Forza Motorsport review: The quintessential racing-sim experience

Forza Motorsport is a franchise that I hold very near and dear to my heart. It is the series that brought me close to my passion for the racing game genre. It's also the one that taught me how to truly appreciate these engineering marvels we call cars. As such, you can only imagine how excited I was when I started my journey with the latest Forza Motorsport.

Although I was (and still am) someone who mostly prefers arcade racers over the traditional racing-sim experience, I always held a high respect for the simulation genre.

I missed out on most Xbox One titles back in the latter half of the 2010s. Nevertheless, I did get my hands on Forza Motorsport 7, essentially my very first foray into the Forza franchise.

I remember spending hours playing and trying to master each course in the game. And, despite my massively high expectations from the new Forza Motorsport title, Turn 10 Studios seem to have somehow managed to surpass them.

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I can confidently say Forza Motorsport is arguably the best racing simulation video game I've ever played since I stepped back from Assetto Corsa. It even surpasses some of my personal favorite titles in the genre, like the original Need for Speed Shift and Gran Turismo Sport. There are a few caveats, though, and I'll be discussing them in this review.

Forza Motorsport: Am excellent addition to the iconic franchise

Visuals and presentation

Whether it be the old-school Motorsport titles or the rather new Horizon games, the Forza series has always been known for pushing the envelope of real-time rendering and graphics. Unsurprisingly, Forza Motorsport is no exception. It delivers what I'd consider the best-looking racing sim to date, perhaps even surpassing games like Driveclub and GT7.

The minimalistic presentation (Image via Forza Motorsport)

From the plethora of tracks to the absolutely massive roster of cars, everything in the game is crafted with utmost precision and fidelity. While I've always been an admirer of Turn 10's in-house game engine, the latest iteration that powers Forza Motorsport delivers something truly remarkable and impressive.

From the immaculate lighting model to the physics and post-processing, every aspect of the game's graphics and visual presentation had me awe-struck. Even after playing the game for more than 50 hours over the last few days, I still feel amazed at the sheer graphical fidelity of Motorsport. It truly is the definitive next-gen racing game I've been waiting for for a long time.

I also really liked the simplistic approach to menus and UI design in the latest Motorsport title. I adore the Horizon games, but I never was (and still ain't) a fan of the UI and menus in those games. This is because of the "blocky" design, reminiscent of Windows 8 tiles, and their rather convoluted look. Motorsport keeps it simple and straightforward, something I really appreciate.

Breathtaking visuals, thanks to the latest iteration of the ForzaTech engine (Image via Forza Motorsport)

Lastly, I absolutely loved the game's soundtrack. It is a massive step up from the rather boring in-game radios of Forza Horizon 4 and 5.

I usually don't use in-game soundtracks in my racing game, instead opting to play Spotify in the background. However, Forza Motorsport somehow managed to wow me with its soundtrack and kept me from resorting to my own playlist.

Focus on progression

One thing that really bugged me about Forza Horizon, especially the later entries in the series, is the progression system, or lack thereof.

You see, Forza Horizon has always been about the fun of collecting cars and driving them around on a big, open-world map without any limitations. But, the series has always struggled to deliver a rewarding progression system.

The Builder's Cup is a fantastic addition to the career mode (Image via Forza Motorsport)

From the very start, you are given out cars like Koenigsegg, Mclaren, or even Lamborghinis, either via Wheelspins or as rewards for completing seasonal playlist events. And if you're handed over the best cars from the roster right from the get-go, there's basically no reason you'd want to grind races or even partake in them unless you're playing in co-op.

While I do love this freedom that Horizon games provide, I also somewhat despise the lack of a proper progression system akin to something you will find in Need for Speed or even The Crew series.

Fortunately, progression isn't something that I have any complaints about with Forza Motorsport. It features a robust and engaging single-player campaign with a balanced economy.

Unlike Forza Horizon, Motorsport does not reward you with cars nearly as often. Instead, you're incentivized to constantly tweak and work on your starting car roster, making them viable for most races.

That's not to say the game is stringent with doling out in-game currency as a reward. It simply doesn't encourage getting new cars nearly as often as the Horizon games.

The 2019 Subaru STI carried me through most of the early-game races (Image via Forza Motorsport)

I stuck to my very first car, the 2019 Subaru STI S209, for almost half of my playtime. The game also employs a completely different upgrading system.

