one of the most beautiful games on the console!

Forza Horizon 5 is clearly a new benchmark in racing. The tests of various media around the world have fallen and the result is the same everywhere: the title of Playground Games is absolutely incredible. Technically, it turns out to be one of the first real new gen experiences alongside Flight Sim, for example, and from a playful point of view, the development teams were able to develop the formula smoothly and, above all, offer an absolutely fantastic Mexico.

But is the result the same with the previous generation of consoles? While all of the videos Xbox has shared over the past few months played on the Xbox Series X, the Xbox One version remained a mystery. Even a worry for some and some who had their eye on the disastrous outcome of Forza Horizon 2 on Xbox 360. But on this occasion, Playground Games didn’t delegate the work to another studio. Indeed, it is the UK teams that are ensuring the development of this Xbox One version.

The Xbox One has it under the hood

So I can reassure you right now, I can tell you: After several hours on the Xbox One X and Xbox One S versions of Forza Horizon 5, we are far, very far from failure. In fact, it’s the exact opposite, because Playground Games proves that with time and control, we can perfectly optimize games for two generations of consoles.

The images and videos on this page are from the Xbox One X version of Forza Horizon 5. This is homemade gameplay from the trial, so there’s no rework. What it shows is what you will have on your Xbox One X, and so much to say, it is clearly at a very high level. Nothing more and nothing less, it is one of the most beautiful games on the console and thus of the entire generation.

For this Xbox One version, Playground Games has retained all the strengths of the series version. The content is identical, the tests and functionalities are the same, only the graphic quality and loading times change. These are also shorter than in Forza Horizon 4. There is less than 30 seconds of loading time between the title screen and when it hits the game, which is a perfectly acceptable delay. The start of the races is also quite fast and even if the lack of SSD is noticeable compared to the Xbox Series versions, the whole thing remains completely satisfactory.

About 20 seconds to start a race, about enough to take advantage of instant movement from one place to another on the map: we’re a long way from the stresses that sometimes hit the minute in the previous episode. And of course the same loading times must also be observed with the Xbox One S version, which is also equipped with a hard drive.

Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox One: the slap

As for the graphics part, I told you, Forza Horizon 5 is one of the most popular games on the machine. The level of detail is the same as that of Forza Horizon 4, but Mexico is much richer and more varied than the UK. Much, much richer and more varied.

The 11 biomes to be discovered in this new episode are sublime and full of details of all kinds. The region is also significantly warmer and livelier than Great Britain. The colors of the palm trees, the city, the mangroves or even the daylight are much more dazzling than the gray of Forza Horizon 4. Splashes to enhance your immersion and the various special effects do the job splendidly.

Of course, we do not achieve the richness of the production version, we notice fewer effects, less vegetation density in the decorations, but the whole thing stays at the top of the basket. The textures are ok and I was surprised by the rendering of the rocks on the canyon side or the gravel on the desert side. It is really breathtaking.

And I probably haven’t seen it all yet as only the summer season was available in this trial version. So I couldn’t see the snow that covered the volcano, nor the heavy rains that swept the screen or even penetrated the sandstorms.

30 FPS or nothing

The only downside to this version of Xbox One is the lack of performance mode. The developers actually opted for the graphical aspect and we are therefore on Xbox One, One S and One X with a frame rate of 30 frames per second. The lack of performance mode on the One and One S isn’t surprising given the performance of the consoles, but it’s more damaging for One X owners. Especially since Forza Horizon 4 offered a 60 frames per second mode!

But you will understand that this is only a detail in the end, as this Forza Horizon 5 shows a striking technical mastery. We’re diving into a sensational Mexico and Playground Games will provide further evidence of his incredible talent for making the most of the material available to him if necessary.

For the rest, whether it’s about the content or the gameplay of this FH5, I’ll direct you to the Franck test. There you will find all the information you need to get a better idea of what the new benchmark of racing games has to offer. Because yes, whether on Xbox Series or Xbox One, this new Forza horizon 5 is without a doubt the craziest driving experience I’ve ever had!