Playground Games style driving is back, and that is synonymous with greatness, fun and freedom with capital letters . Forza Horizon 5 will be the title with which Microsoft will celebrate the first year of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, but also one of the flagships of its catalog of releases for 2021. The driving title of the year? Given the previous installments, and judging by what has already been shown, do not rule it out.
Because in the Forza Horizon saga only its open worlds are able to detract from the presence of the brand-new finishes of the cars and their patentable driving sensation, and Microsoft has already told us that the setting for this fifth installment will be the largest and most diverse of all. the series: as you will see just below, Forza Horizon 5 will take us to the most beautiful and exotic corners of Mexico, and that makes it add extra points.
Forza Horizon 5: Release Date, Systems, and Editions
Forza Horizon 5 will be available starting November 9, 2021 on Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One, and PC (via the Microsoft Store and Steam). Now, those who bet on the Premium editions of the game will be able to start playing on November 5 as an early access incentive.
Regarding editions and additional content, PlayGround Games has announced that there will be two extra options for Forza Horizon 5 in addition to the standard one.
- Forza Horizon 5 Deluxe Edition , valued at 89.99 euros, adds the additional car pass to the full game.
- Forza Horizon 5 Premium Edition , valued at 99.99 euros, offers the aforementioned four-day early access, a welcome pack, the car pass, a VIP subscription and two game expansions.
Like all Xbox Game Studios games, Forza Horizon 5 will be added to the Game Pass at launch. That said, the purchase of the Premium Add-ons Package (44.99 euros for subscribers of the service), gives access to all the contents of the Premium Edition, as well as the four days of early access.
In addition, we can take our games to mobile phones through Xbox Cloud Gaming. In any case, thanks to Windows Smart Delivery we will always receive the copy of the game that best uses the device on which we start our game.
Welcome to Mexico, with a mandatory stop in Guanajuato
Mexico is one of those privileged countries that looks great every month of the year, and at Playground Games they know it well: the open world of Forza Horizon 5 will offer players up to eleven biomes that include jungles, historic cities, Mesoamerican ruins and, for of course, its paradisiacal beaches.
In fact, the station system that was added in Forza Horizon 4 will once again be very present in this fifth installment, giving an even greater layer of variety to the views and the driving sensations themselves. To which we must add that many of the biomes will receive unique climatic conditions and, depending on the time of year, inaccessible areas will open during specific seasons.
With that ahead, the level of detail put by PlayGround Games in this installment is spectacular. What’s more, the English say that, for the occasion, 24-hour shots of the skies of Mexico have been recorded at 12K resolution to offer an unprecedented setting. Something that you can see in these seven minutes of gameplay.
Not only because of the wide routes in parallel to dreamy natural landscapes, including the longest road in the entire saga along with lines and landscapes made with photogrammetry , but also for urban routes made with an artisanal care in which we can even come across murals that carry The signature of Mexican artists and that, as is to be expected in open world games, have been strategically distributed to be discovered.
With that in mind, one of the main points of interest in Forza Horizon 5 will be Guanajuato, a city located in central Mexico whose urban layout lends itself wonderfully to improvising races or losing sight of local architecture. And not only that: under the streets there is a network of aqueducts that will give a lot of play to the driving experience.
And in the technical aspect on consoles? According to Playground Games itself, Forza Horizon 5 will move to 4K 30 fps on Xbox Series X (1080p 30 fps on Xbox Series S), also offering a 60 fps performance mode and in Forzavista the cars will look spectacular across the track. of rays. Which brings us to the other big question: what activities will we have ahead of us?
Conformed modes: Horizon Story, Horizon Arcade, Horizon Open … And yes, the Eliminator returns
The main vision around Forza Horizon 5 is based on offering the most social and participatory experience of the entire series, which includes everything from its own game campaign and the celebration of the Horizon festival to improvising games in the Horizon Arcade . And, in that aspect, the Forza Link , the new Artificial Intelligence assistant will be an essential piece.
The premise around Forza Link is that, in a simple and intuitive way, it tracks our position, our progress in the festival and the type of activities that we like the most and, from there, establishes links and activities with other players on the March.
Thus, activities and competitions will be proposed to us on the screen and if we sign up, the GPS of all the participants will be synchronized without procedures, loading times or unnecessary interface detours. Of course, Forza Link will be fueled by the huge variety of events taking place throughout the open world, including the cooperative mini-games in the Horzion Arcade.
