Review: Forza Horizon 4 brings together all the best of motorsport in games

Table of Contents

1. Practically a novice in the genre
2. First steps, first turns
3. Events for all tastes
4. In control of the steering wheel itself
5. Scoring on all questions
6. Difficulty for all tastes
7. Brave British World
8. Forza Horizon 4 is a current masterpiece of the genre

Fighting for first place in the racing simulator and semi-realistic/arcade categories, Forza franchise has been one of those responsible for popularizing and improving motorsport in games over the last ten years. Developed again by the hands of Playground Games, Forza Horizon 4 is a special invitation for everyone who wants to enjoy an unforgettable car game.

Practically a novice in the genre

First of all, I'd like to make it clear that I've never been a heavy consumer of semi-realistic racing games — with the exception of Need for Speed: Underground e Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, both in the PlayStation 2 era. Most games of this genre, for a long time, gave me the impression of increasingly impressive graphics in contrast to extremely repetitive gameplay.

That was until recently, when I noticed that the Forza Horizon series It was everything I ever dreamed of for this kind of game. Forza Horizon 3 it then became my main reason to buy a gaming PC, but I soon put it aside, motivated by the announcement of its successor during the Microsoft conference at E3 2018.

I think I made a great choice: unforgettable even for those who aren't fans of motorsport, it's a game so complete and enjoyable that even watching other players race through the lush countryside of the British countryside becomes interesting.

Without further ado, let's talk about what makes Forza Horizon 4 one of the best racing games of recent years and one of the strong contenders for the best Microsoft exclusive of the current generation.

First steps, first turns

Action, freedom and contemplation are some of the concepts that exemplify the totality of the experience of Forza Horizon 4, which proves its great pace of play from the first minutes, when we are put in control of a luxury sports car at high speed.

The biggest novelty appears without much staging: the system of seasons. In just over five minutes, we are entitled to experience a little bit of what each of the four seasons has to offer in terms of visuals and driving conditions.

Those who want to check out this dynamic start for themselves can enjoy the playable demo, released just days before its release for free to Xbox One e Windows 10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmQNo8xtcAg

The seasons gain a greater space after reaching the Horizon festival, where we are invited and motivated to participate in the imposing and important motorsport event. The player must then accumulate experience points to advance to the next season, and each season lasts between one and two hours – depending on your commitment to the unlocked events.

Events for all tastes

The variety of activities and events available at Forza Horizon 4 it will tire the less dedicated and aficionados of racing games, but it is always good to remember that much of the content offered is optional.

Events go far beyond the races themselves, encompassing cinematic footage, high-speed photo cameras, showcase events, exploration of blocked roads, advertising campaigns and much more.

The exhibition events are certainly a spectacle apart precisely because they use the concept of the setpiece so well. Pitting commercial cars against exaggeratedly unusual vehicles, this type of activity seeks to value the best of both worlds: frantic races in alternative environments and cinematographic action shots - a set that takes both audiovisual content and car control to a new level.

For long-time drivers, there are several types of more traditional races: off-road races, street competitions (the famous “cracks”), real-time challenges – which offer more fun during long journeys and inhibit the excessive use of the resource. fast travel —, vehicle damage resistance courses, and more.

It is worth remembering that all activities in the game, whatever the nature or the final objective, involve controlling a self-propelled vehicle — which justifies the fact that the game is still a racing game.

In control of the steering wheel itself

Driving is naturally mandatory in Forza Horizon 4 and it is very important that this action is responsive, accurate and easy to learn. Each car has specific parts and pieces, consistent with the reality outside the game.

In addition, there are many customization options and technical adjustments for the cars, which can be modified just for the race in question or permanently.

Don't you find it interesting to spend time “tuning your favorite machine”? Don't worry, there's a system that brings together pre-edited visuals and modifications for the most varied player preferences.

If you're a veteran and have spent good hours saving layouts and car setups in other titles in the series, you might prefer to upload your own customizations through a shared database that integrates other games in the Forza franchise.

It's not just cars that are customizable in Forza Horizon 4: from the first minutes, our character receives very personal attributes, such as his name, clothes and even a commemorative dance for the happy moments on the podium. In addition, blueprints are an important addition to content, making it possible to create events our way.

