Forza Horizon 5 being heralded as a ‘next-gen spectacle’

Forza Horizon 5 stands to be one of the biggest releases of the year when it lands on Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass on November 5. Ahead of release, previews are already starting to praise the game, with Digital Foundry‘s insight claiming the game is a true “spectacle” on the new generation of Xbox consoles.

This author refuses to refer to the Series X and Series S as “next-gen” anymore (headline aside), so I’ll take their comments as meaning that the game is probably the best looking game yet on the range of consoles this generation.

The folks over at Digital Foundry have done a deep dive into Forza Horizon 5, and safe to say they’re incredibly impressed by what the game has to offer.

They call it a true (next-gen) spectacle, one that offers a “phenomenal experience” and “allows for the most dense, rich and expansive” offering in the Forza Horizon series yet.

A deep look into both the Quality and Performance modes of Forza Horizon 5 on Series X and Series S lifted the lid on what they say is “remarkable” performance.

“[Motion] blur shutter speed is judged perfectly, frame-rate never wavers, [and] the game still seems highly responsive,” the author said of the Forza Horizon 5‘s Quality mode, which is locked at 30fps on Series X.

“Typically, it’s hard to recommend anything other than 60fps or better, but the sense is that Playground Games has finely honed the 30fps quality mode to the point where it’s actually very different to choose between the two.”

That’s a huge statement and very encouraging if true.

Digital Foundry also broke down Forza Horizon 5‘s performance at 60fps, saying it’s “a layer of post-process realism”.

“A high speed run into a dust storm follows, showcasing Playground’s new particle and volumetrics systems, before we take a detour into the jungle – the most detail-rich biome and also the most technologically challenging, owing to the lavish amounts of trees and foliage, all of which still runs flat-out at target frame-rate, regardless of which mode you choose.

“The final race takes you out into the desert for a final high-speed run to the Horizon festival, bringing a satisfying conclusion to the game’s introduction, but really, this just sets the scene for what is to come.”

In conclusion, the preview says that what they’ve seen shows that Forza Horizon 5 will be “excellent” from a performance perspective. Not long to go now!