Forza Horizon 5 is the newest racing game in the Forza series that brings the thrilling "playground" formula of its predecessor to a totally new and exotic setting, with some enhancements and additions to boot.

Just as with Forza Horizon 4, this 5th installment throws all the mechanics proper to a racing game into a sandbox. This approach has forever shaped the future of racing games ever since Burnout Paradise entered the scene. In that sense, you may say that Forza is not entirely innovative, but it does reinvent the Burnout recipe in an interesting and (dare we say) groundbreaking way.

Before you ask, this is not "Skyrim on wheels". though you could make the case that it has more in common with Assassin's Creed than with your average arcade racer. Just when you thought the open-world frenzy was over, we're apparently still a long way from that happening (if ever).

In a similar fashion to Assassin's Creed and Forza Horizon 4, Forza 5 takes place presumably in a condensed version of a real-world setting. But, whereas Forza 4 allowed you to get lost in the lush (albeit repetitive) British countryside, Forza 5 sets you on a quest to explore exotic Mexican biomes. Fans of the previous game would probably miss the more European aura of Forza 4, though I have no complaints about how the new setting was put together and conveyed.

Though they're not totally different from each other, Forza 5 does bring some improvements over its predecessor. One of these is the way you can progress throughout the game. It was cumbersome to try to make sense of the UI in Forza 4, and the number of options tossed at your face was so overwhelming that you were left mentally staggered.

Don't get me wrong, though, Forza 5 is still huge! You will be graced with lots of stuff to do and events to unlock, but at least the game makes an effort to simplify the content list so that, when you launch the game after a long break, you'll not be left scratching your head wondering where you were and what you're supposed to do during your next session.

To give some examples of what you can do in this game, you can choose to partake in closed-track road races or to rather roam in the wilderness and do cross-country rallies instead. You'll also have a map (huge map. by the way) bloated with a plethora of icons in a way that's very reminiscent of your typical Ubisoft release, each representing different challenges, racing events, and rumors.

Finally, before delving into the gameplay aspect, I feel the need to talk about the graphics. If there is one game that feels next-gen, it's this one. The lighting is incredibly photorealistic, and the textures are simply unmatched by those of any old-gen game you can name (or even current-gen in most cases). This game also supports ray tracing in Forzavista.

On a 3080Ti, it can easily reach 94 fps on extreme settings at 1440p. The Xbox Series X, on the other hand, can run Forza 5 at a stable 60 fps with a 30 fps option for those who prefer higher graphic fidelity. I personally opt for sacrificing visual candy in favor of performance, particularly when it comes to a racing game that demands a bit more input accuracy.