If you are a racing video game fan, chances are that you would have played any Forza Horizon title and if you are a Forza fan, chances are that you already have a list of new additions or changes that you would love to see in the next Forza Horizon title which might be called Forza Horizon 5. The latest title in the franchise Forza Horizon 4 appears to be nearing its end and if Forza Horizon 5 is indeed revealed at E3 this year, then it means that the developers might call it a day to focus on the new launch. Just like any other fan, I have my own suggestions on how Playground Games can further improve Forza Horizon 5 in order to deliver another great title for PC and Xbox Series consoles.
Better Racing Tires
If you have been playing Forza Horizon, you will know that traction and Forza titles are not the best friends. Making your car grip the road under pressure has always been an issue however with the brilliant Xbox One or even the original Xbox 360 controller, you can pretty much control that annoying tire spin to a great extent. However, when you compare the performance of racing tires of the real world to the racing tires of Forza Horizon 4, you will notice one thing. They are not as sticky as they should be.
At this moment, there are three basic types of racing tires available in the game if you ignore the offroad/snow tire, drag radials, and drift tires. While the Drag Radials are the most grippy tires in the game at this point, they are still not the choice of tire I would like to put on my track car that I want to thrash around corners at high speed since they mostly work only for straight-line takeoffs. Due to this reason, I would love to see better sticking tires in Forza Horizon 5 as well which would offer the stickiest compound that literally sticks to the road once it is warm enough. Having such racing tires would drastically improve the cornering and handling of track-focused vehicles in the game.
More Engine Options + Visual Engine Upgrade
There is an excellent choice of engine options currently available in Forza Horizon 4 however still we know that there are plenty of amazing engines out there that deserve to be a part of the Forza franchise. More engines are always better however apart from just swapping the engine on the backend, it would be amazing to see the engine inside the engine bay of the car be changed to the new one as well. I am sure that the Xbox Series X and PC now pack enough power that Playground Games can really push them to their limit and add tons of new features to the title so this will be an amazing option.
Explore More Brands as Well
Forza Horizon 4 has the most amazing collection of vehicles that you can imagine in any racing game however it still lacks plenty of car brands that would make it a good addition to the title. In addition, some of the JDM vehicles from the 90s which have been used as daily commuters would also make amazing additions to Forza Horizon 4. Out of the Japanese market, Suzuki is one brand that Forza has always ignored however in the past Suzuki had made some great vehicles.
Cars such as the Suzuki Alto Turbo RS, the Suzuki Swift, the new Suzuki Jimny, and the Vitara would make an excellent addition to the vehicle roster in Forza Horizon. Suzuki is also famous for its bonkers Suzuki Escudo Pikes Peak which was present in the early Gran Turismo titles however we never saw a single one in Forza. Other vehicles such as the Toyota Century, Toyota Mark X, Land Cruiser 200 series, or any of the older series, Toyota Fortuner, Toyota Tacoma, and Tundra are excellent additions for the title and I am sure many players would love to have these in the game along with other brands. Playground Games should really consider exploring the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) for future titles.
Off-Road Driving
First introduced in Forza Horizon 2, the off-road has been a major part of the Forza Horizon franchise ever since. It was just okay in Forza Horizon 2 with a limited number of off-road vehicles however both Forza Horizon 3 and Forza Horizon 4 have improved upon the off-road driving mechanics majorly along with adding different types of off-road vehicles in the game as well. With Forza Horizon 4 the most recent title in the franchise, it is still however far from perfect.
While it is a lot of fun to play, with each new title, we can expect some new improvements in this particular mechanic because off-road is now a proper part of each Forza Horizon title. Starting with suspension and offroad tires in the game, Forza Horizon 5 must include more options for off-road suspensions such as lift kits for trucks and additional offroad tire options instead of having just one in the game. There are plenty of different off-road suspension systems and tires that Forza Horizon can benefit from which will add more detail to the game as well.
A New Tuning and Modification Section with a Fresh UI
While I believe in the philosophy of ‘If it is not broken, do not fix it’, the tuning and modification section of the Forza Horizon franchise could do with a rework. It is very simple and easy to use at this point in Forza Horizon 4 however having a fresh UI for starting on a new generation will certainly give players something fresh to explore when they jump in the title when it comes out.
