We’ve been waiting way too long for a new Forza Motorsport game. Since Forza Motorsport 7 landed in 2017, we’ve had two Forza Horizon games, suffered the horrific Forza Street, and watched in horror as FM7 itself was delisted from sale and removed from Game Pass in 2021 after its licenses expired.
Enter Forza Motorsport–not Forza Motorsport 8, because whatever–to finally fill the crater of Microsoft’s console-exclusive sim racing output. It’s six years very well spent.
Forza Motorsport isn’t just worth the wait for under-served fans of Turn 10’s franchise; it’s also the perfect entry to the series for filthy casual racers like me, who’ve notched over 700 hours on Forza Horizons with a controller–not a wheel–who are looking for something to lure them away from an increasingly one-note FH5, or finally play a modern Xbox response to Gran Turismo 7.
As simulation racing goes, Forza Motorsport sits in that sweet spot between its contemporaries and manages to cater to all tastes. It’s more serious than stablemate Forza Horizon 5, more approachable than Assetto Corsa Competizione or Project CARS, and also feels a little more polished and professional than GT7. Even the most passive, part-time arcade racing fans have every opportunity to adjust to its more unforgiving standards through scalable difficulty options and a suite of assists.
Forza Motorsport also goes one step further to level the playing field with its excellent accessibility options, which go far beyond the options that are thankfully becoming a standard across the industry. The Blind Driving and One-Touch Driving options are incredible feats of engineering, and proof that we can and should do better to connect everyone with gaming experiences.
Looks galore
Straight out of the bag, Forza Motorsport looks absolutely phenomenal. If you have a Series X, don’t be swayed by the recommended, standard Performance option or the 4K Visuals mode; Performance RT, which throws raytracing into the mix, may not guarantee 60fps but seems to deliver it consistently, with next-to-no checkerboarding or blur. It’s so good that you’ll organize nearly every free-play race at night, in wet conditions, just to bathe in spectacular lighting.
The same beauty isn’t found in the game’s menus, which lean a little too much into the notion of Forza Motorsport being a Serious Game for Serious People. Still, they make sense and work perfectly fine, even if you don’t get the freedom to explore these properly until you complete the Builders Cup: your introduction to the new RPG-influenced Career Mode, which you’re forced to play before you can pick your favorite car and circuit and have fun on your own terms.
Super Car-io RPG
Forza Motorsport’s new approach to its core story will split fans, as it introduces a vehicle-led leveling-up system that rewards you with upgrades and abilities based on how long, and how well, you drive any given car. FH makes a very big deal of it from minute one, first by overexplaining how it works through long-winded tutorials, then by strongarming you into practice sessions, which you can’t skip in favor of the race itself–you have to commit to them, even if it’s only to immediately exit them to go to the big event.
These early forays in Practice mode soon highlight just how spectacular the driving experience feels. Every turn feels predictable; you feel every ounce of downforce through the Corkscrew, The Boot, and Maggotts; every inch of an aquaplane is felt during a monsoon; every transition between track and apex and grass and sand is almost palpable, to the point you might find yourself going rogue just to see how you can respond to a calamity. You’ll also feel every pound of heavy iron from a Ford Sierra Cosworth, as it struggles through light corners.
Practice laps serve as your first, hands-on experience of Forza Motorsport. You’re given goals to complete for car experience points (CXP), which are collected in the top right corner of the screen, and you level up as you go. Overarching goals focus on completing a minimum number of laps, or getting a certain lap time, while “Key Segments” encourage you to improve your abilities through crucial and tricky sections of each circuit.
It’s not just these sections that are critical; Forza Motorsport effectively gamifies every stretch of a racetrack with a Sequence Score, grading you out of 10 on a still-undeterminable scale, giving you more CXP based on your success. Your early scores will likely range between four and seven; go off the track, clip a corner, or bump into someone else–whether it’s your fault or not–and you get 1.0. It’s a mesmerizing system, to the point you might mess up the next track section after getting distracted by your grade from the last.
