Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure review - Dust, dirt, and monotony

Forza Horizon 5's latest DLC, Rally Adventure, was easily the most fun I've had playing the game in the last five to six months. While I adore the game, its unapologetically open-ended progression, and the vast open world of Mexico, I was getting a bit tired of playing the same races, going through the festival playlist, and unlocking almost unchanged sets of rewards every week.

With Rally Adventure adding new tracks, an entirely new part of Mexico to explore, and some cool rally-inspired cars, I was genuinely excited to once again get back into the game after having shelved it for almost half a year. For the most part, I did end up enjoying Rally Adventure. I clocked in around 40 hours of playtime and completed nearly everything the DLC offers.

However, there are also quite that few things in this brand-new piece of content for Forza Horizon 5 that had me scratching my head in frustration. While I did enjoy unlocking new cars, going through rally-inspired race events, and tinkering with the anti-lag and traction control features, I was not nearly as impressed with Rally Adventure as I was with the previous Forza Horizon DLCs.

Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure basically turns the game into WRC with its rally-inspired race events and tracks

The rally-inspired progression system and races impressed me

What really took me by surprise was the attention to detail Playground Games poured into every aspect of the Rally Adventure DLC. The studio went all out, from rally-inspired tuning options and new cars to the dirt tracks of Sierra Nueva and even the single-player progression system.

Playground Games completely reworked how races work in Rally Adventure, making it more akin to Codemaster's Dirt Rally games.

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The races in Rally Adventure usually cycle between the usual sprints and circuits. However, what makes these races new is the split times and rally-inspired progression. Instead of competing against other racers in real time, you get to compete against their split times and try to get a better average lap time before finishing your final lap.

The races do take some time to get used to, but once you get the hang of them, it becomes a joy to compete against the drivatars of your friends or other players on the offroad tracks.

Although Sierra Nueva is mostly an offroad-focused map, it also features ample asphalt tracks for players to cruise the map on their favorite S1, S2, or X-class hypercars (Image via Forza Horizon 5)

On the topic of tracks, the newly added map of Mexico makes for an incredibly fun offroading experience. While there are a few asphalt sections and tracks in which you can drive your X-class hypercars, most of the map is basically a giant offroad sandbox.

Keeping with the theme of WRC and rally racing, most of the tracks in Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure are offroad tracks with a few asphalt sections thrown in for good measure.

The split-times and narrator callout are easily one of the best new additions in Rally Adventure (Image via Forza Horizon 5)

Apart from just adding split times, Playground Games also added the option for navigator callouts to better sell the immersion of rally racing. I really liked this addition to the game. Instead of relying on racing lines, having to depend on the callouts from the co-driver was undeniably fun.

New offroad cars, exclusive tuning options, and an entirely new Horizon festival

As is the tradition of a Forza Horizon DLC, the Rally Adventure expansion comes packed with not only an entirely new map but also a handful of new cars, all themed around rally racing and offroading.

The new cars included with the DLC are as follows:

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum
2001 #4 Ford Focus RS WRC
1973 Hoonigan Volkswagen Baja Beetle Class 5/1600 ‘Scumbug’
2021 RJ Anderson #37 Polaris RZR Pro 4 Truck
2019 Casey Currie Motorsports #4402 Ultra 4 ‘Trophy Jeep’
2021 Alumicraft #122 Class 1 Buggy
2022 Alumicraft #6165 Trick Truck
2021 Polaris RZR Pro XP Factory Racing Limited Edition
2020 Jimco #179 Hammerhead Class 1
2019 Jimco #240 Fastball Racing Spec Trophy Truck

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I love every single new vehicle added to the game with the Rally Adventure DLC, especially the 1973 Hoonigan Volkswagen Baja Beetle, which is my personal favorite, with an anti-lag turbo installed. However, I do somewhat feel a little underwhelmed by the roster.

I did expect some over-the-top cars like the ones added with the Hot Wheels DLC. However, for the most part, all the newly added automobiles with the Rally Adventure DLC are nothing more than a better version of already available offroad cars from the base game.

