Forza Horizon 5 Xbox One X Vs Series X

Forza Horizon 5 is also an impressive test case for Microsoft's cross-generational hardware strategy. I played the game for several hours on my Xbox One X, and it doesn't feel compromised compared to anything else on the console. It's still a better-looking game than 3 and 4, and it looks more or less the same as the Series X version's 60fps mode — just running at half the frame rate. The One X is generally a machine designed for 4K/30fps games, and that's what you get here with Forza Horizon 5. Would the Series X game have looked even better if it didn't have to run on Xbox One consoles? Maybe, but it's hard to complain about the performance on either platform.

Forza Horizon 5 is a racing video game set in an open world environment based in a fictional representation of Mexico. The game has the largest map in the entire Forza Horizon series, being 50% larger than its predeccesor, Forza Horizon 4 while also having the highest point in the Horizon series. The map was described by creative director Mike Brown as one of the most diverse Forza Horizon maps the team has built. The map contains an active caldera volcano, jungles and beaches, ancient Mayan temples, and towns and cities such as Guanajuato. Players can explore the open world freely, though they can also compete in multiplayer races and complete the campaign mode. Both the cars featured in the game and the player character can be extensively customised.

Players are able to create custom liveries and tunes for cars, and perform engine swaps, drivetrain swaps, or install body kits on certain vehicles. The game is the first in the franchise to support ray tracing on cars . Just like Forza Horizon 4, Forza Horizon 5 is a cross-gen game that is also being released on Xbox One consoles, but it's still a big leap forward for the open-world racing franchise. It's definitely one of the best-looking games you can play on Xbox Series X|S consoles today, featuring the largest open world ever seen in a Forza game. It's also an excellent casual game for players who aren't really into racing games, and it remains far more accessible than the pretty demanding Forza Motorsport series. However, Forza Horizon 5 is on another level on Xbox Series X and it's one of the few games where I prefer the 30fps quality mode to its 60fps equivalent.

The increase in fidelity and the more graceful LOD transitions combined with the upgraded visuals elevate it significantly beyond performance mode. True, it's not 60fps but the motion blur is the best I've seen in bridging the gap. Of course, it is possible to play this game at full frame-rate with Series X's mixture of high, ultra and extreme settings - and that's where the PC version comes into play. We'll be reporting back on our testing and experiences there soon.

Seeing as the Series X quality mode runs at a mix between high, ultra, and extreme settings, Playground Games makes intelligent cutbacks. Ultra and extreme quality presets are only dropped one notch, meaning nothing in performance mode renders below the high preset. Night shadows and ray tracing are the only exceptions as they're just on/off toggles. You're not likely to notice the difference between extreme and ultra presets for deformable terrain in the heat of a race, for example. Environment geometry is the single setting even players without an eye for detail may notice during normal gameplay. In order to replicate the Xbox Series X quality graphics mode on PC, gamers should at least have an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super.

Forza Horizon 5 Xbox One X But in order to enjoy the PC's biggest advantage, higher frame rates, a more powerful gaming PC is required. With reduced settings equivalent to the Xbox Series X performance mode, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super was not entirely able to hold a steady 60 fps at 4k resolution. PC gamers who would like to play Forza Horizon 5 on these settings should have at least anRTX 2080. Additional technical details, including further explanations of the hardware requirements and recommended settings of Forza Horizon 5 on PC are included in the video embedded below. This density of detail is more apparent than the disparity in latency or smoothness of animations and camera motion.

Playground Games' motion blur implementation combined with its laser-focused attention to controller response makes for an impressive cross-generation experience. Unlike every other console title I've played, I don't feel like I'm making a sacrifice. It feels so good that it makes me wonder why they even spent development time on a performance mode at all.

Forza Horizon 5 is the best 30 fps experience on current-gen consoles. Every game with performance options on consoles features varying levels of compromises. Maybe you were okay with playing Control Ultimate Edition at 60 FPS, but you can't deny how transformative ray tracing is to that game's art. Even if it's a compromise you were willing to make, you can recognize it exists. I played Control in its ray-tracing mode because I felt that game's narrative and environmental storytelling focus benefitted more from the visual fidelity. After all, art design is a major component of that experience.

