Title: Forza Horizon 4

Format: PC, Xbox One

Price: $59.99

Developer: Playground Games, Turn 10 Studios

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Release Date: October 2, 2018

The Grade: A+

Forza Horizon 4 Haiku Review

Jolly old England

  Seasons change, just like real life

So very pretty

What is it? An open world racing game set in England. As fans of this series have come to expect, the action in “Forza Horizon 4” centers on an automotive and music festival that has brought fans from all over the world to take part in a celebration of racing competition and car culture.


The Good: Each edition of the “Forza Horizon” series manages to top its predecessor, and “FH4” is no exception. Everything in this latest entry to the franchise is more significant on every level. Of course, being a racing game, that all starts with the cars.

The roster in “Forza Horizon 4” is huge, with 450 cars from 100 manufacturers, that’s 100 more vehicles than “FH3” and 250 more than “FH2.” “Forza Horizon 4” has even taken the diverse environments that worked so cleverly in “Forza Horizon 3” and improved on that as well. Australia had varied geographic environments, as does England. But “FH4” has added seasons.

Autumn, winter, spring and summer have arrived in “Forza Horizon 4.” Seasons will change every Thursday and will provide gamers with not only an added layer of challenge, but also seasonal championships, events and content. Players will get a taste of the seasons in the game’s prologue, which lasts 4-5 hours. I found the changes much more enjoyable than I expected. I was pushed out of my comfort zone when it came to the vehicles I drove, which required using more cars than I’m used to. However, switching cars was incredibly rewarding as I went deeper into the game.

“Forza Horizon 4” has other, more subtle changes as well. Your single player experience now centers more on your Horizon Life than just the Horizon Festival. Horizon Life is a cleaner way to track your progress throughout the game. This area of the menu tracks what you’ve accomplished and shows you what rewards you’ll earn for leveling up in a wide range of areas, which is another thing I love about this game. It constantly rewards you with credits, cars and outfits. Outfits?

That’s right, outfits. Your driver is much more involved out of the car than ever before. You won’t be getting out and running around (you have a drone for that) and your character isn’t particularly verbose, but you can now customize him/her with clothing, accessories and emotes, some of which are pretty ridiculous.

Video Game Haiku Review - "NHL 19"

The “Forza Horizon” series has always been visually stunning, but “FH4” just might be the prettiest game I have ever played. Icy roads glimmer and shine, trees move in the breeze independently of each other and sunsets are flat out jaw dropping. A reminder of the stunning beauty of this title are the seasonal changes. Each one brings its own unique visual elements. Several times I called my non-gamer wife to come into my man cave (which I call The Nerdery) just to look at what was onscreen. It’s that stunning.

The Bad: While I like now being able to switch into any vehicle I own without having to go to a festival site, I found it slightly annoying that I couldn’t just do everything I needed to from the pause menu. If you want to buy, upgrade and customize cars or apply recently unlocked perks to your avatar, you have to go to a festival site. Why is that?

The Grade: My expectations for the “Forza Horizon” series are always high because of its outstanding track record. Even going into the game with that mindset, I was still blown away. “Forza Horizon 4” is hands down the best racing game on the market and is a contender for game of the year. If you own a PC or an Xbox One, this is a must-own title. 



Gazette Media Columnist Terry Terrones is a veteran video game journalist. He has written for numerous publications including GamePro, GamesBeat, PC World, GameZone, and Official Xbox Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/terryterrones.