Scoring on all questions

One of the ways to play Forza Horizon 4 is to contemplate the game in a more uncompromising and casual way (arcade) during the events offered. For that, you can take risks in dangerous maneuvers, push your luck at high speed, destroy most of the elements of the scenario and look for areas of the map not yet visited (during free mode).

Possible interactions with static and dynamic elements of the world offer many rewards.

There are several experience meters and scores, each with different purposes. You influence points they regulate our progress in a given season and allow us to advance to the next season of the year during the early hours.

Os pontos Forzathon (which mixes the words Forza and marathon) are earned at the end of online multiplayer events — and are used to purchase weekly rotating content.

If you are interested in increasing and improving your fleet of cars, you should certainly pay attention to collecting credits — which may have multipliers and bonuses awarded depending on the difficulty settings chosen. But if your thing is to invest only in a few cars with their maximum performance, the best way is to collect skill points — those obtained by the continuous use of the car through skidding, destruction of scenery, good driving behavior and much more.

Finally, points are awarded to players who watch matches and races on the Mixer platform — as long as the player connects their Xbox to the content streaming service. This Microsoft strategy certainly had a positive impact on the promotion of the product and made the online community grow even more.

Difficulty for all tastes

Another way to live the game experience is to enjoy all its content in a more realistic way. Through a customizable, versatile and flexible difficulty system, it is very easy to place Forza Horizon 4 close to the car simulation level of the Forza Motosport series with just a few mouse clicks or control.

The amount of credits (money) the player will receive is proportional to the difficulty status of each item, which can be enabled, modified or disabled. Accessibility and assistance options range from manual/automatic shifts and turn/route indication lanes to wheel traction control and tire grip on the road.

Enabling all options for the most challenging difficulty may seem attractive to players more concerned with the competitive factor, but virtual opponents in these conditions can be too difficult even for those most used to games of the genre. An update with balance of speed and acceleration of drivatars would be welcome just in case.

Still on the difficulty, it is worth remembering how different the races can be in each new season and how much the environment itself impacts on the handling of cars. The terrain types encountered throughout the extensive map dramatically change the way we must handle acceleration, pinpoint speed and executing curved trajectories to maximize performance and maintain vehicle stability.

Brave British World

Roads, streets, avenues, slopes, boulevards and extensive highways. Grass, asphalt, mud, sand, dirt and boulders. The mix of different types of roads and terrain makes the world of Forza Horizon 4 a “playground” for all occasions and tastes — the distribution of environments and the contrast between them helps the player feel that he is always breaking new ground.

The amount of elements that represent the “hillbilly” region of Britain is impressive, with small towns scattered across the map to bring the fantasy to life. The textures in buildings, terrain and nature, however, leave a little to be desired when observed more closely - especially when we make use of the photo mode offered by the game to record the most memorable moments of the journey.

Even during the offline experience, the game world has interactions that involve other players from the community and friends added to your personal list. We are constantly finding “ghosts” that can be challenged to a 1v1 race. If you're not the competitive type, you can rest easy on the other players: they won't interfere with your performance and can't even crash into your car while traveling through the shared world.

If you like to drive for long distances, you can tune in to one of the radio stations to enjoy the moment between your place of departure and destination — I particularly enjoyed venturing down the highways to the sound of classical musicians such as Vivaldi and Claude Debussy. If you don't want to enjoy the beauty of the world, the fast travel feature can fit like a glove — as long as properties and fast travel points have been unlocked across the map. The only caveat is the amount of credits spent to reach a destination automatically, making the feature unfeasible for those who like to collect coins of this type to purchase vehicles.

Forza Horizon 4 is a current masterpiece of the genre

Forza Horizon 4 is imperfect, but what game isn't? Its qualities are so many compared to the small slips and skids that there is practically nothing to praise in the title. It's been a long time since a game made me feel this sense of freedom with cars, always keeping pace with a campaign and offering challenges that never feel too repetitive.

Above all, the game is an excellent gateway for newbies — even for those who don't care much for racing games. You will be amazed at what a car event in Great Britain can offer in terms of quantity and quality.

So, are you ready to run towards this challenge? Leave a comment.