This is especially true of Control as it was artistically designed with materials in mind that meshed with ray tracing. Even as a person that played this way, though, I can still recognize the major difference in response time and camera motion between the two modes. I was willing to make the sacrifice, but that doesn't mean I didn't notice how much more sluggish it felt by comparison. Won 3 game of the year award which shows why it should have been nominated for the game of the year. Reason why is the combination of incredible visuals, stunning open world experience which allows players to explore many different types of environments, an insane amount of cars with new ones being added weekly, and much much more.

With 10 million players less than 10 days since launch, FH5 demonstrates how racing games are not a niche genre and should not be disregarded for being a contender for game of the year. Unlike other games though, the latter is achieved by dynamically dropping some of the graphics settings rather than resolution, so you still get a 4K experience, but with fewer terrain elements, shorter draw distances, that sort of thing. Some will prefer the expanded frame rate and see that as a necessary trade-off, but we have to say that the 30fps quality mode still plays very well indeed and you get the maximum visual effect, to boot. Developer Playground Games has quite the track record when it comes to optimizing its games, and the latest Forza Horizon installment is no exception. As expected, there are graphical and performance differences between the platforms with the PC version running the game on maximum settings on an NVIDIA RTX 3080. Interestingly, however, is that the Xbox Series X matches the highest PC settings in the game's quality mode (4K@30FPS).

The Series X also supports a performance mode that runs the game in 4K resolution at 60FPS – this mode decreases the quality of reflections, ambient occlusion, shadows texturing, and vegetation in order to maintain a steady framerate. Forza Horizon 5, on the other hand, sets a new standard with its quality mode. Running on a fork of the ForzaTech Engine, Playground Games has always prioritized input latency for the best possible console experience. Given the open-world nature of their titles, they couldn't expect to manage 60 FPS as easily as Turn 10's Motorsport series with its closed circuits. Crucially, there are advantages to playing Forza Horizon 5 on Series consoles that aren't just about graphics or frame-rate.

Hosting the game on SSD makes for a more streamlined experience on Series consoles - and it's noticeable right from the beginning of the experience. The intro drive is a Playground staple, a spectacular preview of the action to come. It's a glorious, seamless, load-free experience on Xbox Series machines, but Xbox One consoles simply can't deliver the data for each new stage in time, leading to second pauses from one segment to the next. It looks the part, but the loading delays interrupt the flow and don't leave the best impression. While these transitions are indeed instant on the new consoles, there is still loading in the main game but it's much faster than last-gen console equivalents - around 3x to the better in my tests. Objectively speaking, a higher frame rate means more responsive gameplay, which leads to a more pleasing overall experience.

With that said, you can't always have it all because everything comes with trade offs. With console games offering multiple performance targets on a more regular basis, even console gamers now get to decide what matters most to them. Create your own expressions of fun with the powerful new EventLab gameplay toolset including custom races, challenges, stunts, and entirely new game modes. Customize your cars in more ways than ever before with new options such as the ability open and close convertible tops, paint brake calipers, and more. Use the new Gift Drops feature to share your custom creations with the community. This is Your Open World - Create your own expressions of fun with the powerful new EventLab gameplay toolset including custom races, challenges, stunts, and entirely new game modes.

Hop on in and pick from over hundreds of world-class cars and begin your horizon adventure today. On Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, loading times are almost instantaneous, which is really convenient when you want to use the map to teleport yourself to another location. Compared to Forza Horizon 4, the game's menus have also been simplified and it's now easier to browse your car collection or check your progression in the game. It's also easier to see the other online players on your server, though you can still opt for the "Horizon Solo" experience and play the game offline.

