It has been over six years since the last mainline Forza Motorsport game as Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games turned their focus over to the popular Forza Horizon series. Rather than adding an 8 to the Forza Motorsport title, the game is simply called Forza Motorsport as it focuses on circuit racing rather than the open world that’s seen in the Horizon series. The series has been touted as the more simulation-focused one, and the development teams have spent more time on incorporating this aspect on this latest release to help lure those purists over while keeping it accessible for those new to the series or new to the genre.
A lot of time was spent on improving tire physics in Forza Motorsport and it’s immediately felt. The game does offer both a simulation handling model and a more approachable model with even more assists to gear towards the driver’s ability. Being the simulation racer, Forza Motorsport offers the most handling physics in the series, but with a few caveats. Tire grip is extremely realistic and it’s noticeable during races with tire degradation. Managing traction and speed is challenging, especially with a wheel as this was played with the Fanatec CSL DD. Force feedback is heavy with this wheel, but the way the tires grip the pavement varies supremely based on the tire compound, the tire temperature and the amount of grip.
Having done track days, when the tires start to go, the car simply will not turn the same through corners. That’s perfectly mimicked with this tire model as degradation inches higher and higher during races. The game even takes into effect fuel load that will affect lap times. Tire squeal is apparent as the player fights for grip as developers have incorporated eight points of contact to the tire model as opposed to one in the past. Braking into corners depending on the angle will cause the car to behave differently, which will also change based on the car. Tire temperature does play a factor and so does tire pressure as the game will guide players on how to address this and not leave them at a disadvantage. Car setups can also be shared along with part customization builds to allow for a wide variety of driving experiences.
This isn’t without caveats that were possibly overlooked in development. The focus on the tires has made a huge impact, but cars do not tend to lose grip altogether that much, or it’s more difficult to do so. Also, there are no punctures, so there’s no ultimate penalty to pushing the tires to 100% wear. When going with the non-simulation handling model, the game did feel closer to the Forza Horizon series, but somewhat more serious. The focus on the grip wasn’t as sincere to allow for that more approachable and entertaining experience. Also, when using the wheel, even the lightest of cars felt heavy, yet when using the controller, these cars felt more agile like they should. The controller does feel like the better all around experience and works well, but going with the simulation model with a good force feedback wheel is the immersion this series needed. The tire model is fantastic outside of those two aspects and kudos to the development team for the effort put towards the handling.
The Forza series has offered the Drivatar AI for some time, and it has returned albeit different this time. The only real portions that are copied over for the race are the names, cars and customizations. Machine-learning AI has now been implemented to race against with a difficulty ranging from 1-8 with the highest beating “unbeatable.” The new AI controller has mastered every possible car and track combination even with upgrades and weather factored in. The results, in its current state, are improved over the previous Drivatar systems, but are weird. The middle of the pack tends to pack up, but the leaders are basically unbeatable. What will be strange is that randomly they won’t be. There will be times the leader or the top three just blow everyone out of the water (on the higher difficulties), but I’ve seen them slow down. The AI can be aggressive and they’re not afraid to make contact. There’s still issues with them braking through corners right in the driving line. It seems like rubber banding at times, but the team has claimed this has been removed. With it being machine-learning, hopefully this will continue to evolve and be implemented.
The main Forza series has maintained its single player career experience and that carries through in Forza Motorsport with the Builders Cup Career Mode. While the game does require an internet connection to play, the Builder’s Cup brings that traditional formula to upgrade cars and race events. The process has been changed, which may split the fan base. While the competition might not pay out enough money for its races, that isn’t a concern here. Players can purchase cars and earn solid money to buy those cars, but the elephant in the room is how to upgrade the cars. Cars are leveled up the more they are raced and as they’re leveled up, parts are unlocked and a bigger pool of allocation points are unlocked to assign parts to boost performance parts. It’s a bit different, and this design decision ultimately holds back the overall player progression.
The Builders Cup doesn’t feel grindy, but rather the progression is just slow. Races require at least a three lap practice to learn the track and meet goals that can go towards leveling up the car. This cannot be skipped. Races vary in distance, but do not require winning the race to unlock the next series of events. The progression is rather linear, as well, as each event is basically one at a time without branching out. Players are also forced to buy a specific car for that series and it’s not like well I’ll come back to it later and try something else. It just feels like a lot of things are accomplished but aren’t in the grand scheme of things. Even with an SSD, the game still loads going into the race. It isn’t as instantaneous as the competition, and this doesn’t include the introduction video for each series.
