If you want better animation quality
Choose Forza Horizon 6. It scores 4.5 vs 2.0 for animation quality, with a 4.2 overall score.
Forza Horizon 5 Review
Bottom Line
Choose Forza Horizon 5 if you want a gorgeous, generous open-world racer with superb driving, cars, and exploration. Skip it if you need a focused story, deep competitive structure, smooth online play, or dislike cluttered maps and menus.
Best for
Best for players who want a relaxed, spectacular open-world racing sandbox with constant rewards, deep car tuning, and lots of things to do. It also suits newcomers because reviewers repeatedly praise its accessibility and adjustable difficulty.
Not for
Not for players who need a focused campaign, serious competitive structure, or clean, minimal UI. PS5 players who already own it elsewhere may also dislike starting over without cross-save.
Verdict
Forza Horizon 5 earns unusually broad praise because reviewers consistently point to the same core strengths: a spectacular Mexico map, superb driving feel, a huge car roster, deep tuning, and a constant stream of races and activities. Its tradeoff is that abundance can become noise. Several reviews flag overloaded maps or menus, uneven AI, occasional online or performance issues, and a story/writing layer that ranges from charmingly light to juvenile. The PS5 evidence also adds strong port quality and haptics, while pricing and missing cross-save temper the value there. Overall, the review set frames it as a polished, joyful open-world racer whose scale is both its biggest asset and its main source of friction.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
84 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.038 (45%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.426 (31%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.415 (18%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.45 (6%)
Pros
-
Graphics quality has the strongest consensus, with reviewers repeatedly calling the game stunning, gorgeous, photorealistic, and among the best-looking racers.
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Open-world design receives near-universal praise for its massive, varied, gorgeous Mexico map and its ability to support racing, exploration, and events.
-
Fun factor is unanimous across scored reviews, with reviewers repeatedly calling it glorious, joyful, and genuinely fun.
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Driving mechanics are one of the strongest consensus points, with reviewers praising handling, realism, speed, and arcade-sim balance.
-
Progression is broadly praised for constant rewards, player choice, and less overwhelming event unlocking, with only minor concerns about excess rewards.
-
Accessibility is a clear strength, with reviewers highlighting broad options, beginner friendliness, inclusivity, and reduced skill barriers.
Cons
-
Animation quality is criticized in character scenes, where some characters appear to be missing animation polish.
-
Competitive balance is a clear concern in later evidence because ranked racing and drifting were removed.
-
Cross-save support is weak because the PS5 port cannot transfer existing Xbox or PC saves.
-
Facial animations are criticized as awkward and poorly synced in character interactions.
-
Tutorial quality is criticized where Event Lab creation lacks guidance, making custom content harder to learn.
-
Camera behavior has a weak spot in replay presentation, which one reviewer says remains underwhelming.
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Video Games, this product is above average in DLC value, endgame content, grind level, near average in sound design, originality, below average in animation quality, cross-save support, facial animations.
Comparison summary
84 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher45 (54%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts21 (25%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower18 (21%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| animation quality | 2.0 | 4.2 | -2.2 |
| cross-save support | 2.0 | 4.1 | -2.1 |
| facial animations | 2.0 | 3.9 | -1.9 |
| DLC value | 4.8 | 3.3 | +1.5 |
| skill tree depth | 2.5 | 4.0 | -1.5 |
| endgame content | 5.0 | 3.5 | +1.5 |
| grind level | 4.5 | 3.0 | +1.5 |
| tutorial quality | 2.0 | 3.5 | -1.5 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better cross-save support
Choose Diablo IV. It scores 4.5 vs 2.0 for cross-save support, with a 4.1 overall score.
If you want better monetization fairness
Choose Kirby Air Riders. It scores 5.0 vs 2.5 for monetization fairness, with a 4.3 overall score.
If you want better tutorial quality
Choose Street Fighter 6. It scores 4.8 vs 2.0 for tutorial quality, with a 4.2 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Gran Turismo 7
- Better: vehicle model precision Forza’s vehicle models are described as less materially precise than Gran Turismo 7’s.
- Better: car detail and reflections Gran Turismo 7 is said to outclass FH5 in ray tracing, car detail, and reflections.
Burnout Paradise Remastered
- Better: second-to-second gameplay involvement Burnout Paradise Remastered is credited with more involved moment-to-moment gameplay.
crew motorfest
- Better: customization depth The reviewer says FH5 lacks some customization depth compared with crew motorfest.
FAQ
Is Forza Horizon 5 good for newcomers?
Yes. Reviewers repeatedly describe it as accessible, friendly to racing novices, and adjustable enough for different skill levels.
How strong is the driving model?
Very strong. Reviewers praise the handling, speed, responsiveness, and balance between arcade accessibility and simulation-style depth.
Does it have enough content?
Yes, and sometimes too much. Reviews highlight a huge range of races, activities, events, cars, and expansions, while some say the map and menus can feel overloaded.
Is the PS5 version worthwhile?
Reviewers say the PS5 port looks and runs well and benefits from DualSense features. The main caveats are premium pricing for an older game and no cross-save from Xbox or PC.
Are the online features reliable?
The design is praised for co-op, multiplayer, cross-play, and community tools, but some reviews mention connection issues, disconnects, or server trouble.
Is the story important?
No. Reviews describe the narrative as light or thin, though a few praise the more personal character moments and Mexico-focused missions.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
YouTube - ACG
- Review score
- 3.9
YouTube - AR12Gaming
- Review score
- 3.6
Article Reviews
rockpapershotgun.com
- Review score
- 4.0
gamerevolution.com
- Review score
- 4.6
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