Every now and then, a game comes along that just completely blows your mind and exceeds your every expectation. For me, that game was Forza Motorsport, one of the most accessible racing sims I’ve played in a while that’s equally rewarding, as it is exciting. In my Forza Motorsport review, I’ll take a look at their finest entry yet, and one of the best games of 2023.
The Campaign
The campaign of Forza Motorsport is divided into what are known as “Tours of Motorsport.” These are special events that focus on specific types of cars, be they everyday family cars, sports cars, or even supercars.
It doesn’t end there, however. Forza Motorsport further divides these Tours into different Tour types, be it Modern, Enthusiast, Power, or even Legacy. Each of these tours gives you the opportunity to try out some of the world’s most iconic cars from different eras.
I had a lot of fun with these curated experiences that kept the variety up throughout, and familiarized me with various vehicle types, and how those race differently.
Case in point, the Dodge Viper. The Viper is my all-time favorite car. I consider it to be automotive perfection in every single aspect. So when I finally got the opportunity to play around with it in one of the tours, my heart filled with a type of joy it hadn’t felt in a long time.
Forza Motorsport Has Over 500 Cars!
Yup, you read that right. Forza Motorsport has over 500 cars for you to try out and play around with. Some of the most unique and luxurious cars in the world make an appearance in Motorsport. That’s a lot of cars! It’s no wonder then why the game’s file size is over 100GB across all platforms.
Just as in its previous entries, cars are divided by their performance index, which is denoted by a specific letter. Generally, the weakest cars fall into the E category, while the strongest cars fall into the X category.
These take a while to unlock, but, seeing your collection build up feels rewarding, and pushes you to experiment with different cars. This aspect can feel a bit overwhelming because of the sheer variety, but it won’t take long for you to pick favorites, and swap out cars whenever you feel like.
The Car Customization is Unmatched
Honestly, the customization options in Forza Motorsport are unmatched, even when compared to previous entries in the series. You can change and fine-tune every single detail about your car. And you definitely should, as that’s how you’ll end up getting the most out of your collection.
Let me list real quick everything that you can change. You can change the fuel injectors and air intakes, you can change the engine and its parts, you can change the platform and the handling, you can change the tires as well as the wheels, and, you can even change the steering wheel itself. But that’s not all.
Once you’ve installed these new parts, you can fine-tune them by adjusting the tires, the gearing, their alignment, the anti-roll bars, the springs, the dampening, the suspension geometry, the aerodynamics of the car, the brake, the differentials, and finally, the steering wheel.
That’s definitely an exhaustive list. However, it becomes less exhaustive once you get the hang of things. Thankfully, the game does a great job of guiding you and telling you what everything does. Once you learn how everything works, fine-tuning your car becomes one of the most fun aspects of the game.
The Driving is Realistic, But Fair
Both Forza series cater to different audiences, and Motorsport has done a tremendous job in pushing the sim aspect further for the series. This is the closest the Forza series has come to simulating the feeling of being in an actual race car by providing an uncompromised experience if you’re up for it
The cars definitely feel realistic, and the audio design works in tandem to make each vehicle feel powerful. They interact with the environment just as you’d expect them to do. This is especially noticeable at higher speeds or when the racetrack gets wet because of the rain. Your vehicle will noticeably respond differently based on a myriad of different factors.
This is where the tuning aspect comes into play. You don’t tune your car just to get the highest max speed or 0 – 60. You also tune it to make it perform better in certain conditions. Something as minute as the angle of your tires can have a drastic effect on how your car performs.
I think that this is the real beauty of Forza Motorsport. Even though the driving is challenging, you still feel as if you’re in full control of your vehicle. Every little input and every little change feels significant. This really helps you form a bond with the car you’re driving.
There’s Something For Everyone
Forza Motorsport has a little something for everyone, be they complete beginners to the series, or returning veterans. In that regard, the difficulty settings offer you the perfect amount of options to choose from to fine-tailor your experience.
If you’re a beginner or someone who’s inexperienced with racing simulators, you can easily lower the difficulty before each race to something that’s comfortable. Additionally, you can also select which rules you want to play with.
If, however, you’re a veteran. You can customize the experience to be as punishing as you want it to be. Not only will this feel more exhilarating, but it will also give you higher credit rewards at the end of each race.
It’s a Beautiful Game, If You Can Run It
Forza Motorsport is an absolutely beautiful game and one of the most realistic titles I’ve seen in a while. Everything about the presentation feels purposefully placed to simulate a racing environment, and the tracks are chock-full of detail.
However, that comes with its own caveat. Because it’s so gorgeous, it’s also quite demanding, especially on PC. Its system requirements are definitely something, to say the least. If you can max it out, it’s a glorious sight to behold, but I would’ve liked it if it scaled well when it comes to performance on mid-budget hardware as well.
Every little detail about the cars is rendered to be as accurate as their real-life counterparts. At times I even got the uncanny valley feeling because everything was so realistic.
In Summary
Forza Motorsports is arguably one of the best racing games in recent years, and definitely a must-have if you’re a petrolhead interested in fine-tuning automobiles to have as much control over the mechanical beast you’re driving. The game offers hundreds of hours of content, on account of the staggering variety of cars, tours, customization, and racetracks. It’s an incredibly polished experience that sounds as good as it looks, and I had an absolute blast playing through it.
What did you think of our Forza Motorsport review? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
This preview is based on the PC version of Forza Motorsport. The key was provided by Xbox Game Studios.
