Developer: Turn 10
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Platform: PC, Xbox Series X/S
Forza Motorsport – Review
Sadly our review copy of Forza Motorsport arrived at the finish line quite late, but even so, we were more than happy when we were offered a copy of the game to try out this soft reboot of the series. As we have played through many of the installments since the original was released all the way back in 2005 for Xbox 360, we have seen the series grow and we have seen some good and bad elements being added to the mix. Even so, with Turn 10 claiming to have built this installment from the ground up, we were more than eager to shift back into gear once again.
Story
While some simulation games go the extra mile to create a fun and original story to serve as the framework of the different missions and assignments you’ll play through, Forza Motorsport decided to skip adding an actual story mode. You can still play through a career mode, but there is no narrative to explain who you are, why you are competing, and so on. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. It means that Forza Motorsport is all about the gameplay and that it doesn’t have any useless fluff to pad things out. We didn’t mind the absence of a bigger story, but your mileage may vary on this.
Graphics
As a whole, Forza Motorsport looks quite amazing. The details of the cars have never looked better, and we enjoyed choosing a plethora of different rides to see the interior design as well. While not every ‘cockpit’ was as polished as others, it’s clear that the game was designed with care and attention to detail. The tracks also look great, even though simulation games that take place on circuits do get away with a bit more than, for example, the Forza Horizon series. We did love the visible damage to our cars when messing up, or when someone drove into us, as it added another layer of realism.
The UI is also clear, even though there may be too many menus to browse through at times. We feel as if things could have been a bit simpler here and there, but overall, you’ll find what you need quite easily.
Sound
The sound design is superbly handled regarding the overall simulation experience. All the cars in Forza Motorsport sound like their real-life counterparts, and this certainly helps with the immersion. We loved hearing the different engines roar, and even the sound of a good collision made us tense up from time to time. Of course, getting purposely bashed to the side in an online match wasn’t all that amusing. The supporting soundtrack is a bit bland and boring, and this seems to be a common trend for a lot of racing games nowadays. We still yearn for the days when properly licensed soundtracks would get us pumped to drive a few extra races in one sitting.
Gameplay
Forza Motorsport is a racing sim, and it’s also a soft reboot of the Forza Motorsport series. This means that the game is a new starting point for veterans and newcomers alike, and while it has many familiar elements, it also has quite a few new mechanics. Nonetheless, the gameplay is straightforward, as you just pick a mode, set the difficulty settings, and you’re basically good to go. We mainly spend hours in the career mode, while also dabbling with online play. Sadly, this latest Forza Motorsport installment does not support local split-screen, which is extremely disappointing.
If you’re a fan of offline single-play, then we reckon you’ll be spending most of your time playing through the career mode. You’ll take things one step at a time here, slowly improving your skills and buying new cars. The overall offset here is very easy to understand, and you’ll soon find yourself tinkering with the difficulty settings and the possible assists to create a custom experience that suits you the best.
In previous iterations, you’d gather funds by completing races, and you’d be rewarded more money depending on how few assists you had activated and the difficulty level of your opponents. When you had gathered enough funds, you were able to buy a new car or upgrade your current one(s). This is not exactly different in this newest version of Forza Motorsport, but the game does follow an RPG-like formula. By playing more with the car(s) you pick during races, you’ll level up said car, and it will gradually unlock more upgrades. This means that you’ll need to master your favorite car(s) first in order to unlock their full potential. This is a system you either love or hate, as it motivates you to try out more cars before fully upgrading them, but to some, it may also feel like artificial padding to extend the overall game’s duration.
In terms of accessibility, Forza Motorsport is amazing. The game is catered towards every possible player who shows an interest in the racing sim genre, and you can tinker with so many different settings. You can have assists support you throughout the entire race, helping you brake, showing you where you should slow down, and so on. But you can also opt to take the training wheels off, and then score a lot more money when completing races. With the many different assist options, you’ll also be able to gradually turn certain assists off in order to slowly improve your skills. It’s always a lot of fun when you are clearly making progress, and eventually find the level of play you are most comfortable with. Having this many options is also great for players who might not have that much free time, allowing them to still experience what the game has to offer without having to spend hours upon hours improving their skills.
Not uncommon for games like this, but there is a penalty system in play for when going off track, or when driving into your opponents. While during offline play the penalty system did work as expected, we did notice some shady behavior online where we would get rammed off track to then receive a penalty through no fault of our own. This didn’t happen all the time, but it did occur regularly enough to become rather annoying.
Conclusion
Forza Motorsport is a successful new starting point for the series, and while it still shows a few cracks in its solid foundation, we can easily recommend this to both newcomers and veterans of the genre. Some players may prefer a bit more meat on the bones of the career mode and may be disappointed by the lack of local split-screen, but all in all, the mechanics and the accessibility options are superbly crafted. This is a great sim game for Xbox Series X/S owners.
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