I played Forza Horizon 5 on both my Xbox Series X and Series S consoles over the past week, and I'm happy to report that performance is excellent on both consoles. Players get to choose between Quality and Performance modes, and I think that Forza Horizon 5 is one of the rare racing games that don't feel too uncomfortable playing at 30FPS. You can run it at 60 frames per second on Xbox Series consoles, or there's a 30fps mode that further boosts the graphical features; I personally find it hard to play racing games at 30fps, but each mode delivers a convincing presentation. In one of several extensive videos featuring Forza Horizon 5, Digital Foundry concluded that the quality mode on Xbox Series X mostly matches the maxed out settings on PC.

But at a native 4k resolution, the Xbox Series X only manages to output 30 fps with these settings. Therefore it looks like the PC settings in Forza Horizon 5 do not provide a lot of headroom when it comes to visual quality, also because raytracing is only active in photo mode and can't be activated for regular gameplay. The game still gets its graphical intent across, but the LOD scaling really shows this console's age. As you race through jungles, you'll notice that the tree foliage stays in its blobby low level of detail until you're almost right up against it, at which point you will have whizzed on by. At times it feels like the game engine shouldn't bother trying to pull in those higher detail assets. The gameplay still holds up though, and a steady frame rate in this situation is going to be the most important aspect.

In my tests I found that - generally speaking - there are three tiers of graphics fidelity on the consoles. Xbox One is at the base of the pile, as you may expect, but still gets the job done. Xbox One X's graphics profile at dynamic 4K is broadly equivalent to the Series machines in their 60fps modes - but each version has its own plus and minus points. In some areas, Series X's performance mode seemed to deliver improved ground detail over Xbox One X. Elsewhere, Series S's textures didn't look as detailed as Xbox One X's (and resolution is lower at a dynamic 810p-1080p). Series X performance mode matches One X's 1600p-2160p DRS Plus profile - however, I do want to stress again that resolution changes are difficult to track by eye.

It's also nigh-on impossible to find any drops from the target 60fps in the Series console performance modes. I've always erred on the neutral side, deciding whether a higher refresh or visual fidelity was preferable depending on the kind of experience. In the past, I would have always chosen the performance mode in a racing game, a sentiment I'm sure many readers would agree with. I loaded up Forza Horizon 5 fully expecting to try out quality mode in its opening, then switching to performance mode for the remainder of my playthrough. In the end, Forza Horizon 5's quality mode flipped my preconceived notions on their head. Forza Horizon 5 is the best game in the series and another essential release from PlayGround Games, and it sets a pretty high bar for the upcoming Forza Motorsport 8 from Turn 10 Studios.

In many ways, Forza Horizon 5 can feel like more of the same, but the graphics are truly stunning on Xbox Series X and the gameplay is still just as addictive as ever. Playground Games has definitely cemented its place as one of the best studios Microsoft acquired in recent years, though we'd love to see the studio try something a bit different and take more risks with its future games. Forza Horizon is obviously all about the cars, and there are tons of them, all rendered in stunning detail.

Most of the rendering budget has been utilized on cars, but thanks to the power of Xbox Series X, environments too are shining with in-depth details. Accurate car, environmental and material reflections are rendered on the car's body with great precision. Although these are baked in reflections and not real time, they still look great and a step up from last-gen rendering techniques. However, the game offers ray tracing in the Forza Vista mode where you can check out your collection of cars up close and personal, and that too in staggering detail. This is where the game's visuals are truly dialed up to the max and viewing the cars in this mode is a sight to behold.

Despite the name and the hundreds of accurately modeled real-world cars, Forza Horizon has little in common with Turn 10 Studios' Forza Motorsport series, which is more of a serious racing simulator. While Horizon isn't exactly a Ridge Racer-style arcade game, it's certainly on the more accessible side of things. The physics feel somewhat grounded in reality, and you'll notice big differences in how various cars handle, but the driving model is very forgiving, and it's easy for anyone to pick up and play. If you're an arcade racing game purist, Burnout Paradise has a lot to answer for. Ever since, virtually all big-budget arcade racing games have been made in the shadow of Paradise, with most tracks consisting of lines drawn across vast, explorable maps. Switch from 30fps to the 60fps 'Performance' mode and you'll immediately feel the difference.