What is a positive, however, is the car progression carries over to the other modes. Free Play allows user to take purchased cars to any track, and anything done during that race carries over. Same with Rivals, which is basically a Time Trial that pits the player against a specific online player’s time and ghost. Forza Motorsport also brings 500 cars at launch, and a decent amount of new cars including the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray. The series has always delivered on cars, but a lot of these were brought over from Forza Horizon 5. The game also includes twenty circuits that have been rebuilt with a good selection of American tracks, but strangely omits Daytona. Series favorites such as Maple Valley make their return, along with time progression, various times of day to race on, and various weather selection that affects handling. While there are no Indy Cars this time around, this is the one place to race vintage Formula One cars that even the licensed series won’t implement. We’re talking pre-1960s F1 cars that are licensed, which is awesome.
I reviewed this version on PC and while Forza Horizon 5 was a real showcase for hardware, Forza Motorsport is going to require GPU upgrades to get the most out of it. DLSS/FSR is required for anything below an RTX 4080 or AMD 7900 XTX to get high fidelity at 60 FPS, especially if any Ray Tracing is desired. While my setup with an RTX 3080 10 GB was getting 70-80 FPS in 4K without DLSS on Horizon 5, Forza Motorsport is cutting that almost in half. The game also doesn’t seem as impressive visually, as there seems to be a good bit of aliasing on cars at a distance. The visual design has never come off as photo realistic, but it is a pretty game. There is a lot of activity going on outside of what is going on during the race.
The car models seem to have deep colors and come off more as car models than something that would be seen on the showroom floor. There are an abundance of reflections that get massive with the inclusion of Ray Tracing. Trees and grass are two dimensional objects, as well, and the car damage seems to be reduced this year. The series has been known for that, but what’s happening here is more scrapes and the occasional dent, so it isn’t close to what is seen on Horizon. The backdrop in Mexico may have spoiled me, and there’s one track in Japan that is beautiful here, but some of the circuits just don’t stand out in comparison to the competition. The Ray Tracing may help push it, but that’s going to need a good system. I’m not sure if the lighting model has been upgraded or if this is legacy, but there is something just off about how the game looks. The thumbnails suffer in the car selection screen, but there are times the game looks stellar. Seeing headlights in the rearview mirror in a pack of cars looks awesome. It’s also worth noting, at least on PC, that some tracks get a better frame rate than others. It seems this needs some optimization, but dropping settings will help. There are dynamic optimization settings to focus more on frame rate, but it seems to take a step back from FH5 while demanding more hardware.
The serious tone of Forza Motorsport is immediately apparent with the soundtrack. The game offers no licensed music, so there isn’t anything to listen to during races. All there is are pure car sounds, and once against Forza shines with the immersive car noise that includes tire squeal. The sound design wants player to experience the cockpit, and while it doesn’t have all the creaks and little noises seen in a few others, it does an excellent job of providing many different audio experiences. Car collision is also borderline frightening and not just a thud, as bumping into another car should be apparent. The soundtrack is ambient and plays on loop, which is fitting for the game. Forza Motorsport has also streamlined its online experience with Featured Multiplayer Events. Inspired by the race weekend, the design has gone more towards its main competition with offering practice, qualifying and a race with events taking place continuously. They feature different classes with varying tire selection. Tires can also be selected during the event for qualifying and prior to the race. The online experience early on worked well with no strange hiccups, but I did have two drops prior to the race starting. The game also has private multiplayer, but does lack splitscreen at launch. Drag and drift racing is also set to come later, but also isn’t available at launch.
Closing Comments:
Turn 10 Studios and PlayGround Games have improved the simulation racing aspect with Forza Motorsport. The racing is clearly the focus and the results are best experienced with a wheel as the tire model physics have helped to push this more into sim racing territory. The game still offers accessibility to those who need it while helping players new to car culture and racing better understand the elements of it. The Builders Cup is the bulk of the game, but the way cars are upgraded and the slow progression will probably offer a mixed reaction. The selection of cars is excellent and the game also offers a great variety of circuits with notable American circuits not typically seen in games, but some other questionable ones are missing. The graphics requirements are pushed, but it doesn’t seem like a large upgrade, if any, over Forza Horizon 5 at launch. There are other cars on the track and a lot more going on then Horizon, but to take advantage of Ray Tracing requires a lot, and to maximize the visual experience on the Series X means the racing is done at 30 FPS. The updated multiplayer options is welcoming and Rivals allows for something different, but this game is much more grounded than what the Horizon series offers. Forza Motorsport is the best mainline series release in years, even if some of the design decisions hamper the experience.
