Forza Horizon 4 (2018)

Having grown up spending countless hours playing classics like Grand Prix, Street Rod and Colin McRae Rally 98, and after a very long hiatus, this was a title I hoped would rekindle my love for racing games. Perhaps I’ve been away from the genre for too long, but sadly that wasn’t the case. The frustrating part is that there is nothing technically wrong with Forza 4 that I could see: it is visually impressive, it plays remarkably well, and it has an incredible amount of content. Yet, paradoxically, to me it felt hollow, needlessly overwhelming, and for whatever reason, somewhat repetitive. After having put slightly under 5 hours into it, I came out of the experience like I often do when playing recent titles mainly tailored to a multiplayer audience: feeling like the game was ‘soulless’. I’m not sure if that even makes sense to a lot of you, and I know the majority will have had a vastly different experience - the game reviewed incredibly well -, but my honest impression was that, once you removed all the flashy bells and whistles, there was just not much left. At the same time, there are a couple of important things to note. One is that I am exclusively an SP gamer and avoid most everything online. I don’t know if in this particular case that had a strong impact on the aftertaste I was left with, but it’s certainly worth mentioning. I also know this game is huge, so I can easily concede that a few more hours might’ve changed my overall impression, even if only slightly.

I would still say you should definitely give it a go if for some reason you haven’t tried it yet and you enjoy racing games, because I’m definitely in the minority here (maybe I just need to retire the racing genre for good). But for me, Forza 4 resulted in an ultimately shallow experience that failed to deliver what I was looking for, and one I probably wouldn’t score higher than 5/10.

The game is awesome. It is not perfect... but it is awesome.

You start in United Kingdom and the objective is the same as other Horizon games.... just an excuse. No one cares about it. This game is about driving really fast, spectacular races (scripted, but spectacular), jump and do all the crazy things that you came to your mind with a car.

The OST is reaaaally good and fits perfectly with the game.

The game works really well, at least on PC. Loading screens are long, but after this the game works well, and graphics are really good too.

So, I totally recommend the game but of course, I have to say the bad things too. And for some reason, the bad things are THE SAME as Forza Horizon 3 and the team didn't do anything to fix it:

• The game is short. Yes, there are a lot of optional races, cars, and content but... the good races (the scripted ones and spectacular...) there are not too many of them.
• You can choose the category of the car where you want to race. The game does not force you to try other cars. Yes, maybe you like this. But for me is not good. The game offers you hundreds of cars and you only drive a few of them. The game should force you to try faster/harder cars to feel a progression, that you are getting good at this.
• In relation to the last point... the game feels really easy. I played the hardest mode and still feels easy.
• Same as all Forza games. Drivatars sucks. Just remove this feature, please.

I haven't played a real racing game outside of things such as Mario Kart, so this was an interesting change for me!

[Pre-Read Info]

System: Xbox One S

Time Played: 1 and a Half Hours

Control Setup: Xbox One Controller

Display: Samsung 4K UHD TV

The very first word that comes to mind when I started this game was gorgeous. The game is very very beautiful, and they spared no expense at making that known. I myself am new to the Forza series but I've known that they'd always made their games look terrific. You start the game by jumping straight into a race, which immediately takes you through the various different types of terrain and cars you can drive. This was probably the best thing for me, as being someone new to the series I just wanted to immediately get out there and drive.

What surprised me about this game is that it isn't a simple pick a car and race kind of game. There is an actual hub world, story, missions, character customization, car and control customization and a whole lot more. Honestly the car customization is the only thing that is a bit scare to navigate through if you don't understand how cars, specifically racing cars, work. Even without knowing all the fancy terminology, I found myself having fun.

I think what I like the most is that there are different types of missions and races you can do, as well as stunts to pull off. I've just reached the part where you gain your first house which looks as though it only serve the purpose of changing your clothes and I think your car as well. Granted, I didn't spend too much time here, as all I wanted to do was race.

Getting used to the controls was actually extremely easy thanks to the introduction tutorial they put you through. If you are someone that is familiar with racecars, then the extra control options would suit you best. I do know that Forza supports racing wheels as well, and I think I might decide to pick that up one day. Even without that, there was no shortage of me enjoying the fast action or the gorgeous scenery of this game. I would highly recommend anyone checking this out right now, and its available on Xbox Game Pass as well!

[Video]

Played this game at launch and thought it was amazing. I've always liked Horizon games so I was excited to play one set in my home country. After completing the game, taking a break and then coming back, that's when I really noticed all the issues.

• Online racing is a trainwreck. Who thought freeroam rush was a good idea when you can't switch from a Senna to something a bit more suited for all terrain driving?
• Incredibly long load times for everything. You open the garage and you're waiting a good 30 seconds just to see your cars. for a game that boosts its car collection, it can't seem to handle it. God forbid you download a livery. Its painfully slow
• Wheelspins are a joke. This is a racing game why do I want a gold jacket or cringe worthy dance. Stick to cars and credits. I blame Fortnite.
• The game constantly crashes and for some bizarre reason the car pass and VIP pass likes to uninstall itself without warning forcing you to then have to trudge through the infuriating MS store to re-download.
• Sound bugs. The game will consistently encounter sound bugs. Whether the car suddenly becomes mute, it gets stuck in the same gear despite clearly shifting, sound loops etc. and when it does run ok, the cars sound the same as one another. Killing a sense of immersion.

If these issues were fixed then this game would go from 2/5 to 4/5. the game could be a beautiful shining diamond however its pretty unappealing in its current state.

The last racing game I played was Automobili Lamborghini for the Nintendo 64. Between 1997 and today, I'd occasionally appreciate graphical quality of games like Gran Turismo and Forza, but driving a car around a track excited me about the same as my daily commute.

SMASH CUT to Forza Horizon 4—a racing game—showing up on GOTY 2018 lists. "Wait. It's an open world racing game? How is that a thing?", I kept thinking to myself. "How different could the driving really feel from car to car?" "Why am I watching this 29 minute YouTube video about a racing game?!"

Turns out, it's amazing. I bought an Xbox One controller to play Hollow Knight on Steam, but the free Xbox Game Pass trial unleashed my inner racing game fan. I'm searching for barns to unlock cars, driving around the English country side smashing boards for influence points, and even racing every once in a while.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but driving from activity to activity is nearly as fun as swinging around New York as Spider-Man for PS4.

The one downside is how lackluster the acceleration feels in my Toyota Corolla. By the time I 100% Horizon, I may have to buy a faster car.