Playground state that this is still running at a maximum 4K resolution, but that "additional graphics settings adjusted to maintain target framerate". In practical terms motion blur is reduced significantly giving it a much more gamey feel and pop-in is now noticeable, . However, it's also just that much more responsive feeling when you play the game and, after a short time at 60fps, a switch back to 30fps feels like daggers in your eyes.

Quality mode is fixed at a native 4K resolution with performance mode dropping as low as 1600p, but it must be stressed that resolution scaling is used as a last result. Playground Games has typically opted for fixed, native resolutions, centering optimization around dynamically adjusting settings. To Playground, a pristine presentation has been part of the Forza Horizon signature; so much so that Forza Horizon 5 is the studio's first title in the series to implement dynamic resolution scaling.

As such, it isn't anywhere near as variable and constant as many other modern games with DRS. Sometimes, I like a game just because it's fun to vibe with. This racing wonderland version of Mexico is charming, thrilling, and fun to explore.

With locations that include volcanic mountains, vibrant towns, and glittering oceans, each square mile of this open playground offers amazing sights. But sometimes a game can be so pretty that it helps you appreciate an experience that you would normally feel mild about. For example, I'm not the biggest racing game fan in the world. When I do enjoy a racer, it's usually a more arcadey experience like Ridge Racer Type 4 or the more recent Cruis'n Blast. Until the release of Forza Horizon 4 three years ago, Playground Games and Turn 10 Studios used to alternate with a new Forza Motorsport and a new Forza Horizon game every year. However, the transition to a new console generation has affected this well-oiled release cycle.

As a result, Microsoft's next-gen Xbox Series X and Series S consoles only had two "next-gen" racing games at launch, an updated version of Forza Horizon 4 and Codemasters' Dirt 5, which I personally found quite disappointing. With Forza Horizon 5, Playground doesn't shake up its arcade racing formula, but when it works so well, why change? Especially since Mexico in this episode offers undoubtedly the best map of the series, with an amazing variety of biomes and an attention to detail that borders on respect, especially on such a massive playing surface. FH5 is a title that manages to do everything it does with its hands in its pockets. Its also one of the most beautiful games of the current generation.

It is stunning to look at, with 4K 60fps racing available, and has the biggest open-world map of the series so far. It can feel more an extension of Horizon 4 at times, but that's nothing to be sniffed at as that game was already at the pinnacle for arcade racers. If the Xbox Series X was demanding a game to hang its hat on, this is surely it.

Forza Horizon 5 has finally hit consoles and computers for all users , so racers ready for the latest racing experience can enjoy some truly impressive graphics and customization options. One of the things we love about Forza is how friendly its various Tours and racing matches are, from trying out different competitive modes to joining a team and making your way through a world tour together. Keep in mind thatHorizon 5 also includes Kudos and Gift Drops to share with the community, so teamplay is a core aspect for many gaming modes. On your Xbox Series X, you'll enjoy a 4K resolution at 60 frames per second in campaign mode and experience relatively short loading times.

Those playing the game on Xbox One X will be interested to learn that the game only offers a quality mode that runs the game in 4K resolution and 30FPS, matching the visuals of the game running on the Series X|S in performance mode. Create your own expressions of fun with the new EventLab gameplay toolset including custom races, challenges, stunts and new game modes. Use the Gift Drops feature to share your custom creations.

Let's start with the Xbox Series X and the default graphics mode. Ultimately, Playground has delivered an excellent game for all Xbox systems. The surprise package for me was Xbox One X - level of detail pop-in and longer loading are blemishes but perhaps it's only because these areas of the game are so dramatically improved on Series hardware. Graphically, it's a treat, and the Scorpio Engine continues to surprise in its ability to service a 4K display. Judged on its own merits, it's a good version of the game and a worthy sequel.