Forza Horizon 5: A Must-Play on PlayStation

There's nothing quite like Forza Horizon 5 on the PlayStation 5. It's the epitome of open-world racing games, and now, for the first time, it's available to PlayStation users. While other racing games like The Crew Motorfest and Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown have their merits, they don't quite match the comprehensive experience that Forza Horizon 5 offers.

The Crew Motorfest, for instance, adopts a festival approach akin to Forza Horizon, making it the closest competitor in spirit. On the other hand, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, despite its pioneering MMO racing roots, misses the mark with its always-online requirement, lacking the seamless offline-online transition that Forza Horizon has perfected since 2014.

Need for Speed Unbound boasts an impressive customization suite, but its focus on high-speed pursuits differentiates it from the broader appeal of Forza Horizon 5. The latter's vast and picturesque Mexico map, its drift-friendly vehicle dynamics, and an expansive garage of over 900 cars, including cult favorites, set it apart. PlayStation users are now diving into this rich experience, many for the very first time, and the reaction has been thrilling to witness.

The influx of new players is something the team at Playground Games eagerly anticipated. Art Director Don Arceta shares 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 looking forward to the creations that PlayStation 5 players will make using Forza Horizon 5's Event Lab. With over 800 props available, the creativity of the community has been astounding. "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 says. "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."

"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 technically impeccable, matching the quality seen on Xbox and PC. This is a significant achievement given the game's size and the fact that the engine had 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 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."

As a car enthusiast, the vast selection of unique and beloved vehicles in Forza Horizon 5 is a major draw. Lead Game Designer David Orton emphasizes the game's broad appeal: "The breadth of Horizon is quite staggering. 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."

"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 hopes that new players will be pleasantly surprised: "For me, a victory would be, like, ‘I can’t believe I’ve never played this game before,’ 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 agrees, anticipating that new players will find a welcoming and fun environment: "Yeah, I think it’s that. 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."

For racing game fans, the arrival of Forza Horizon 5 on PlayStation 5 breaks down a significant barrier. Let's hope it's not the last.