Among the confirmed and announced modes and activities, in addition to the Horizon Story campaign and missions, we find:
- The Horizon Open , something that PlayGround defines as the amalgamation of the best parts of the competitive online experience of Forza Horizon. The idea is to constantly improvise races, challenges, knockout sessions, and more.
- On the cooperative side is the Horizon Tour, a succession of events and races in which we will drive together with other Drivatars through circuits spread throughout the map forming a kind of convoy.
- The aforementioned Horizon Arcade is the most entertaining and varied aspect of Forza Horizon 5 . Quick challenges and mini-games of all kinds to compete and collaborate with other players.
- Of course, we can create our own custom races through the EventLab. In fact, PlayGround anticipates that players will have access to the same tools that they use to design the game, and that will open the door for players to different types of challenges, game modes and types of rules in competitions.
Logically, beyond the satisfaction of crossing the finish line, overtaking the rest of the racers and making perfect lines, Forza Horizon 5 will reward our achievements and progress with unlockables and prizes. Including the possibility of riding and launching hundreds of car models.
Let’s talk about the cars and drivers in Forza Horizon 5
As indicated to the IGN media, the list of Forza Horizon 5 cars that will be available at launch is not yet closed . According to the official description of the game, we will have access to hundreds of vehicles of different types, including sports cars, SUVs and even convertibles. What’s more, there will be more customization options than ever.
Playground Games has come up with some very promising numbers, including that there will be roughly a hundred new tires, hundreds of new visual updates in the form of body kits, wheels, and of course paint options. To which must be added the performance improvements that will make a difference in the race.
In addition, these customization improvements will be supported by a new interface to make changes to our vehicles more comfortable.
On the other hand, and as is tradition among driving games, the already announced car pass will further extend the garage by adding a selection of additional vehicles that, for the moment, is yet to be announced. This car pass is included in the Deluxe and Premium editions and it is worth remembering that it can be purchased separately, whether we bet on the standard edition or if we play through the Game Pass.
That said, not only will we be able to accommodate our racing cars to taste: the editing options for our characters will also be greatly opened, both in design and costumes, including the possibility of adding prostheses to our protagonist.
As for the control system, at the moment it has only been anticipated that one of the key objectives of Forza Horizon 5 is that it be the most accessible installment of the saga. The goal: that everyone can enjoy the driving experience and enjoy the spectacular new open world created for the occasion in the way they like best.
Requirements for Force Horizon 5 for PC
The launch of Forza Horizon 5 is not imminent, but the fact that there is less than five months of margin has served for PlayGround to officially establish the minimum requirements to play on PC.
- Operating System: Windows 10 version 15063.0 or higher
- Processor: Intel i3-4170 @ 3.7Ghz OR Intel i5 750 @ 2.67Ghz
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- Graphics: NVidia 650TI OR AMD R7 250x
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 80 GB available space
As we get closer to launch we will know both the recommended requirements and the equipment we will need to enjoy racing in Ultra quality. That said, if Xbox Cloud Gaming is available to everyone in November, and taking into account that it will be played on launch Android devices, it will be possible to play in browsers without the need to renew graphics card.
Forza Horizon 5, the new benchmark for driving the Xbox label
Three years have passed since the launch of Forza Horizon 4 , the last installment released annually in the saga, but in that period there have also been a lot of revolutions around the Xbox brand. Including the arrival of two new generation desktops.
Not that Playground Games has been idly by: Forza Horizon 4 has received news like no other Forza installment in the time that has elapsed until the announcement of its natural successor. However, the time has come to look ahead , and the future that is drawn is especially interesting.
Although the launch of Forza Horizon 5 for Xbox One positions it as an intergenerational game, the Smart Delivery system will make it in its own right one of the first Microsoft super-productions developed with the purpose of unleashing the full power of Xbox. Series X and the versatility of Xbox Series S.
And, I’m not going to deny it, I’m looking forward to seeing what both machines are capable of offering when the hyper-realism of cars, the ambition of the new open world and the madness of online explode in unison on screen. Because, as we already mentioned, it will not only be the celebration of the first anniversary of both: it will also be the first great trial of Xbox Game Studios.
