Forza Motorsport Review: Life in the Fast Lane

If there is one common drawback with simulation games, it is that the formula mostly remains stagnant. This is both good and bad as it offers a range of familiarity but, at the same time, may not offer enough novelty to justify a purchase. This, of course, is a big challenge for developers looking to innovate their games. And yet, Turn 10 Studios has managed to include many things in Forza Motorsport that made it feel fresh without abandoning the formula the series was built upon.

Forza Motorsport Review: Pedal to the Metal

I feel it is important to clarify what angle I’m approaching this title from. I’ve always been a casual player when it comes to racing simulators. Yes, I love playing them and have sunk many hours into them in the past, but I wouldn’t call myself a connoisseur like many other dedicated racers out there.

Unlike The Horizon series, which is geared toward those looking for freedom in an open world and more lighthearted gameplay, Motorsport is about competition and fine-tuning vehicles to stand out on the racing track. Sure, this may sound like something that puts pressure on the player, but this new title doesn’t do that. Turn 10 Studios has done a wonderful job of creating a very accessible racing simulator, perfect for new and casual players such as myself.

Story: Starting From the Bottom

Forza Motorsport’s career mode has been heavily pushed in marketing leading up to its release. Although many players prefer to jump into free play and other modes, single-player lovers will find plenty to like in Builder’s Cup. This mode allows you to participate in various themed cups with different types of cars. You start with a simple car and upgrade it to compete against other AI racers, a fantastic way to dip your toes into the game’s deep racing waters.

At first, I won’t lie; I wasn’t very excited about this game mode. Still, I decided to stick with Builder’s Cup, and the hours went by without notice. It all really clicked for me when I noticed an unexpected similarity to Pokemon. Yes, it’s an odd comparison, but bear with me.

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In Builder’s Cup, you choose a car of a certain range to race. This vehicle starts in its most basic form. It has no good parts, no upgrades, nothing. As you race and meet certain objectives, your car gains experience and unlocks elements for you to upgrade. At the end of my first cup, I felt like I had my Charmander that I saw grow into Charizard. Instead of a Pokemon, of course, I had my blue Subaru with an excellent air filter and some fantastic tires.

This made me get attached to my car because we both started with nothing, yet our combined efforts gave us money, upgrades, and a goal. While there’s no story, little by little, I was building my own narrative alongside my car. I had seen my little car with no augmentations rush down the Japanese or Italian-inspired tracks and take first place. We faced storms, dangerous curves, and other racers. But at the end of the day, when I saw myself on the podium, I had a sense of accomplishment and progress that I never thought a game like this would give me. And you know what, I didn’t stop there. I put my faithful vehicle to rest and headed to another cup with a new car to start a new adventure.

Gameplay: Smooth Road Ahead

In terms of gameplay, things remain practically the same, something expected in racing sims. The newest and most substantial addition is the Builder’s Cup mode. It’s a single-player mode that allows you to buy cars, use them in the race, and level them up. Each vehicle has its own level, so you’ll spend plenty of time unlocking everything they have, from new tires to turbos and spoilers. This will appeal to those who aren’t comfortable diving into multiplayer races.

One thing I want to mention is that newcomers won’t have such a hard time getting invested in this title. If you’ve been interested in trying out a racing sim but are afraid that the cars won’t control like the ones in GTA 5 or Cyberpunk 2077, Forza Motorsport offers a great Drive Assist option in the game.

While not offering an advantage, these visual cues are good for those unfamiliar with vehicle control in racing simulators. The Drive Assist helps you become familiar with taking corners, learning the speed of your vehicle and even warns you when to start braking. It doesn’t make you better at racing, but it gives you the tools to take on the competition and get to know the game’s systems better.

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One of the most important parts of the latest Forza Motorsport game is upgrading your cars. The game also has accessibility here, as it allows you to do it automatically. Although this is very useful, I noticed its disadvantages. As you earn car points, you can add new parts to your vehicle, but your opponents do the same. Initially, I did everything automatically, but as I took more races, I realized I had to do it manually to stay ahead of the curve. And I loved it. I loved to see what parts I could put to tune my car most finely. In some, I preferred to focus on handling, and in others, on acceleration.

During my limited time with the multiplayer suite, I came away with my eyes opened to a harsh truth: I wasn’t as good as I thought. But that didn’t discourage me. It inspired me to return to hone my skills on the track and return to face the experienced drivers time and time again.

Finally, it is important to note that I can see something that will be a turnoff to those dipping their toes in for the first time — grinding. If you focus on single-player mode, you will spend a lot of time doing the same thing, and it becomes repetitive. Have you leveled up a car completely? Now, repeat the whole process on the same tracks for another car. Yes, you can increase the difficulty of races against AI racers to level up faster, but beyond that, there is nothing dynamic that exponentially changes the process. Since the multiplayer modes I tried didn’t let me use my upgraded cars, I didn’t see a major reward for leveling up the many vehicles in the game.

Graphics and Audio: A Racer’s Paradise

I had the opportunity to review Forza Motorsport on a computer that exceeded the recommended requirements, and it was a visual delight. Playing with Ray Tracing enabled brings out the reflections and beauty of each car; it’s easy to forget you’re playing a game when you have this level of realism.

The game does a shader compilation at startup, but it only happens once. I saw a few times that some cars appeared only with wheels and nothing else, but after a few seconds, it was fixed. I also noticed that in some tracks, before reaching the goal, my frames dropped a little as if something was loading.

The sound design is one of the best there is. If you have headphones with 3D technology, you will feel it is the best way to experience this game. In multiplayer, I remember going on a track and hearing another opponent behind me. I could feel the roar of his engine and the effect of his braking as he approached me. It was so immersive that I sometimes felt like I was on the track. Without a doubt, it is the best sound design I have experienced this year, and any fan of these games is about to have the most immersive racing simulator, thanks to these small details.

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Conclusion: Go Racer Go!

Forza Motorsport is an excellent game that gave me hours of fun. Although I, as a relatively new player, loved it, there came a time when my enjoyment ran dry due to excessive grinding, a familiar pitfall that stems from adding RPG elements into genres where they don’t belong. Still, I can see some fans relishing in that goal of spending hours leveling up their favorite cars. But there’s not much innovation beyond those systems and accessibility, which are still welcome and a step in the right direction for the series.

While the game can become repetitive and tedious, I see myself putting more hours into it because there are many more cars that I’ve always wanted since I was a kid, and now I can have them virtually. Better yet, I will be able to upgrade them in my own way and take them to victory in one of the many competitions in the game. Turn 10 Studios has put the pedal to the metal in this installment, and it is one of the best racing simulators out there today.

Forza Motorsport is available now on Xbox Series X|S and PC (Reviewed).

Review copy provided by Publisher.