Matt Craven
Artist(s)Don Arceta
SeriesForza
Platform(s)
Release9 November 2021[a]
Genre(s)Racing
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Forza Horizon 5 is a 2021 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. It is the fifth Forza Horizon title and twelfth main instalment in the Forza series. The game is set in a fictionalised representation of Mexico. It was released on 9 November 2021[a] for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

The game received critical acclaim and became a huge commercial success upon release; it launched to over ten million players in its first week of full availability, the biggest-ever launch for an Xbox Game Studios title.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Forza Horizon 5; here, a player is racing a Lamborghini Diablo SV against an opponent in a street race.

Forza Horizon 5 is a racing video game set in an open world environment based in a fictional representation of Mexico.[4] The game has the largest map in the entire Forza Horizon series, being 50% larger than Forza Horizon 4 while also having the highest point in the Horizon series.[5][6] The map was described by creative director Mike Brown as one of the most diverse Forza Horizon maps the team has built.[7] The map contains an active caldera volcano, jungles and beaches, ancient Mayan temples, and towns and cities such as Guanajuato. Players can explore the open world freely, though they can also compete in multiplayer races and complete the campaign mode. Both the cars featured in the game and the player character can be extensively customised.[8] Players are able to create custom liveries and tunes for cars, and perform engine swaps, drivetrain swaps, or install body kits on certain vehicles. The game is the first in the franchise to support ray tracing on cars (although this is only available in ForzaVista).[9]

The game introduces a new weather system (local weather) in which players can visit one side of the map and can visibly see a storm. Because Mexico is such a vast nation with such a wide range of elevations, multiple climates would appear in the game at around the same time. The four seasons still exist but would affect the eleven unique biomes around the map. For example, in the dry season, dust storms will appear, while tropical storms occur throughout the fall storm season.[10] Another detail is in the jungle, in which the environment would now react to the weather; an example of this is leaves flying everywhere.[11][12]

Forza Horizon 5 also introduces a brand new Horizon Arcade. This consists of a series of mini-multiplayer games strewn across the map. One of these mini-multiplayer games is called "Piñata pop" where the Horizon Festival's cargo plane drops piñatas. The goal is to pop as many piñatas as they can with the help of other players. It also introduces the "EventLab", a toolset in which players can create custom games, races, and more depending on their personal preference.[13] A new feature called "Forza Link" was introduced. According to Brown, it is an AI assistant that tracks the current statuses of players, helping them to link with other players online and play together. Forza Link can also link players' GPS systems if they accept the invitation from another player.[8]

Accolades, new to the Forza Horizon series, allow players to collect points and prizes for completing certain tasks. Some vehicles can only be unlocked through the completion of the Accolades. There are over 1,800 accolades for the player to achieve.[14]

The Eliminator battle royale game mode introduced in Forza Horizon 4 returns.[15] The world is designed for the mode unlike the previous game, which received The Eliminator after launch.[16] As in the previous game, players can buy in-game houses, which can unlock rewards such as Wheelspins. The game features over 500 licensed vehicles.

Development

Forza Horizon 5 was developed by Playground Games. The goal for the team was to create a game whose scale was significantly larger than its predecessors. The team chose Mexico as the game's setting due to its diverse and varied landscape. The team partnered with Mexican artists to create the in-game murals, and Mexican musicians to create the in-game soundtracks. It also sent a team to visit Mexico to capture real-world light and sky data.[17] The game utilised photogrammetry data extensively in order to make the game's virtual environment to look similar to its real-life counterpart.[17][18] An example of this is the rocks in the side of the caldera volcano where they can be viewed with such detail.[19] Individual objects, such as the needles of cholla cacti, can also be displayed by the game (although this is only available for the Xbox Series consoles as of now).[20]

Forza Horizon 5 was announced during Microsoft and Bethesda's showcase at E3 2021. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S on 9 November 2021.[21][22][a]

Reception

Forza Horizon 5 received "universal acclaim" according to review aggregator Metacritic.[23][24] PCGamesN awarded the game a 9 out of 10, stating "Familiar, excellent, and polished to a degree that hardly seems possible. If you love taking vintage Porsches for joyrides through environments that’d have a poet bawling then you're going to be very happy here."[31]

Commercial performance

Before the game's release on 9 November, over 1.2 million players had accessed the game by buying either the premium edition of the game or the premium add-ons bundle as an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, with Video Game Chronicle estimating gross revenue between $54 million and $118 million before release.[32] The game also reached #1 on the Steam weekly charts for the week of 1 to 7 November 2021.[33] Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, announced on 9 November that more than 4.5 million people have played the game in less than 24 hours after launch, the largest launch for an Xbox Game Studios game, while it also held three times more concurrent players than Forza Horizon 4.[34] On 18 November, the official Forza Horizon Twitter account announced that over ten million people have played the game during its first week of release, the largest amount of players for a game's first week in the Xbox brand's history.[35][36] Writing for Forbes, Erik Kain attributes the game's success to its at-launch availability on Xbox Game Pass, cross-platform play between Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, its cloud gaming support via Xbox Cloud Gaming, and the high quality of the game itself.[36]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c The Premium Edition of the game was released on 5 November 2021, while the Standard and Deluxe editions were released on 9 November.
  2. ^ Additional work was provided by Sumo Digital.[3]

