When Microsoft started publishing its first-party titles to the PlayStation, the question was how long it would take before it published something from its big franchises. This isn't to knock the releases, as games like Grounded are always welcome, and Sea of Thieves brought something unique to the platform (Skull and Bones notwithstanding), but those aren't normally the kinds of games that people think of when the Xbox is brought up. With the release of Forza Horizon 5, four years after it originally hit the Xbox and PC, we're finally seeing a big Xbox franchise hit the platform, and those who are new to Forza are in for something special.

The opening sequence is a thrill ride through the landscape of Mexico. The game opens in the holding bay of a cargo plane. The cargo door opens, and a 2021 Ford Bronco Badlands is dropped off on top of a snowcapped active volcano. The tutorial begins, with button prompts presenting the basic controls. The truck barrels through the volcano top, charges through the side of the mountain into the rocky desert, and takes another giant leap into an active Baja race. The title shifts to another cargo drop, where the Corvette Stingray C8 speeds along farmland before the road takes it through a dust storm, where visibility is reduced to an orange-brown fog. The camera shifts again to another drop, where a modified Porsche 911 goes through jungles and scares off flamingos before stopping at some temple ruins. Finally, the game goes to Baja California, where the Mercedes-AMG ONE screams through beachside resorts and vegetation before beating the cargo plane to the Horizon Festival.

The opening scene leads to a character creation section, which has just enough options but is notable for including prosthetic limbs into the mix. You also get to select a name that the game's GPS system will use to refer to you, but this is skipped if you've played Forza Horizon 4; the game takes the selection from its predecessor, making you wish that it would also automatically import the rest of your character choices instead of having you create one from scratch again. One final choice is the character voice, which is notable since your character actively participates in conversations instead of being the classic silent protagonist driver. You'll also notice that your only two choices have British accents, which makes sense since the game reveals that you're the same champion driver from FH4. With more characters from that game showing up, such as event organizers and even a few DJs, FH5 establishes itself as both a sequel to the previous title and a means to show connective tissue between the games in the series. Those tidbits take a backseat to the gameplay, but it's cool to see the references.

For those new to the series, this is essentially a giant, open-world racing game with variable racing mechanics. If you wanted to compare it to other games on the platform, it's very similar to The Crew: Motorfest, minus the ability to use other vehicle types. Depending on the chosen options, you can have the racing model go the way of a complete simulation, make it a complete arcade experience, or create a hybrid to fit your play style, such as one where the racing line is present but the ability to rewind from mistakes is absent.

Races vary in type, from lapped checkpoint races to straight point-to-point races over different terrain. Instead of going through each race via a menu, you drive to spots where you can encounter things, like drift areas or speed traps. If you feel like you've run out of races, you can always create your own or take on those created by the community either individually or via the Super 7 system, which chooses seven random races for you to tackle. No matter what you choose as far as race type and car type, expect lots of well thought-out tracks with tricky turns and opportunities to go at top speed. You'll also take wild leaps off cliffs or drive through a desert forest unscathed. Like the mainline series, the cars handle like a dream, and it feels like it all falls on you when a car goes spinning out of control.

Normal racing games want you on the road all of the time, but FH5 encourages players to go off-road, since there are only a few obstacles that will stop your car, like large trees or buildings. With almost everything in the world designated as breakable and the game granting bonuses when you break things, you'll stay off roads to create your own shortcuts to locations. The temptation to break things is also present in elements like stunt ramps that you can take off from, billboards that can reduce the cost of fast travel when smashed, treasure chests, or barns with legendary cars, some of which are iconic to Mexico and its people.

As for the car collection, the roster has ballooned to over 525, and what makes it impressive is how the team keeps adding vehicles instead of removing them. The usual suspects are present, like BMW and Mitsubishi, while other licenses that are usually difficult to get, like Porsche and Ferrari, are also available. Players can still create custom liveries, along with the ability to tune the cars for better performance. Both of those things can be shared with the community but aren't needed to consistently win races (subject to the racing settings you chose).

The multiplayer experience will also be very familiar for those who played FH4 after the multitude of patches. Every race in the campaign can be raced either solo or with your convoy of friends. The world is populated with real people, but that can be turned off if you aren't keen on having them around, despite the fact that they can't grief you by colliding into you. The Forzathon events have been renamed Forza Arcade, but the objective remains the same: you and a large party of 11 other players try to complete three cumulative challenges in 15 minutes to score a ton of points that can be used to get prizes in the shop. Eliminator mode is also available in the base game, introducing the battle royale concept to racing in a way that feels chaotic and distinct. As expected, the online performance is top-notch, with no sign of dropped players or warping or stuttering, regardless of the mode or number of players present.