The new Horizon Festival site in Rally Adventure (Image via Forza Horizon 5)

While the Baja Beetle and Lightning Platinum are technically new vehicles, they weren't as unique as the Hot Wheels cars added with the previous DLC. However, what did amaze me with the Rally Adventure DLC were the new tuning options, especially anti-lag and launch control.

Anti-lag and launch control steal the show in Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure

Anti-lag is an upgrade you can choose for your car's turbo. It gives the car an aggressive exhaust sound. If you've played any of the recent Need for Speed games, you'll feel right at home with the anti-lag system.

Launch control, on the other hand, gives you control of how fast you can accelerate in a straight line, making it suitable for drag races.

You can install anti-lag turbo from the custom tuning menu (Image via Forza Horizon 5)

It's also amazing that Playground Games made these tuning options available to all players regardless of whether they own Rally Adventure, allowing them to try out anti-lag turbo and launch control for themselves. As a massive fan of JDM culture and drag racing, I really appreciate these new additions.

Being able to customize the sound of your exhaust, making it more aggressive, and getting full control over the launch acceleration of my car are features that I, along with many players, have been asking for since the game's launch in 2021. I'm really happy that these features have finally been implemented in the game without any restrictions attached.

Things about Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure that make the experience monotonous and boring

While I did enjoy my time with Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure, I would be lying if I said I did not feel bored after a certain point.

The very first issue I have with the DLC, or rather the game itself, is the story, or lack thereof. I don't want a thought-provoking narrative in my arcade racing game, but what I do want is a somewhat competent and engaging narrative that binds the single-player activities together.

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Unfortunately, Forza Horizon 5 and none of its DLCs ever came close to delivering that. Much of the dialogue is as cringeworthy as they come, and the character interactions feel robotic and comical. I like the approach The Crew 2 takes with its single-player "narrative," where it entirely ditches all the non-essential dialogue and character interactions.

Thankfully, the story and the characters do not get in your way while you are going through events, which makes them somewhat tolerable.

What does come in the way of regular gameplay, however, is the rather repetitive race events and PR stunts. If you have played the base game of Forza Horizon 5 and completed every single race event, I don't think you will find anything new in the Rally Adventure DLC.

The map of Sierra Nueva is a visual treat, especially for fans of offroad and rally racing (Image via Forza Horizon 5)

While there are a few new cars, tracks, rewards, and a rally-inspired progression system, nothing is truly as substantial as to warrant an additional purchase.

I personally think this DLC should've been part of a free update instead of a full-on expansion. But then again, if you can grab the DLC or the Premium Edition upgrade at a steep discount, it's totally worth it.

PC performance is solid for Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure

To finish this review on a positive note, the PC performance of Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure is as solid as you would expect. I played through the entire DLC (as well as the base game and the Hot Wheels expansion) on my moderately-spec'd PC, including a Ryzen 5 5600, GTX 1650 Super, and 16 GB DDR4 RAM, with the game installed on an m.2 SSD.

The new map of Sierra Nueva can look breathtakingly beautiful at times (Image via Forza Horizon 5)

For the most part, Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure ran at a flawless 60+fps at high settings in 1080p, with occasional dips to the upper 50s, especially during thunderstorms. I don't have any complaints regarding the game's performance.

Also, on a side note, I noticed that the game's loading times have drastically improved with the new update. This includes loading into the game, race events, or even the shader compilation when you first boot Forza Horizon 5 up on PC.

In conclusion

Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure is a cool new additional piece of content that you will definitely enjoy if you're looking for more of the same arcade racing goodness that you got to experience in the base game. Features such as anti-lag and launch control are welcome new additions to the game.

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Although the Rally Adventure DLC does not break any new grounds, what it does best is offer players a vast open sandbox to live out the fantasy of becoming a rally racing superstar.

The game can feel monotonous, especially for players who have spent countless hours in the base game. However, it is still a fun new piece of content that offers hours of racing fun to be had either solo or with a group of friends. It's a fantastic DLC that you shouldn't miss out on, especially if you are a fan of rally racing or offroading in general.