I’ve been a fan of the Forza franchise ever since I first played Forza Motorsport 4 on the Xbox 360. Since then, my love of racing simulators has only grown. While I also love the Forza Horizon series for its slick visuals and arcade-style mechanics, I’ve longed for a solid follow-up to the mainline long-running Microsoft exclusive series.
In the meantime, Gran Turismo 7 on the PlayStation 5 has certainly gained my attention over the past year or so, but I’m glad that fans of this franchise now have a long-awaited sequel that provides a sense of authenticity and quality.
While I would have loved more from the nitty gritty upgrade system, which requires a steep commitment to particular cars, there’s so much to love about Forza Motorsport, from the solid multiplayer offerings to fantastic visuals and addictive mechanics.
The Perfect Turn
Let’s get the most important aspects of Forza Motorsport out of the way; the controls and mechanics. Put simply, Forza Motorsport feels as good as it ever had out there on the track. The handling is weighty while the controls remain incredibly responsive, adding up to some of the most impressive physics I’ve seen in a racing game to date.
While there are plenty of accessibility options to fine-tune the experience for either beginner, intermediate or pro racers, I feel as though the initial driving assistance settings that are automatically ready to go when setting up the game, are a little too much. The Blind Drive Assist feature, however, is a fantastic inclusion. Audio cues break down the entire experience when racing, prompting players when it’s time to apply the throttle, or brake when coming off the apex of a turn.
That being said, the amount of adjustments that can be made to tailor your experience is a welcome one, from steering assistance, all the way to guided braking and acceleration around more difficult areas of the track. It is in these moments that Forza Motorsport allows you to feel like you’re the master of the vehicle at any given time, as opposed to punishing you because you’re a bit of a speed demon.
Thankfully, the impressive physics always implies a sense of control and accuracy, making mistakes feel like the true result of user error, as opposed to poor mechanics. Overall grip and weight have also been improved, allowing racers to get a feel for the track when braking around turns, with cars reacting to the tension and pull of a tight corner, giving you time to ease off the throttle and adjust, before spinning out.
It’s an incredibly satisfying balance that never lets up, even if the various vehicles on offer do a great job of presenting accurate physics and handling. As a result, this makes general gameplay an absolute breeze with a controller, even if the simulator is always the best way to play. Forza Motorsport even includes a cabin view without the steering wheel in the way, should you want to use yours, but even adds animations in the cabin for those using a controller, so that the wheel turns the entire way over itself, instead of the solid and jarring 90 degree turns, that have never really looked that realistic in the first place.
Ways to Race
Forza Motorsport offers a number of ways to race, across both single-player and online modes. The Free Play mode allows you to jump behind the wheel of any vehicle and on any track, across 20 of the finest circuits you can think of, including the Nürburgring GP and Silverstone Circuit to name a few. They even feature some impressive lighting effects and dynamic day-to-night cycles as well.
It’s definitely the most robust experience in terms of overall variety, but it’s worth noting here that while the car will level up, unlocking new upgrades, you won’t earn any Car Points here to spend on them. It’s a shame that this is the case, as most vehicles require a consistent sense of dedication and borderline favouritism in order to get anywhere in the first place.
The Career mode has been brought back to its roots and sees you starting out with slower cars in various tournaments, as you work your way up the ranks in faster cars. It’s relatively straightforward, but rarely keeps you off the track for too long.
Across all races, you’ll be able to jump into practices and qualifying laps to gain the upper hand, or even utilise the Risk vs Reward feature, which allows you to start in a lower position in order to gain more Car Points. It’s passable, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t lacking a certain amount of depth, when other racing games like F1 23 for example, are incorporating narratives and team management aspects into their main career modes.
Forza Motorsport also allows racers to compete online both socially in single and private races, to more competitive leaderboard fares against the best, which include scheduled races and weekend events, filled with a practice session, qualifying laps and a final race.
There’s even a new Rivals mode, which now allows racers to compete against the AI-controlled ghosts of the best racers in the world, in order to compete for the best times on those leaderboards. I can appreciate the variety throughout these solid offerings, which build upon many of the progression mechanics found in the single-player career mode, making no race feel pointless or unwarranted as you beef up your favourite rides.
Pimp My Ride
You’ll race through career and online modes to earn the aforementioned Car Points, which serve as the main currency used to purchase upgrades for each of your vehicles. The only real gripe I have with this system is that they are only made available to the cars you choose to take out onto the track, rewarding loyalty to your favourites, but sacrificing variety in the long run.
While I love my Honda Civic Type-R and had upgraded it accordingly, it can be a little annoying when I want to jump into anything else, only to find it as stock as a rock and locked away from some of the cooler upgrades, with no Car Points to buy them with.
You’ll still be able to choose from more than 800 performance and cosmetic upgrades like fuel systems, weight distribution, better tyres, body kits and even new drivetrains. While you can choose the Quick Upgrade option to let the game decide for you, the nitty gritty customisation feels a little stripped back here, as they require so much time with a particular vehicle, to culminate in anything that feels complete or ultimately satisfying.
When you just want to jump in for a quick practice session or an online race, that feeling of rising accomplishment fades relatively early when you realise the amount of work that you’re in for.
Look the Part
It’s crazy to think that Forza Motorsport offers fewer vehicles to race around in when compared to previous titles. Mainly because there are still 500 available. From all countries and classes, there’s still more to choose from than you can poke a steering wheel at. I’m a sucker for Aussie cars in any game, and was glad to see one of my favourite classic cars, the 1973 Ford XB Falcon GT make an appearance. Shout out to Mad Max.
But I would be lying if I also didn’t melt when I got the chance to choose between a 2017 Mustang, 2019 Subaru STI and 2018 Honda Civic Type-R as my first car. As a fan of JDM (Japanese Domestic Market), I chose that gorgeous Type-R in the best colour, Championship White.
Regardless of what car you’re choosing over the course of your time with it, each of them looks simply stunning. Each recreation is lifelike and eerily accurate. I like to use the cabin view when driving, and I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw the interior of the Honda Civic Type-R, having been in one myself. They all sound great too, from the confident roar of the muscle cars to the screech and crackle of a skating four-cylinder rocket.
The game also runs great on the Xbox Series X. Running in 4K at 60fps, there’s not really much to complain about. While frame rate drops are generally common, there’s none that really stuck out to me in Forza Motorsport in any meaningful way.
The experience is however split between three performance modes, namely Viusals, which will provide 4K dynamic scaling and Ray Tracing at 30fps, Performance Ray Tracing, which targets a 4K 60fps setting but loses clarity in both track and environmental textures, and lastly, a Performance mode that locks in a 4K resolution at 60fps, with next to no frame rate drops.
Final Thoughts
There’s a fantastic racing game layered into Forza Motorsport. Tedious progression and basic Career mode aside, the various ways to race both alone and online are worth the price of admission alone. Then there’s the sleek visuals and solid performance.
It all comes together to create a largely satisfying racer that builds upon everything it has learnt so far, to create something that is confident and capable for a new generation of racers and platforms alike.
FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Highlights: Fantastic gameplay physics and responsive controls; Incredible visuals and performance; Online racing is deep and engaging; Various accessibility options
Lowlights: General customisation feels a little weak and tedious at times when compared to previous titles
Developer: Turn 10 Studios, Sumo Digital, Playground Games
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation, Microsoft Game Studios, Xbox Game Studios
Platforms: Xbox Series X/S, Windows PC
Available: Now
Review conducted on Xbox Series X with a code provided by the publisher.