The gameplay blueprint remains largely the same, and if FH5 were nothing more than FH4 in Mexico, then it would still be a blast to play considering how well rounded and fun that game was. While the promotion for FH5 hasn't highlighted a significant, large change to the formula, the game still contains enough modifications and tweaks to make this feel different enough from previous games. That starts with Mexico itself. The idea of racing in different biomes was introduced in FH3 with players racing along the different areas of Australia, but that same idea has expanded; you now have 11 distinct areas to explore. You see some of this during the opening sequence, but it is still awe-inspiring to see the Baja coast meld with the deserts or the lush farmlands, then give way to small towns with murals or cities with narrow roads that are connected by tunnels. Like previous games, the environment has a ton of personality, and the whole experience is memorable because of it.

Introduced in the previous game, seasons make a return in FH5, but it's changed a tad due to the locale. Instead of having four distinct seasons, the game now features a wet and dry season, along with events and prizes that are only handed out when you participate in special events associated with the season change. On the surface, the changes aren't drastic, but it alters track conditions, so a wet season means there are slicker roads. The seasons also result in massive weather phenomena that can impact events and open-world driving, such as a massive sandstorm or a tropical storm. Compared to the fourth game, seasonal changes aren't a bigger deal, but it's nice that the idea didn't get abandoned.

Another change involves the Showcase events that usually culminate in races between you and all sorts of strange vehicle pairings. They're still present, and you get to experience a few of them, such as racing against a cargo plane dropping off motorcyclists wearing wingsuits. Replacing Showcase events are Expeditions and Stories. The former is when you're about to unlock a new section of the Horizon Festival. Some are normal, such as you going to some ruins and driving back to set up the outpost. Others are like the Showcase events in that you might get to the top of a volcano and then escape to a Baja race, just like in the game's opener.

In between reaching the location and leaving, you'll be able to do some optional tasks, like put up an extra transmitter for a radio station or take ramps to break boxes for a co-pilot, so it's a nice break from actually racing. Stories have been featured in FH4, and they're just as varied as the Expeditions and more involved. One might have you driving a university student to get data about upcoming dust storms. Another might have you performing driving stunts for a movie shoot. One of the more poignant ones has you helping a mechanic seek out a Volkswagen Beetle that once belonged to her deceased relative. The last one is unexpectedly touching, but it gives the game a chance to do something that isn't about an out-of-control car party lifestyle and, as a whole, the experience is better for it.

The progression system has gotten another overhaul, and FH5 feels more freeform when compared to past games. You still have a star system when performing tricks while driving, and the experience gained from those stars lets you outfit your selected car with boosts, like extra star XP gained while drifting or crashing into objects. The standard XP system is also present, so leveling up still gives you a chance to spin a wheel for things like cash or cars or outfits for your driver. There are even car horns, one of which is the melody for the original Doom's first level.

The new system is Accolades, which is responsible for unlocking the new sections of the Horizon Festival and the bigger events in each section. The system allows the player to open the sections and subsequent events. This means that those who love street racing can unlock that but use those races to keep unlocking all of the other things, like off-road races or stunt tracks.

The Accolades system is a novel way to handle event unlocks, but it also creates an interesting side effect where you can unlock a majority of the events without actually racing. Except for the user-created events, just about everything you do has some associated accolades, whether it's drifting, driving at top speed, or discovering roads. Those rewards are quite decent, while the thresholds for unlocking new sections of the Festival remain fixed instead of increasing per level reached. While you can participate in races to reach the next stage, you can conceivably roam around the world doing the occasional expedition and perhaps one or two races and get more than enough points to unlock the next part because of the ancillary accolades gained from driving around. In fact, the average player can unlock at least half of the game before they have to start seriously doing races, making the game feel like less of a grind, even though it takes a similar amount of time as FH4 to complete enough races to reach the Hall of Fame.

Those are the major changes, but there are a few smaller alterations that players will appreciate. You can now gift cars to people, complete with any modifications and cosmetic changes you've made. It can be perfect for those who have the means to help others catch up in their collection. Speaking of which, the car collection is easier to navigate, as it not only gives you a good idea of which cars you're missing from your garage but also gives you the ability to buy most of the cars straight from that page. Rewards are given out for completing collections for all car manufacturers, making progression go much faster since most of the rewards are cash and accolade points. The photo quests are also present, so taking all of the pictures that you can for all of your cars becomes another avenue for quick rewards. Again, they're smaller changes in the grand scheme, but they're still welcome in terms of making things easier.

