When you think of the gaming world it's almost impossible to imagine a lengthy series that consistently pushes out great games. The Forza Horizon series is one of those rare few. Over the years Xbox players have been enthralled by three excellent titles, with the first and third instalments being some of the best racing games I've ever played. If there is any chance this series is suffering from fatigue then I certainly haven't noticed it yet. The big question is what this fourth instalment brings to the table. Actually, it turns out not a whole lot, and what we really get is a large dose of the same great racing series. The one-year development cycle hasn't done this title any favours, but that's not to say this new racer isn't on the same level as its predecessors.
I must begin by mentioning how great Horizon 4 looks. Horizon always does a great job at presenting the player with stunning landscapes based on the real world, and in this new map every detail of the world is picture postcard stunning. The best part is that you can enjoy these stunning landscapes in four different seasons, with whole areas of the map changing complexion based on the time of year. That's assuming you can be bothered to look at anything besides your car that you've been endlessly tweaking and painting for the last half an hour.
I will admit that I did wet myself slightly when they announced the franchise was coming to the UK. As a cynical British patriot I just knew the developers would create some alternate universe where Britain is twinned with some idyllic fantasy novel, and I was sort of right. I do like their diorama, but I don't think it ever encapsulates a whole nation like they managed with Australia in the last instalment of the franchise. Sure, Australia is a lot more varied and exciting than drizzle filled Britain, but I was expecting more than a drive around the north of England and a bit of Scotland. It's not a bad map by any means, but I would have loved a trip down to the seaside on the south coast, or even a quick foray into rural Wales. In the end you get a very pretty, but unrealistic depiction of the UK that still fails to tingle the senses like a blast down an Australian highway.
The UK is still nice to drive around in, but unfortunately it's also a place that happens to be ruined by your character. Forza has always been about the cars rather than the player, and thank God, because your created character in this game behaves like an absolute bellend. You can't dress him up without making him look like a twat, and you can't make him act like anything other than a twat. This idiot that's meant to depict innocent little me is then plastered around the English countryside completely ruining the scenery everytime he leaves the car. I want to look at my car next to Bamburgh Castle in a nice little atmospheric cutscene, not see my irritating doppelganger dancing to the YMCA. I know this is a fun and light-hearted game, but fucking hell the character creation was a bad addition.
Forza must have shares in the British Tourist Board because there is no fucking way Britain looks like that.
As you would expect the game contains all the usual Forza Horizon goodness. There's a tasty collection of cars to choose from, and an even tastier selection of events and races to get stuck into. You're never realistically going to be able to collect all 450 cars in the game without an insane amount of dedication, so it really feels special when you end up winning a beautiful hypercar to tear around Britain in at a million miles per hour. The beauty of Forza Horizon is that the range of cars reflects the semi-serious tone of the game. There's fast and aggressive race cars that the seasoned racer can customise, or ruin, to their heart's content, and then there are novelty cars like the Peel P50 that are such a blast to drive around in even if you'll never be able to compete in them. Any game where you can add an 8L V12 to a Willy's Jeep and then paint a giant cock on the front is a winner in my book. It's these moments that are always my favourite in the Horizon series. At its core it's just inherently fun.
When Horizon 4 decides to ramp up the intensity it's fucking incredible. My personal highlight is racing The Flying Scotsman to Edinburgh. It's wheel to wheel action through The Highlands of Scotland with some Grieg serenading you in the background. If mucking around with planes and trains isn't your cup of tea then you're hardly going to be left wanting either. Even if the week's online races don't take your fancy there's still a whole sandbox of a map to explore, and so many events to race in. The whole map is such a great playground for a racer, and this element is the cornerstone of the Horizon experience. I must admit I do like a slight helping hand when it comes to progression, but this Horizon game doesn't understand what progression means. That's not necessarily a bad thing, and I'm sure the core Horizon audience will love not being told what to do, but I personally prefer the Horizon 3 system of gradually expanding a festival into a racing paradise. That's the sort of single player experience I was expecting with this game, and I must admit I was left slightly frustrated that the only audience being catered for is those who enjoy the online multiplayer experience. Yes, there's still a lot for the single racer, but precious little has changed from the last game.
What an epic confrontation. Oh wait, the scene is ruined by my fucking character.
I had a growing feeling that a lot of the new changes actually take the franchise in the wrong direction. The focal change the game likes to advertise at every available opportunity is the introduction of climatic seasons. The four new seasons may look very picturesque, even if the only season in real Britain is constant dreariness, but I actually find it more of a hindrance with its poor integration. You see you get to a stage in the storyline where you have no control over the season, so if you're in a Ford Focus and winter suddenly rolls around you're stuffed. Sure, you could say this adds to the realism, but I don't like being put in a situation that I have no control over in a video game that promotes freedom. To begin with you can simply gain more fans to change the season, and that's perfectly fine, but I'm now at the stage where I have to wait literal days for the season to change. This is a problem, because as of writing this review it's currently winter for all players, which the majority of my cars are poorly designed to cope with. Effectively I can't play most of the game now, and there's nothing I can do except wait. What the developers have done is sacrificed the single-player experience so that the multiplayer and community features feel more inclusive. I don't have any friends, so I couldn't give a shit what season other players are experiencing.
The seasons don't actually change that much either. The cars may drive differently in winter, and some of the map becomes accessible in certain conditions, but to say these seasons 'change everything' is marketing rubbish. In fact, not a lot has changed full stop. Throughout the Horizon series we've seen quite large changes with each instalment, but here we have what essentially feels like an expansion pack for the third game. It's like you've won freedom from the prison that's Australia for driving fast and are now being given a shot at being successful in the civilised world. I'm really struggling to think of what is actually new. I guess you can now buy a house, or if you're filthy rich you can live in Edinburgh Castle, but that's hardly a change worth an extra fifty quid.
I would briefly like to mention the music, which I must admit was another disappointment. As the Forza Horizon franchise has progressed the musical elements are being gradually phased out. We started out with a melding of music and motorsport in the original, but in Forza Horizon 4 the music is definitely not the focus of attention. It shows, as the once big names that graced the radio stations are replaced with an interesting mix of artists you would normally expect to find in any other generic sports game. I wasn't much of a fan of the music this year, and actually ended up mostly listening to the classical numbers to feel more sophisticated than I actually am, which is a real shame, as the musical elements always gave the franchise that extra layer of authenticity.
Want to plough through some snow in a truck. That does sound awesome to be fair. Unfortunately the game is currently in spring, so you'll have to wait THREE WEEKS for that privilege.
Overall I'm having a hard time giving a verdict on Forza Horizon 4. Yes, I still love the exhilarating racing and the endless customisation the series provides, but I can't help feel this game could have been more. Another year in development and we could have had a perfectly optimised and ambitious arcade racer, but instead we get a title that feels inferior to the third game in almost every single way. However the purpose of this game is to have fun, and yes I did have a lot of fun, even if I was frustrated by some of the new changes. The additions the franchise have made are insignificant changes at best, but that should not undersell an excellent game overall. This is yet another edition of the franchise that exemplifies why Horizon is the pinnacle of open world racing. What this game has is a bucketload of character and charm, and there is no better way to drive around at a million miles with a smile on your face. When the driving and exploration are this good, why do you need any blockbuster changes?
Overall Score: 8/10
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