Every time you use a new car, you level it up. Based on your car's level, new upgrades and performance parts are unlocked. The class system from previous Forza games does make a return but to a limited extent.

Career and online modes

I also really appreciate the small details developers added to the game, such as the "segment time," which is only accessible in practice laps. I also like the fact that all the tracks and weather types are available for the practice laps right from the start. Once you are done with the single-player career mode and practice sessions, you can hop straight into the online modes.

Even the nighttime looks absolutely breathtaking (Image via Forza Motorsport)

While I wasn't able to test out all the races and game modes available in the multiplayer aspect of Forza Motorsport, I did end up spending a good chunk of my playtime in the regular circuit races, which was quite fun. Online races can get equally as chaotic as the Horizon online lobbies, but the tracks are wide enough to accommodate that.

Lastly, yes, Forza Motorsport does feature a weekly and seasonal playlist akin to the Horizon games, albeit with racing being the primary focus. Suppose you're coming fresh from the arcade racing experience of Forza Horizon 5. In that case, some of the systems and elements in Motorsport might initially feel a bit overwhelming, especially the tutorial section of the game.

However, once you do delve into the game, sink in a couple of hours, start tuning your cars, and get to know the different racing disciplines on offer, you will immediately fall in love with it.

Forza Motorsport isn't a straightforward arcade racing game like the Horizon series. Instead, it features a more classic progression system and focuses on perfecting a single car over collecting a plethora of them.

The "lap segments" are easily the best new addition to the game (Image via Forza Motorsport)

However, at the same time, it is arguably the most robust racing sim out there. It serves as a great starting point for newcomers to the genre. It also does not compromise on the level of depth that franchise veterans have come to expect from it. And much like the game's visuals, the gameplay and progression in Forza Motorsport leave little room for complaints.

PC performance and a few shortcomings

As the very first current-gen-only title from Turn 10 Studios, Forza Motorsport does not disappoint in terms of its graphical presentation. However, all that visual flair comes at the cost of significantly higher system requirements on PCs. Fortunately, the developers have done a great job at optimizing the game for a broad spectrum of PC hardware configurations.

You can adjust the FOV in the first-person mode (Image via Forza Motorsport)

I played the game with a Ryzen 5 5600, GTX 1660 Super, and 16 GB RAM. At 1080p Medium settings, I had an almost flawless 60fps gameplay experience. I should mention that the game was booting off of my gen-3 m.2 SSD. As such, the loading times were almost non-existent. Turn 10 Studios has done a really impressive job with the game's PC port.

However, the game did crash a couple of times, especially during the first few hours of gameplay. Before the review embargo went live, Turn 10 issued a patch to rectify some of the stability-related issues, among other things. And following the update, I've seen minor improvements to the game's performance and even stability.

While I enjoyed every second of my time with Forza Motorsport, the game isn't devoid of faults. The first one of those shortcomings is the game's tutorial section, which can get a little too overwhelming for players, especially for newcomers to the racing simulation genre. And secondly, the handling model in Motorsport does feel a little stiff.

Tuning and upgrading one car, over collecting a huge number of them (a la Forza Horizon) is the focus of Motorsport (Image via Forza Motorsport)

I'm someone who prefers using a keyboard and mouse for racing games. Unfortunately, I don't think Forza Motorsport is equally as optimized for that input method as the Horizon games.

The turning, torque management, and braking feel stiff and often unresponsive on a keyboard, even with stability and traction control on.

On the controller, the game plays perfectly fine (albeit with a few deadzone issues, which you can tweak in-game). I think a bit of fine-tuning on the keyboard and mouse side of things can help players like me a lot. Apart from these control and input-related issues, Forza Motorsport is in a polished state, even weeks before launch, which is quite impressive.

In conclusion

Forza Motorsport is a fantastic new entry in the traditional racing simulation style of Forza games. From the stunning visuals and an equally spectacular soundtrack to the robust gameplay and progression systems, the latest Motorsport title exudes excellence on all fronts. While there are a few shortcomings, those are minor on the face of everything the game gets right.

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It evolves from the traditional racing simulation experience that fans have come to expect from the Motorsport series. It also adds its own spin to certain aspects, such as the vastly revamped progression system. It's a game built as a great new stepping-stone for newcomers while preserving the depth and core elements that veterans of the genre adore.