After exploring the exciting world of Forza Horizon 5 for over 100+ hours, we at TheSportsRush pit the new Microsoft exclusive against its predecessor to see how it fares.
Forza Horizon 4 was released on 28th September 2018 to great fanfare and appreciation. And, more or less set the bar for open-world racing games to a higher level.
Boasting of having the largest map in the series during its period, the option to explore terrains in all four seasons, and a Hot Wheels tie-up, it was one of the best-selling Microsoft games.
Three years later, the next addition to the Forza Horizon series has once again taken the world by storm. Hence, we have packed this article with all the necessary details to make it a comparison worth your time.
Cover Designs and new format.
Wallpaper Wednesday means you can take a break from playing #ForzaHorizon5 to look at your phone and THINK about #ForzaHorizon5. pic.twitter.com/8uiZ8cnVNV
— Forza Horizon (@ForzaHorizon) November 10, 2021
FH 4 has the McLaren Senna and the Land Rover Defender on its cover in all its flashy glory. FH 5 ups the ante by adding 3 cars to the cover, which is a first for a Forza Horizon cover. The cars featured are the Mercedes AMG One and two(grey, yellow) Ford Bronco Badlands.
Gameplay, Immersion and Physics in Forza Horizon 5.
Forza Horizon 5: four different consoles, six different modes in all – and we’ve tested them all. This is how Playground Games’ exceptional work scales across Xbox One and Xbox Series hardware: https://t.co/RteqsksrOS pic.twitter.com/weQzNPfu6z
— Digital Foundry (@digitalfoundry) November 5, 2021
With an overall gaming experience of 18,000+ hours and a keen eye for detail, our in-house tester had quite a lot to say about FH 5 and the overall look and feel of the game in comparison to its predecessor.
FH 4, during its time of release, bragged of having the largest map in the series. The game was set in Britain and also allowed the player to explore the country in all 4 seasons. It was the developer’s first attempt in including varying weather patterns.
FH 5 is set in Mexico, marking a return to North America after 9 years. The map is significantly larger and allows the player to venture around the country and soak in its diversity.
It is a breath of fresh air from a relatively uniform map of Britain in FH 4. This is by far the largest map Playground Games have developed so far and also happens to be the most varied map.
The garage is just as grand as the map and has over 500 vehicles. The collection eclipses all the previous Forza Horizon outings and its rivals
Is the visual prowess immersive enough? Not quite, due to console limitations.
Speaking of garages and vehicles, the tool accessibility is comparatively easier. But, there are no major upgrades when it comes to the colour palettes. One’s quest for vibrancy can only be accomplished manually.
Some striking improvements have been made to the custom tunes and Driver aids. The change in Car physics is slight but noticeable.
Audio has been revamped to the point where one can distinguish the effects that changes in performance parts can bring to the sound of a car.
📆Coming November 9th
🇲🇽The largest, most diverse map in #Forza Horizon history.
🎮Available on Xbox One, Series X|S, Win10 and Steam#PlayDayOne with @XboxGamePassPreorder now: https://t.co/dvzeRAiawK
Wishlist: https://t.co/jk7ZEojl5E— Forza Horizon (@ForzaHorizon) June 15, 2021
The in-game custom event-building tools allow players to build events. They are on par with the ones built by the developers.
FH 4 had an exclusive tie-up with Hot Wheels. FH 5 takes it up a notch by partnering with Lego, a bond that is relatively successful in comparison to their collaboration with Hot Wheels.
Lastly, FH 5 has just as many video game photography moments as its predecessor.
Let’s talk EventLab.
This enormously powerful tool lets you create the game you want to play. Let us walk you through how it works: https://t.co/uNMjLtzpVg pic.twitter.com/NpW2ivNl0x
— Forza Horizon (@ForzaHorizon) November 9, 2021
Also read: T1 amidst discussions to sign Valorant pro-gamer Steel to their roster.
System requirements and compatibility for Forza Horizon 5.
When everybody plays, we all win. It’s great to see how @ForzaHorizon 5, launching today, is helping to make games more accessible for everyone. https://t.co/fJbOXBCI5f
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 9, 2021
The game is truly accessible. Even though the minimum requirements for the PC have increased, it is not by much in 3 years.
FH4 required 2 cores at 2.8GHz, 8GB of RAM, 2GB of Gddr5 VRAM. The current edition requires 4cores at 3.2 GHz, 8GB of RAM and 4GB of Gddr6 memory.
As usual, no hope for PlayStation enthusiasts to try the game, other than Xbox or Windows PC. The Steering Wheel users will experience some bugs. Patch fixes are coming shortly next week.
As of now, no official launch dates for Nintendo handhelds. We are yet to see the performance on Windows handhelds and Steam Deck.
Also read: Riders Republic: How does Ubisoft’s new Open-world title fare against modern titles?
