Microsoft's premier racing/driving game franchise on the Xbox One. That's not to say other racers available on the Xbox aren't great, but Forza Horizon 4 is definitely something special.
The Horizon line of Forza games can best be described as a lite hybrid of Forza Motorsport, Project Gotham Racing and Test Drive Unlimited. Take the car selection of Forza with more casual driving physics, Project Gotham Racing's kudos style system for skill points, and Test Drive Unlimited's open world style and avatar system, and you have the DNA for Forza Horizon. Over hundreds of cars are available from real life manufacturers that can be customized, upgraded, downgraded and tuned to anyone's preference.
Story is barely existent in Horizon. It is there in the sense that you arrive at a festival and compete in various races, stunts, championships and other events, but there isn't a consistent narrative you'd find like in the Need for Speed games.
Seasons are the gimmick in this 4th installment in the Forza Horizon line. Every several days (in real actual time), the map will cycle from one of four actual seasons. Nice touch being able to drive in the shining summer, fall autumn or snowy winter. Though, as fun as it was driving in the snow, it can be a bit of a pain trying to complete certain stunts and challenges due to the different terrain.
Tons of events exist in a fictional wide open world set in Great Britain including but not limited to: street races, dirt races, cross country races, speed zone stunts, jump stunts, speed trap stunts, drift zone stunts, championships, etc. Stories even occasionally pop up which are their set of own missions that can act as drift challenges, time trials, taxi missions, and so on. The game can be tailored to your liking at any time and right before a race with several difficulties to set the driver difficulty from New Racer, to several settings in between, all the way up to Unbeatable for the customizable challenge. Like the Forza Motorsport games, several driving assists even exist that can be turned on and off if you prefer more arcade style, assisted or simulation handling.
I really can't think of any huge negatives Forza Horizon 4 has. It would be a nice addition of cars could be customized to have Nitrous, which was a fun feature that the Forza Horizon 2 Fast and Furious standalone game had. I was not a fan of wheelspins having cosmetic items that you can use to customize the look of your driver. I admit, it is a cool feature that does add some personality and feels like an evolution of Test Drive Unlimited, but I barely touched the drivatar customization aspect. Many people have complained that the game doesn't have real progression as the game hands out cars like candy. I love this laid back casual aspect, but can understand the handholdy complaints of winning a Lamborghini from a wheelspin after only playing the game for two hours.
Forza Horizon 4 (or really any previous entry) is something I would recommend to anyone who loves racing and driving games, no matter the the skill level. It isn't really a game you complete or beat as there is no ending, but with over 80 hours of game time, Forza Horizon 4 is a game that stays in my currently playing lineup. It's casual enough to pick up and play, yet serious enough to really dive into and play for long sessions.
The Horizon line of Forza games can best be described as a lite hybrid of Forza Motorsport, Project Gotham Racing and Test Drive Unlimited. Take the car selection of Forza with more casual driving physics, Project Gotham Racing's kudos style system for skill points, and Test Drive Unlimited's open world style and avatar system, and you have the DNA for Forza Horizon. Over hundreds of cars are available from real life manufacturers that can be customized, upgraded, downgraded and tuned to anyone's preference.
Story is barely existent in Horizon. It is there in the sense that you arrive at a festival and compete in various races, stunts, championships and other events, but there isn't a consistent narrative you'd find like in the Need for Speed games.
Seasons are the gimmick in this 4th installment in the Forza Horizon line. Every several days (in real actual time), the map will cycle from one of four actual seasons. Nice touch being able to drive in the shining summer, fall autumn or snowy winter. Though, as fun as it was driving in the snow, it can be a bit of a pain trying to complete certain stunts and challenges due to the different terrain.
Tons of events exist in a fictional wide open world set in Great Britain including but not limited to: street races, dirt races, cross country races, speed zone stunts, jump stunts, speed trap stunts, drift zone stunts, championships, etc. Stories even occasionally pop up which are their set of own missions that can act as drift challenges, time trials, taxi missions, and so on. The game can be tailored to your liking at any time and right before a race with several difficulties to set the driver difficulty from New Racer, to several settings in between, all the way up to Unbeatable for the customizable challenge. Like the Forza Motorsport games, several driving assists even exist that can be turned on and off if you prefer more arcade style, assisted or simulation handling.
I really can't think of any huge negatives Forza Horizon 4 has. It would be a nice addition of cars could be customized to have Nitrous, which was a fun feature that the Forza Horizon 2 Fast and Furious standalone game had. I was not a fan of wheelspins having cosmetic items that you can use to customize the look of your driver. I admit, it is a cool feature that does add some personality and feels like an evolution of Test Drive Unlimited, but I barely touched the drivatar customization aspect. Many people have complained that the game doesn't have real progression as the game hands out cars like candy. I love this laid back casual aspect, but can understand the handholdy complaints of winning a Lamborghini from a wheelspin after only playing the game for two hours.
Forza Horizon 4 (or really any previous entry) is something I would recommend to anyone who loves racing and driving games, no matter the the skill level. It isn't really a game you complete or beat as there is no ending, but with over 80 hours of game time, Forza Horizon 4 is a game that stays in my currently playing lineup. It's casual enough to pick up and play, yet serious enough to really dive into and play for long sessions.