The game has two achievements for getting over 9.0, as well as a perfect 10, which you’ll undoubtedly unlock with ease on a track like Lime Rock Park, where sections can be incredibly forgiving. This doesn’t diminish from the real satisfaction you get from those moments when you’re bombing around, say, a rain-soaked Spa-Francorchamps at 170mph, negotiating your way through the middle order, and unbelievably picking up a 9.2 for your hard work through Eau Rouge and Raidillon.
On the face of it, the grading system may seem clinical and occasionally pointless, but receiving scores feels like you’ve got someone in the pit lane who constantly encourages you to be better–and you find yourself raising the difficulty as these numbers get higher. It’s just a shame you’re only rewarded with money, not extra experience, for taking a gamble on tougher opponents, harder rulesets, or a lower grid position.
After a while–and if you’re susceptible to enjoying progression for the sake of “progression” (guilty as charged), you begin to feel like you’re bonding with your car as you unlock its potential. Who thought a Hyundai Veloster or a Subaru Legacy RS would feel like part of your body, never mind your garage?
Still, it’s a little frustrating that you must put a lot of time into each car, but career mode does a nice enough job of broadening your garage through different cups and tournaments. You can also raise your car’s game through free play mode, even just through test laps, as I did with the iconic, ugly-but-beautiful-but-still-ugly Jaguar XJR-9, which sadly (but understandably) lacks its iconic Silk Cut cigarette livery–an issue the design community has undoubtedly fixed already.
Serious circuits
Forza Motorsport’s 20-strong list of launch tracks is nicely balanced, and each one is true to its real-life counterpart. Most break down into two or more variations–up to five, if you’re lucky–giving you plenty of options. Sadly, the full Nordschleife layout of the Nürburgring won’t be available until spring 2024, but that’s because every circuit has been fully rebuilt for the game; it’s easy to forgive them for the delay, especially as Le Mans’ Circuit International de la Sarthe is available from day one, begging for an immediate race in Ayrton Senna’s McLaren MP4/4.
Still, there are notable omissions. Fan favorites like Tsukuba Circuit and Sebring International Raceway aren’t included or on the future roadmap, and while the Nordschleife and Yas Marina will join the line-up in the future, there’s no sign of any unofficial racetracks.
Circuit de Prague, Rally di Positano, and the Bernese Alps would be the perfect way to showcase just how stunning Forza Motorsport is, and breathe a little more life into the franchise in its newest outing. Still, given the more serious direction Forza Motorsport is going, it looks like we’re only getting real-life circuits in the coming months, which would be a huge shame, because it only plays into Forza Motorsport’s reputation for being a bit boring.
Racing standard
Right now, only owners of the $100 Premium Edition (version tested) have access to the game, thanks to its five-day early access bonus. Alongside the 30-strong Car Pass–which Deluxe Edition owners also receive–there are bonuses including double cash, more cars, and a $500,000 starting bonus.
In real terms, these are all superfluous. It’s easy–actually, pretty effortless–to only spend your earned money on cars and go the traditional route, growing your cash and garage through the nicely balanced career mode. Sure, it takes time, but Forza Motorsport is so satisfying, you don’t feel the need to add silly cars to your personal roster, especially when you can blow off some steam in free play with any car you like, as they can be rented for free.
As such, the standard edition Forza Motorsport will more than satisfy players when it finally lands on Game Pass on October 10. It’s more or less a must-download game for anyone tempted to play it, even if it clocks in at over 130GB.
Forza Motorsport seems to have dropped the number 8 for a reason. With regular support, new car drops, other circuits, more tournaments, and more licenses–here’s hoping for Lancia, especially as it’s finally in FH5–it won’t need a sequel.
Crucially, it makes you want to get better at racing games–especially if you prefer more casual or arcade-lite driving experiences. Sure, you could win every championship in Forza Horizon 5, but how can that compare to the rush of a 7.4 through Canada Corner on a rainy Tuesday night?
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