Forza Horizon 5 is a clear example of why having a huge map doesn't always mean it's a good thing. I have a lot of criticisms for the game, but for now, I will focus on the three main ones: map content, roads and handling model. I will also compare the game with FH4 and GTA 5 because I expected it to be better than its predecessor and older open world games.

The map is huge, but boring and empty. The desert biome is just sand and cacti. The jungle biome is just trees. The farmland biome is just crops. There is only one major city - Guanojuato - but even it is small. There are a few towns scattered along the coasts on both ends but they are uninteresting. There are hardly any landmarks worth visiting, apart from Copper Canyon and... well, I can't think of any. There is a giant volcano but it serves no purpose. There's also a stadium in the middle of the map, and it also serves no purpose other than Playground Games event. Even FH4 is more urbanized than this. Street races actually felt like street races, not some country road cruising. Details are severely lacking compared to GTA V. Now, you might say GTA is an open-world game, but so is FH5. You might say, Rockstar games has decades of experience in making open-world games, but GTA V was released in 2013, and FH5 was released a year short of FH's 10-year anniversary, and 9 years is plenty of time. Instead, what we got is an empty map.

Now, the roads. Boring as always. Virtually all of the roads are two-way single-laned, apart from the massive highway stretching from East to West, but even the highway looks like it was placed to satisfy players' requests as FH4 didn't really have one. Sharp corners are gone, and are replaced by long and excruciating bends. A typical road segment starts with a short straight, slight bend to the right, short straight, slight bend to the left, short straight and so on. Racing on roads like these felt extremely boring. It also looks like the roads were placed there before orogeny happened. Instead of roads that follow the contour of the terrain, sometimes you'll find them going over hills. The only road up the mountain feels like it was made for drifting.

Finally, the handling model. It drastically changed from FH4's. Cars are more drift-friendly now. You can drift with almost any car now, even with FWD cars. Responsiveness is very low.

I cannot recommend this game because of the lack of enough content to justify its price tag. If you value your money more, play FH4 instead.

Forza Horizon 5 is a clear example of why having a huge map doesn't always mean it's a good thing. I have a lot of criticisms for the game, but for now, I will focus on the three main ones: map content, roads and handling model. I will also compare the game with FH4 and GTA 5 because I expected it to be better than its predecessor and older open world games. The map is huge, but boring and empty. The desert biome is just sand and cacti. The jungle biome is just trees. The farmland biome is just crops. There is only one major city - Guanojuato - but even it is small. There are a few towns scattered along the coasts on both ends but they are uninteresting. There are hardly any landmarks worth visiting, apart from Copper Canyon and... well, I can't think of any. There is a giant volcano but it serves no purpose. There's also a stadium in the middle of the map, and it also serves no purpose other than Playground Games event. Even FH4 is more urbanized than this. Street races actually felt like street races, not some country road cruising. Details are severely lacking compared to GTA V. Now, you might say GTA is an open-world game, but so is FH5. You might say, Rockstar games has decades of experience in making open-world games, but GTA V was released in 2013, and FH5 was released a year short of FH's 10-year anniversary, and 9 years is plenty of time. Instead, what we got is an empty map. Now, the roads. Boring as always. Virtually all of the roads are two-way single-laned, apart from the massive highway stretching from East to West, but even the highway looks like it was placed to satisfy players' requests as FH4 didn't really have one. Sharp corners are gone, and are replaced by long and excruciating bends. A typical road segment starts with a short straight, slight bend to the right, short straight, slight bend to the left, short straight and so on. Racing on roads like these felt extremely boring. It also looks like the roads were placed there before orogeny happened. Instead of roads that follow the contour of the terrain, sometimes you'll find them going over hills. The only road up the mountain feels like it was made for drifting. Finally, the handling model. It drastically changed from FH4's. Cars are more drift-friendly now. You can drift with almost any car now, even with FWD cars. Responsiveness is very low. I cannot recommend this game because of the lack of enough content to justify its price tag. If you value your money more, play FH4 instead.