References

  1. ^ Boddy, Zachary (24 August 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 cover car finally unveiled at Xbox Gamescom 2021 event". Windows Central. Retrieved 7 September 2021. The 2021 Mercedes-AMG Project ONE supercar looks dashing in red, and absolutely dominates the front of Forza Horizon 5's slick cover art. [...] The Project ONE isn't alone, however, as Forza Horizon 5's cover art features not one, but two 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands racing alongside the aforementioned supercar.
  2. ^ Walsh, Alan (7 September 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 | Confirmed Car List". forzamotorsport.net. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Sumo Digital Studios announce support on the development of Forza Horizon 5". Sumo Digital. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  4. ^ Good, Owen S. (13 June 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 makes a run for Mexico in November". Polygon. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Forza Motorsport - Experience Forza Horizon 5 PC in Striking Detail". forzamotorsport.net. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Here's everything you need to know about Forza Horizon 5's map". Windows Central. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  7. ^ Reilly, Luke (14 June 2021). "In-Depth with Forza Horizon 5: 'The Largest, Most Diverse Horizon Ever'". IGN. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  8. ^ Ridley, Jacob (14 June 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 looks like a truly 'next-gen' game". PC Gamer. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  9. ^ Clayton, Natalie (15 June 2021). "Seasons return in Forza Horizon 5, with one important twist". PC Gamer. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  10. ^ Clayton, Natalie (15 June 2021). "Seasons return in Forza Horizon 5, with one important twist". PC Gamer. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  11. ^ "'Forza Horizon 5' will bring back seasonal weather, but with a new change". NME. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  12. ^ Welsh, Oli (17 June 2021). "The big Forza Horizon 5 interview: "There's not any point being bigger if it's more of the same"". Eurogamer. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  13. ^ "What are Accolades & How Do They Work in Forza Horizon 5?". Gamer Tweak. 5 November 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  14. ^ Studley, Chris (12 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5: How to play in The Eliminator and how it works". Gamepur. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  15. ^ Carey, Sean (9 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 devs talk multiplayer, social gaming, and how to win The Eliminator". TrueAchievements. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  16. ^ a b Regan, Tom (21 June 2021). "Forza Horizon 5: Everything we know about the new Xbox racer". GamesRadar. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  17. ^ Leadbetter, Richard (17 June 2021). "How Forza Horizon 5 scales across the console generations". Eurogamer. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  18. ^ "In-Depth with Forza Horizon 5: 'The Largest, Most Diverse Horizon Ever'". IGN Southeast Asia. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Forza Horizon 5 Is Very Proud Of Its Mexican Cactus Needles". Kotaku. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  20. ^ "Forza Horizon 5 Announced, Takes the Series to Mexico - E3 2021". IGN Southeast Asia. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  21. ^ "Forza Horizon 5 Is The Biggest And Most Diverse Game In Series History". GameSpot. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Forza Horizon 5 for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  23. ^ a b "Forza Horizon 5 for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  24. ^ Shea, Brian (4 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 Review – Firing On All Cylinders". Game Informer. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  25. ^ Barbosa, Alessandro (4 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 Review - It's About Four-Wheeled Family". GameSpot. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  26. ^ Wald, Heather (4 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 Review: "Playground Games' most exciting and beautifully crafted entry yet"". GamesRadar. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  27. ^ Reilly, Luke (4 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 Review". IGN. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  28. ^ Savage, Phil (4 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  29. ^ Minotti, Mike (4 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 review — Graphics matter". VentureBeat. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Forza Horizon 5 review – gone hooning". PCGamesN. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  31. ^ Scullion, Chris (10 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 is Xbox Game Studios' 'biggest ever launch day'". Video Game Chronicle. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
  32. ^ Jasper, Pieter "SuikerBrood" (7 November 2021). "Forza Horizon 5 already has a million players, days before launch (and tops the weekly Steam charts too!)". XboxEra. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  33. ^ Spencer, Phil [@XboxP3] (9 November 2021). "We've invested for years in Xbox so more people can play. With 4.5+ million players so far across PC, cloud & console, Forza Horizon 5 shows that promise coming to life. Largest launch day for XGS game, peak concurrent 3x FH4 high. Thank you players & congrats to @WeArePlayground" (Tweet). Retrieved 10 November 2021 – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ^ Forza Horizon [@ForzaHorizon] (18 November 2021). "Thank you to the more than 10M #ForzaHorizon5 fans for the biggest first week in @Xbox history and @XboxGamePass EVER. GG!" (Tweet). Retrieved 19 November 2021 – via Twitter.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ^ a b Kain, Erik (19 November 2021). "How 'Forza Horizon 5' Became The Biggest Xbox Game Ever In Its First Week". Forbes. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
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