Forza Horizon 5: XBox Series X: Review in progress

Developed by Playground Games

Released by XBox Studios

Platform: XBox Series X

It's hard to understate how awesome this racing series is.

While it's been tied as an exclusive to the XBox consoles, it's single handedly been the one gaming series that's been worth investing time in in every iteration that's emerged.

It's not exactly overstating matters to say the Forza Horizon series is an essential purchase, but it's definitely not overstating matters to say the XBox Series X first appearance of the Forza Horizon is one title that anyone serious about racing games - or indeed anyone serious about having fun on a gaming console - needs to own.

In this latest, with its faux OTT opening that seems ripped from the Fast and Furious saga (cars falling from the skies from an opening cargo plane), it's off to Mexico you go for possibly the biggest, the most amped and the most technically beautiful game you're likely to play.

It doesn't veer too much away from the core formula of the Forza Horizon series - racing in all manners through streets or dirt racing, you'll head to some truly beautiful locations that shimmer with detail and which simmer with over 500 cars to collect. It's expansive open world racing - but not just one for purists. If you're a driver with a few co-ordination issues, the game rewards you for piling through shrubbery, slamming through carefully created fences or trashing someone's beautifully tended and planted field.

It starts on an ice mountain near a volcano, with snow and volcanic ash mingling in the skies, takes in hidden lakes and Mexican temples, and through jungles as well. But it also takes in turbulent weather conditions as well, from electrical storms to dust clouds - this is not a game which holds back from extremes and is all the better for it.

The playground that's been sketched out is gigantic - half the reason why this review is a review in progress (plus the online multiplayer can't really be tested within a reviews only period) - but every area is worth exploring, every car is worth hurtling around in and every set of challenges is there to be explored. There's a double dip mentality of some of the races - first you need to finish them and then you need to re-race them and win them again (though, this doesn't prevent you from heading into other parts of the game).

The game's set up is also worthy of note. Players can choose their sexes and also genders and pronouns. Racers can have prosthetic arms as well - though there is a slight feeling that none of this is anything more than a hint of inclusion rather than a full-on integration - as aside from occasional cut scenes, the customisation of your character charts no bearing on the basics of how you race or how you are perceived within the game. It's not entirely successful inclusiveness, but it is good to see at a basic level.

From the expected showcase races to the crazy events like having you hurtle over a ramp, there's much to do and much to suit whatever mood you're in. If you want a short game, Forza Horizon 5 rewards that with simple swift bursts of thrilling racing or stunts to carry out - or if you want more, there's the option to take part in Expeditions where a series of mini-quests lies within a very simple drive from A to B mechanic.

It befits Forza Horizon 5 to note that the racing is excellent - both in look and feel. 

This is, after all, a series that has technically excelled from the get go, and along with ray tracing on the XBox Series X, the game benefits from the biggest HD screen possible. Handling of cars is subtle and compellingly executed - racing is simply a blast.

There's just so much to do in Forza Horizon 5 and there's so much that's worthy of exploring and poring your time into. In a world where most of us are experiencing lockdown, the ability to just get in the car and drive through a virtual world is greatly appreciated - as a breezy blast of freedom, Forza Horizon 5 offers everything a great racing game should have - this is the complete package on the XBox, and it's an utterly essential one as well.