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Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games' fifth Forza Horizon title and the 12th main installment in the Forza series, has received outstanding ratings worldwide. The title was reviewed by Sportskeeda recently and one of the first things that stood out was the game's sheer scale and visual splendor. From its beautiful environment to the adrenaline-filled races, every inch of the title feels polished and optimized to the fullest.
Before players lose themselves in Forza Horizon 5's immersive open-world, it's worth going through five aspects that they might like to know first.
Five things to note before playing Forza Horizon 5
1) About the Series
Headed by Playground Games, Forza Horizon emerged as a spin-off from Turn 10's Forza Motorsport series. Before the latest iteration set in Mexico, 2018’s Forza Horizon 4, which was set in the United Kingdom, enjoyed tremendous success. That led the studio to polish its open-world racing formula further, with improved visuals and gameplay elements.
Apparently, the developers are keen on increasing the size of the map with every release, which goes well with the mainstream hardware accessible to the gamers. The franchise is renown for its well-optimized code, making it stand out as a highly accessible title regardless of one's hardware configuration.
2) Setting of the game
Forza Horizon 5 is set in Mexico and features 11 distinct biomes, each with its own unique environment. To accurately portray the country known for a wide range of elevations and varying climates, a new weather system has been introduced in the game. Aside from the changing seasons, it even allows players to witness a storm if they visit a particular point on the map.
3) Ray tracing Support
Ray tracing in the latest sequel is limited and can only be experienced in Forzavista, the vehicle viewing mode. Forza Horizon 5 is the first game in the franchise to incorporate ray tracing in any form, taking support from Xbox Series’ DirectX Raytracing or DXR.
This new technology can be quite taxing, limiting the implementation of the feature in all aspects of the game.
4) Engine
Forza Horizon 5 has been built on Forzatech - the same game engine as its predecessor. However, it has been updated, and features marked improvements in volumetric lighting, graphical interface, and ray tracing. The vehicle and object physics have been refined further, allowing it to run on older consoles like the Xbox One.
5) Association of famous car brands
Players can collect more than 500 cars in Forza Horizon 5 and customize them to a very high level of detail. Famous brands such as Mercedes-Benz, McLaren, Nissan, Lamborghini, Ford, and Toyota, to name a few, have provided car models in the new game, including several supercars.
The intro sequence itself features cars like the 2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 and Mercedes-AMG ONE. Forza Horizon 5 has also maintained superb attention to detail, including the interiors of the cars, which are best enjoyed when playing the game with a wheel and pedal set.
Forza Horizon 5 was released on November 5, 2021, and is available on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Gamepass, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store.