With FH5 coming to the PS5 after four years, there are a few inherent advantages, such as the game coming with a plethora of patches and free content updates that are now built into the game. This includes the Hot Wheels and Rally Adventures modes that were added to the game later. Since they appear early on in your career in FH5, you're starting off with more stuff to do in the game's opening moments. Cross-saves are a no-go, even though the game gives you the opportunity to login to your Xbox account, but you have access to your friends and your records, and there's full cross-play support. At launch, the game will also come with the new Horizon Realms area, which lets you experience almost a year's worth of limited time events, such as the Retrowave Highway and Ice Rink. There's also a new stadium that provides a new track to play with, and the additions make an already large game feel huge enough that it'll take a very, very long time to get through everything, even if you ignore the online events.

There is one complaint, and it occurs early on in the campaign. After finishing a few of the opening races and events, you'll be shown a video explaining Horizon Realms, which is a new feature launching with FH5. Finish another race or event, and you'll see a video advertising what's available in the premium version of the game via the car pass. This is despite the fact that we were given a code for the ultimate version, so there's no need to advertise this to us. These things didn't exist in the base game many years ago, so seeing something akin to in-game advertising after finishing a few events feels very dirty, since it disrupts the overall flow from race to free roam to event and back again.

The audio has been one section of the game that has always been strong, and FH5 is no different. The engine sounds have all received upgrades, and each of the game's 500+ cars sound authentic. Gearheads have a better shot of recognizing cars by sound alone. The vocal performances are all quite good, so even your created character sounds better than expected. Like the previous games, the licensed soundtrack is diverse, with quite a number of classics and recent bangers filling out the various radio stations. Streamers will be glad to know that a streamer-friendly track list is present, so that their races are devoid of that.

This is also the first time the series has had music that seems to cater to the locale featured in the game, so expect every station to have lots of music playing in Spanish, while the Mexican philharmonic plays more area-specific orchestral tracks in the classic music station. Though some of the DJs from the fourth game return, the other radio stations have their DJs replaced with ones hailing from Mexico to give the game a more authentic feel. While the older games have had original title screen music before, the original soundtrack is more expanded and gives off a vibe that's less like a party and more like a proper adventure game. What's more impressive is how the game uses the overall soundtrack to create memorable moments in events that do a perfect job of eliciting some emotional beats the series hasn't had to do before. Overall, this is excellent.

The move to the PS5 hasn't changed the graphics. The game sports both a Quality and Performance mode, with the major difference being 30fps for the former and 60fps for the latter. We can't tell if this is native 4K like the Xbox Series X version, but it doesn't look like there's any ray tracing. That might presumably be kept for the PS5 Pro, but we don't have that console on hand to check for sure. Aside from the frame rate differences, the major difference between the modes is the lower amount of environmental density, but you'll have to look very closely to see any of this occurring.

Regardless of the platform you're playing on, the game looks flat-out gorgeous. All of the cars look extremely detailed, but the reflections on the body are impressive. It's using the standard reflection techniques, the high frame rate for them, and the high resolution are good enough to fool players into thinking it's ray traced. The environments also sport a ton of details, especially with the rock textures looking clean and the vegetation looking lifelike; you can make out details like the individual strands in palm trees. The amount of vegetation and other things, like small rocks that can be knocked around, is plentiful, but the lighting is really impressive. The soft lighting when looking from atop a mountain as the sun is coming down is awe-inspiring, as is the bright lights coming from a tunnel before diffusing back to normal. The weather effects are also nice, with the tropical storms being just as impressive as dust storms. It will be a good showcase for the quality of the game engine — even after four years have passed.

Despite its age, Forza Horizon 5 is a fantastic open-world, arcade-style racing game. The car handling is superb, there's an overwhelming number of events and races, and the large number of secrets ensures that you'll spend a ton of time driving around and exploring every nook and cranny. The structure and flow are so good that the only game that could match this is Burnout Paradise, a remake of a PS3/Xbox 360 game. Even if your only exposure to this type of game is The Crew: Motorfest, you owe it to yourself to grab Forza Horizon 5, even if you're only a casual racing fan. At the moment, there's really nothing else like it out there.

Score: 9.0/10