Forza Horizon 5: A Must-Play on PlayStation

There's truly nothing on the PlayStation 5 that matches the experience of Forza Horizon 5. It's a unique blend of expansive open-world racing and deep customization that sets it apart.

The Crew Motorfest comes close, embracing a festival vibe reminiscent of Forza Horizon. It's the closest competitor, having fully adopted a festival approach that echoes the Horizon series more than its own predecessors.

Unfortunately, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown doesn't quite hit the mark. While the Forza Horizon series owes much to the pioneering MMO racing of the original Test Drive Unlimited, Solar Crown's always-online requirement and lack of a solo mode stray too far from the seamless offline and online integration that Forza Horizon 2 introduced back in 2014.

Need for Speed Unbound offers impressive customization options that can outshine Forza Horizon in some respects, but its focus on arcade-style high-speed chases doesn't make it a direct competitor.

Forza Horizon 5 stands as the premier open-world racing game, and it's now available on PlayStation 5 for the first time. Players can explore the vast, stunning Mexico map, enjoy drift-friendly vehicle dynamics, and access a garage with over 900 cars, including cult favorites that aren't found in other racing games. PlayStation users are experiencing this rich world, many for the very first time, and the reactions have been delightful to witness.

The influx of new players is something the team at Playground Games has eagerly anticipated. Art Director Don Arceta expresses his excitement: "Yeah, I'm super excited. Like, brand new people; for many, this will probably be the first Forza Horizon game that they've ever played. So it's super exciting just to think about that, and think about what *our* first Horizon experiences were."

Arceta is particularly interested in the creations that PlayStation 5 players will make using Forza Horizon 5's robust Event Lab tools. "We have over 800 props now in the Event Lab, and just seeing what the community's done with that feature and mode – and the creativity of the community – it's just mind-blowing," he adds. "I'm super excited, once we get into the PlayStation 5 users, about what they'll build, and the creativity that will come from that community."

Players can also enjoy some fantastic Halo-themed content on PlayStation, thanks to the Event Lab props. "You’ll actually get some pretty good Halo content too on the PlayStation, with the event lab props!"

The port to PlayStation 5 has been executed flawlessly, matching the technical excellence of its Xbox and PC versions. This is an impressive feat, given the game's size and the fact that its engine has never been used on PlayStation before. "As you can imagine, because the series has been based around the Xbox environment and architecture, there’s a lot of code and engineering that’s worked with that," explains Arceta. "So when we brought it to the PS5, it was no small undertaking. It was quite a huge task."

The PlayStation 5 version was developed by Panic Button in collaboration with Turn 10 and Playground Games. "The PlayStation 5 version was developed by Panic Button, in collaboration with Turn 10 and ourselves, but Panic Button did an amazing job. So you get that amazing, quality experience that you get on Xbox and PC – now you get on the PlayStation, and it’s just amazing work that Panic Button has done," praises Arceta.

As a car enthusiast, I've always viewed the Forza series as the ultimate collection of Hot Wheels. No other racing series boasts such a diverse array of cars, including those you never knew you wanted. The prospect of new players discovering their favorite cars in Forza Horizon 5 is thrilling.

Lead Game Designer David Orton highlights the game's expansive nature, which he believes will impress new players. "The breadth of Horizon is quite staggering," says Orton. "I think what we find is players go in and find what they really enjoy but, because there’s so much freedom, that can really be whatever you want it to be."

Horizon is a space where everyone is welcome, offering something for every type of player. "We always pride ourselves on giving the player that kind of agency and freedom to do whatever they want, and the game will reward them and react in that way. I’m really looking forward to players just discovering the breadth of the content. If you just want to do road racing, or if you’re really into Rivals and track racing, you can totally do that. But if you love taking incredible photos, you can totally do that. If you’re into Event Lab, and you want to create content for other people, you can totally do that. Horizon is the space where really everyone is welcome, and there’s something in it for everyone. I think the feeling of people going in and realizing this is more than just a racing game is what’s really exciting for me."

Arceta's goal is to see players surprised and engaged. "For me, a victory would be, like, ‘I can’t believe I’ve never played this game before,’" he says. "I think the *surprise*. That, for me, is a victory, because once they’re surprised, they’re engaged – and they want to learn more. So I’m really looking for that. The delight from players; just hearing their surprise and hearing their stories."

Orton echoes this sentiment. "Yeah, I think it’s that," he adds. "Players who’ve never tried Horizon before – whether that’s because it’s on a different platform, or they’ve just never had the time to do it – to actually jump into this world and realize that it’s actually a really warm, welcoming place that’s full of fun, and finding a home at Horizon."

"Players who’ve never played before realizing that, ‘Oh my goodness, how have I never played this game before? This is incredible.’ That, to me, is a win. We’re about to target a cohort of players who may have never played a Forza title before. There’s a bit of an unknown to how people react to that, but I think when you look at the history of our titles, we’re continually perfecting our craft. We feel so excited to bring this to PlayStation. I think we’re going to bring in a whole load of new players and that’s really exciting."

In the realm of hobbies, car culture and video game console loyalty can be fiercely tribal. But for racing game enthusiasts, one significant barrier has been removed with Forza Horizon 5's arrival on PlayStation 5. Let's hope this is just the beginning.