Last summer, we received the first expansion for Forza Horizon 5 with the playful Hot Wheels. Now the next expansion pack is here, and it offers something completely different, something that hasn’t really been explored in the game series, namely rally racing. Of course, what we’re getting is more of a Forza Horizon version of the sport than a pure rally, and all motorsports fanatics are sure to take notice immediately, thanks to a host of technical factors that prove it’s not a rally. But a game should be judged by what it is, not by what some people definitely want it to be.
This time around we enjoyed a map called Sierra Nueva, which is varied enough to keep you interested and includes parts of the world we didn’t see in the base game, like the quarry. If that’s not your cup of tea, you can hit winding mountain roads, ravines, or open fields, not to mention dirt roads that fit the expansion’s theme. The road network is well worth the drive, even for round-trip races, rather than using the fast-travel option.
It all starts with a new festival, Badlands. For those who haven’t played the base game, these festivals or outposts are the starting point for different types of matches. Badlands, of course, focuses on rally adventure. The introduction allowed us to do this by queuing in RVs, descending high cliffs, and testing new mechanics. Once there, you can choose one of three different teams, each of which hosts a different type of competition. There’s Horizon Raptors focused on Dirt Rally on gravel and other mixed surfaces (not the game series of the same name), there’s Apex Predators focused on Road Rally, which takes place mostly on asphalt, and finally there’s Grit Reapers who like to drive at night, preferably in bad weather Get off the driver. Choosing a team has no major impact on the experience, but is really just a way to start a type of match. The others unlock shortly after.
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There are around 25 activities – along with various speed cameras, drift zones and jumps – to experience, and they can be run in two different ways. Either the classic Forza Horizon approach, where all the cars run simultaneously during the race, or the new, more rally-like approach, where you set the best time while trying to beat other drivers’ times. Split times are regularly included here so you can keep track of how far ahead or behind you. I definitely prefer the latter version, but if you prefer to play against multiple opponents at once, you can do that too. All this, and the classic map reading with all the turns, jumps, etc., adds to the rally effect, but the big problem is that your instructor won’t be in the car with you, but will be flown up in a helicopter. The most interesting thing is that “chicken” is the navigator’s warning when the chicken runs across the road. It’s the little details like this that I appreciate the most. “Hard left, easy right, followed by chicken!” Incredible.
the winner
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But what would the whole rally expansion look like without a few extra rally cars? There are ten new ones in total, which I personally think is too few. One of them was a classic 2001 Ford Focus RS driven by Colin McRae and co-driver Nicky Grist. I would have liked some purer rally cars, classic or not, because many other types of vehicles these days, such as off-road vehicles, are made into rally versions. In this case, the big question is how fun these (and all other) cars are to drive on this new map. The answer is that it’s a really fun arcade experience where you can drive any car you like, although the game recommends cars for each game, so if you want to drive a 2015 Volvo V60 Polestar on Mexican dirt roads, you can. So, in Forza Horizon fashion, find a favorite car and use it for all races, or switch it up from time to time. For me, the most interesting ones are definitely the real rally cars, like the recently mentioned Ford Focus.
Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure offers an arcade-style rally experience that’s hard not to get hooked. There’s a new varied and beautiful map to drive in a classic rally car with a helicopter co-pilot, and there are several rally types to choose from, such as gravel or tarmac racing. There’s still that fun Forza Horizon racing, but now in a dusty guise.