Everybody has a game genre that they don’t pay attention to because it doesn’t interest them. For some it’s fighting games, for others it’s role-playing games. In my case, it’s racing games. Whenever a new Need for Speed or Gran Turismo gets announced at E3 or other events, I normally skip that part to get to something else. Yet, there is one exception that managed to grab my attention two years ago: Forza Horizon 3. I enjoyed playing that game so much and it was practically the only reason I used my Xbox One anymore. Now, Forza Horizon 4 is about to be released and let me tell you, it’s difficult for me to put the controller down.
Forza Horizon 4 is an open-world racing game that is filled with things to do and to discover. The in-game map is modeled after various locations in Great Britain and is packed with speed and drift zones, off-road races, “illegal” street races, stunt challenges, and so much more. In addition to these activities, there are also collectibles hidden all over, including breakable Influence (the game’s XP) boards, scenic beauty spots to take photos of, properties to purchase, and barns containing near-totaled wrecks of classic cars. If that isn’t enough, you can also create your own races, customize your car, take screenshots with the in-game photo mode and, of course, compete against other players in the multiplayer modes.
But the things mentioned above are standard in the Horizon series, so what’s new in Horizon 4? Well, there are two major changes: a shared-world experience with other players, and the seasons mechanic. The Horizon Festival is now a completely online experience (though it can be played offline as well since it requires Xbox Live Gold), which means it’s easier than ever to meet other players, join up with one another by creating a convoy together, and tackle events which require multiple players to overcome. While you’re cruising down the road, your map is filled with other players that you can instantly challenge with one button press. To avoid any potential griefing, other players are visible but untouchable (as in you drive right through them) until you’ve joined a convoy together or are taking part in an organized event together. If you play offline, you can still see other players, but those are actually the so-called “Drivatars” of them. These Drivatars are AI’s that have adjusted to the players’ style of driving. Say you are pretty good at drifting on the tarmac, but less so on mud or puddles, then your Drivatar will have the same strength and weaknesses with drifting. It’s not a new feature, but it’s a nice compromise for offline players.
The second huge addition to Forza Horizon 4 is seasonal changes. Each week, time passes in virtual Great Britain, which brings with it massive changes to the world’s terrain and limited-time events with exclusive rewards. In spring, the roads are covered in puddles and mud and rainfall makes navigating the roads a bit tricky, and in Winter, lakes are frozen solid and icy surfaces make snow tires imperative for avoiding some serious vehicular disasters. Each season has a distinct look and brings with it various gameplay challenges or advantages. The world of Horizon 4 was already big enough as it is, but now with four versions rotating each week, it almost feels downright overwhelming in the beginning. Whereas in previous games you’ve essentially memorized and mastered a map after a handful of hours of play, Horizon 4 keeps surprising you for weeks at a time as geography changes and new events pop up for you to take on.
Showcases return in Horizon 4, and this time around there are yet again some fun surprises. Fans of the series will know that showcases represent major milestones reached by the player and are some of the game’s biggest draws for newcomers. Horizon 4 manages to up the ante even further with some incredibly intricate events like having to race against a Hovercraft or a steam train and even including one Halo-themed event that has you racing a Warthog as the Master Chief himself, complete with Banshee pursuers, a Pelican flying overhead, and a Halo ring backdrop to makes this event a complete package. These events alone are worth playing through the game, even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of racing games.
Cars and customization continue to be a major part of the franchise, and even in this, there are more options than ever before. There are more than 450(!) cars in Forza Horizon 4 already, with dozens more already on the way through both free and paid DLC. And with the new mechanic that changes seasons each week, customizing your vehicle will be absolutely mandatory if you hope to be competitive. For those who would rather not get too deep into customization, you can just buy additional cars and use the auto-mod system to tune the vehicle for a specific season or set of conditions. Then you can just rotate vehicles depending on the season or event in question, which makes the experience relatively pain-free. However, I would heavily recommend to try out the customization options, even if you think it won’t be your thing. The UI, amount of options and clear changes each part provides makes tuning your car a fun experience on its own, especially if you manage to tune a car to behave just as you want it to.
The so-called “RPG” mechanics also make a return in Horizon 4, where banking skill points can be used to level up skill trees and make your life a bit easier. Since not everyone was a fan of the way the skill tree system worked in Horizon 3, the developers have listened to fan feedback and tweaked it. Instead of a skill tree for the player, each vehicle has its own tree with unique skills that can be upgraded as you earn skill points through extended use. Since you’re likely to switch cars fairly often, leveling up individual vehicles might lessen a feeling of overall progression, but after a while, you’ll learn to focus on leveling your favorite vehicles and build a special bond with the cars you’ve put a lot of time into playing with. In addition to buying skills, you’ll also level up in a variety of different categories, which earn you clothes for your in-game avatar, vehicles, credits, horns, emotes, and wheelspins. Wheelspins are every bit as addictive as they’ve been in the past and with more ways to level up than ever before, the game gives you every incentive to keep playing and earning awesome loot. Assigning a separate skill tree for each car is also a great way to motivate you to keep driving in the same car. In order to unlock every skill, you have to spend quite some time with the car and pull off different kinds of moves (like a quick J-turn or near misses with other cars). This results in you knowing how every car drives and behaves and thus eventually makes it easier for you to pick the right car in a race.
Whenever Microsoft wants to show off the graphical power of their consoles, most of the times they use Forza. The reason why is easy to see once you’ve played a Forza game and seen how beautiful those games can look. Horizon 4 is no exception and looks simply amazing, even on a standard Xbox One. The colors are vibrant, the cars are as detailed as ever and the new seasons mechanic bring out the beauty of nature. The framerate is locked at 30 fps, but if you have an Xbox One X (or a powerful PC) it is locked at 60 and offers the support for HDR. The sound design is equally fantastic and shows how much care the developers put in making sure each car sounds like how it would in real life. The only downside in terms of sound is that with the closure of Groove a while ago, it’s not possible to use your own music in the game, unlike in Horizon 3. The included soundtrack is great but I can see this being an issue with some fans of the series.
Conclusion
I’ll be honest, in private I often joke with my friends about how our Xbox Ones are collecting dust and how there are little to no worthy exclusives to play on it. But that is about to change because Forza Horizon 4 is easily one of the best exclusives I’ve played in recent years and it might even be my personal pick for GOTY 2018. It’s a fantastic racing game that will keep you invested for weeks with its seasons mechanic and many activities. The gameplay is great, the visuals are great, the shared world with other players is great… What more can I say to tell you how much I enjoy playing this game? It’s my new favorite racing game and I think many others will reach the same conclusion, which is why I give Forza Horizon 4 the perfect score and a strong recommendation to everyone with an Xbox One (or powerful PC) to play it.
