Forza Horizon 4 Review: Race to the Horizon

Racing games have been a staple of video games since almost the beginning. Racing just seems to be a perfect fit for the medium. As video games have evolved, technology has advanced to the point where the hardware can produce an extremely realistic experience. One of the yearly releases for the Microsoft Xbox has been the Forza series for over a decade. The series is well known for heavy realism along with more than enough customizations that players can have a totally original car from the ground up. This year’s entry is Forza Horizon 4, and fans of the series are excited to drive around the simulated UK rendered in the series’ loving fashion.

Gameplay: A Car Freak’s Dream

Forza Horizon 4 is a racing game. This could mean different things to different players. Some are looking for an arcade experience, where realism takes a backseat to an over the top experience. Others are looking to as close as realism as possible. Forza Horizon 4 straddles that line well. Players are presented with a wide-open world, with races sprinkled around the map. There are several types of races for players to find, whatever the player is feeling at the time, they can find.

Music: Good, Not Great

As you would imagine, the soundtrack is full of licensed tracks broken up into radio stations. This has been the normal course of action for these games since Grand Theft Auto III. Unfortunately, there seems to be too few of these stations, giving players the ability to listen to some pop, some rock, and strangely some classical music. The music that is there is strangely bland. I honestly don’t remember any standout choices the whole time that I played.

Soundtracks, even licensed soundtracks such as this one, can be iconic for players. Forza Horizon 4 is just passable. It’s a glaring weakness for what is otherwise a slick and well-produced package.

Customization: Another Game in Itself

Many of the portions of the game can be customized. This has often been a selling point for the series, earlier entries being groundbreaking in their time. The biggest area of customization would, of course, be the cars themselves. Under the hood, players can purchase many parts to increase performance. These parts can unlock even further customization in the tuning menus, allowing players to fine-tune the performance of the cars.

What good would having a tricked-out car, but having a boring paint job be? Players who are interested can play around with a metric ton of options to make the outside just as original as the inside. These customizations can take hours upon hours of time away from the players who love the painting and customization area of the racing scene.

All these customizations are able to be uploaded for other players to download for their own cars, so if you don’t want to deal with the tuning or visual options, you can find one that you like from other players. It’s just another option in a large number of options for gamers to play their own way.

Ultimate Edition: More Cars, More Money, More Respect

The Ultimate Edition of Forza Horizon 4 allows players to have access to both already released and future DLC packs of cars. The one that is the most interesting is the James Bond car pack with multiple iconic vehicles from the long-running movie series. The other big selling point would be the VIP status where players are given several extra cosmetics along with a permanent doubling of credits won through racing. None of the things here are necessary, but they are all cool for players who are planning on spending a good amount of time with the game.

Jesus Take the Wheel

In a world where games tout player choice, Forza Horizon 4 has released with actual player choice. From top to the bottom, there is a fantastic amount of love on display in every frame rendered to the screen. The game is fluid and smooth, and the multiplayer modes (that I was able to test) are seamless. There is something for everyone who has ever enjoyed a racing game in this package. Players can play as realistic as they want, or after playing with the options can make their experience a fun arcade-y racing game. I had fun with every moment that I played, even the downtime driving through the world was a master class of amazing game design. I highly recommend anyone with an Xbox One to purchase a copy of the game.