The horizontal sliding is getting a little too boring now and it has been the very same since Forza Horizon 1. The car selection screen did see some nice changes in Forza Horizon 4 however a new UI and look for modification and tuning screen of the game is a long due now. I am not asking for a complete overhaul of the screen however a new look is always fresh and good to look at and I think that this screen now deserves a new look.
Off-Road Checkpoints Should Be Wider
Forza Horizon 4 is an open-world racing game and while road racing events are mostly closed off and take place mostly closed, the off-road events are the events where you can really flex your wings. However, with the current checkpoint system of the game, the off-road races do not really feel open with checkpoints placed at close distances eliminating the need for bigger vehicles by limited all of them to set courses and limits even if there is nothing around the area.
Instead of having a ‘gate’ checkpoint, the offroad races should have a marker or a flare on the ground with a set area around them that accepts the player’s passing through the checkpoint. If you have played Midnight Club L.A., you will easily get my point because that game has one of the best checkpoint systems I have ever seen in any open-world racing game, and it truly feels like an open-world racing game.
Having a ‘gate’ checkpoint with tight limitations forces everyone to squeeze through and since the vehicles are really big, there are collisions and even if you are trying to avoid others, there is no chance of avoiding collisions while trying to pass through these small, gated checkpoints. The road racing and even dirt racing events are fine with the traditional gated checkpoints however the open-world off-road races should opt for a new checkpoint system.
Ditch the Drivatar System
Introduced in Forza Horizon 3, the new Drivatar System was introduced to the franchise where the game would create a virtual driver for every player playing the game. The stats of this virtual driver would be a carbon copy of the real player as the game would learn from their driving habits and would adjust the virtual Drivatar accordingly. This was extremely significant in Forza Horizon 3 however Playground Games did not really push it while marketing Forza Horizon 4.
However, the system is still in place, and it sometimes gives pretty weird results. The system is not performing as it should be because, during most of the races, people in my friend’s list who have never played a Forza Horizon title are at the first, and players who actually play the game are sitting at the bottom of the roster because, for some reason, the game wants you to race against people who are in your friend’s list and makes them race exceptionally well despite them not playing the game even a single time.
I was comparing the AI of Forza Horizon 2, Forza Horizon 3, and Forza Horizon 4 the other day and I found Forza Horizon 3’s AI to be the weakest and also the most aggressive. While the system has certainly improved in Forza Horizon 4, I still think that Forza should go back to normal AI drivers rather than using player data to simulate the Drivatars in the game. Difficulty-wise, the Unbeatable AI of Forza Horizon 4 is much more lenient than Forza Horizon 3 however because of improved car control, Forza Horizon 4 is also much easier to play against Unbeatable AI of Forza Horizon 2 which can absolutely crush you in races.
Stay Away from Microtransactions
At this point, I have massive respect for Playground Games. Not just is Forza Horizon 4 free of microtransactions but the weekly updates and seasons are also dropping in the game free of charge. Each new update comes with at least 2 or 3 brand-new cars that were never in the game before which means that Playground Games is still purchasing licenses for these vehicles and adding them to the game. Still, there are no microtransactions in the game and I love the developers for this.
The weekly Forzathon started in Forza Horizon 3 however now it has expanded into a fully fletched season cycle along with the Forzathon giving a large number of events and activities for players to complete in order to win Super Wheelspins. All of the rewards are free and players can access all of them without paying a single dime and the grind is not high as well. Unlike most live update titles, there is no Season Pass here as well apart from the Car Pass or other paid expansions and DLC packs.
Forza Horizon to this day remains one of my favorite titles and the best racing franchise currently available in the market. A friend of mine introduced me to Forza Horizon back on the original Xbox 360 and since then I have been hooked to the franchise to the point that I critically compare every racing title to Forza and end up not liking them. Every subsequent Forza title has been massively improved over the past ones however there are still various things that I would like to see changed and further improved upon in the title.
With the E3 2021 right around the corner and a Forza Horizon 5 reveal highly possible, I thought this was the right time to get out some suggestions for the developers and if I am lucky, there is a small chance that the developer might actually read this article. I have massive hopes for Forza Horizon 5 however with developers moving to more live service criteria for most titles, I do not want to see Forza going down the same microtransaction-filled road as well. It is perfect just the way it is, and I am sure that all fans will agree with me as well.
What would you like to see Forza Horizon 5 improve for the franchise and do you think that Playground Games will indeed reveal the next Forza Horizon title on E3 2021? Let us know in the comments section below.
