Forza Motorsport: XBox Series X Review

Developed by Turn 10 Studios
Published by XBox Game Studios
Platform: XBox Series X

The Forza franchise's more serious brother comes back out to play in this eighth iteration of Forza Motorsport, the one that's more interested in forging bonds between drivers and their cars, rather than hurtling off roads and smashing things up.

It's perhaps no surprise the series has ditched the numbering from its titles, to forego any signs of franchise weariness or market apathy to a title - and in many ways, Forza Motorsport feels like a brand new game, launched for a brand new generation.

It's no surprise that for every arcade racer there's a more serious compatriot. Whereas PlayStation has its Gran Turismo, Forza Motorsport's commitment to the more serious edges of the racing simulator are both its strength and its occasional weakness.

Opening with a set series of sequences that introduces the players to the world and the pomposity of its "cathedrals" of racing, Forza Motorsport takes itself very, very seriously. From offering customisable car parts for the committed to expert handling on the tracks, this is a game that is about the craft of racing.

Yet that doesn't mean that it's lost its accessibility by any stretch of the imagination.

In some ways, Forza Motorsport feels like the most open of the games previously made and is all the better for it.

If you want to tinker under your car's hood in between races, and adapt parts and try new things you can. Equally, if you want to press the X button and let the AI calculate the best ways to upgrade your car for you, you can do that as well - it's a greatly appreciated touch that caters for both sections of the audience.

In terms of the next gen, it's no lie to say Forza Motorsport looks incredible.

Tracks stretch on for miles in their skylines, and the dynamic weather systems bristle with life in races; put cosmetic damage on your car and the scratches stand out (particularly with the ray tracing in full effect); the game knows no bounds in how to look great, nor does it hold back in impressing with its visuals - though admittedly, crowd life looks a bit auto generated and continues to be any racing simulation's weakest point.

Yet, at the heart of it, nobody cares as much about the visuals, because it's about how the game feels as a racer. And there's one word to describe that - superb. 

Hurtling around tracks feels natural and the game's grip on the physics of racing and the essence of speed captures every element accurately and is immersive to the gamer behind the wheel. Get it right, and the fluidity is compelling; get it wrong, and the spinning off the track or smashing into tyre walls feels like a real gut punch.

While you get to practise the tracks prior to playing them, there is occasionally a feeling that there's not much to do except race around circuits and little else - there's no real creativity outside of the commitment of the simulation and that may put off some who want a little more from the admittedly superlative experience.

And worryingly, there have been a few bugs in the game that have seriously affectedly gameplay, necessitating complete shutdowns and loss of progress. In one bug, tracks in a series of races wouldn't download or be found, forcing the game to be quit and progress to be lost; in another, a spinning wheel of death came into play when trying to upgrade a car, the only option being a shutdown. These are worryingly depressing signs of issues for what is really a premiere title.

Multiplayer has not yet been tested in the game due to it being prior to launch, so it can't be said if there are issues within that as well.

Ultimately, Forza Motorsport is a slickly polished piece of racing simulator that does much for the genre; it's a compellingly solid play that will entertain for hours, should the game-ending bugs be ruled out.