Introduction

Forza Horizon is one of the most critically acclaimed racing game series currently active, with one of the biggest fanbases out there; but it isn’t free of critique.

Horizon 4 and 5 in particular have been the biggest targets of criticism from more diehard racing game fans and, later down in their lifecycles, by the general public.

One thing that’s always intrigued me though (and that isn’t exclusive to this franchise) is just how the public perception of Horizon 4 has done a complete switch to the positive side, whereas Horizon 5’s has worsened considerably with time.

Why does it intrigue me? Because both of these games are incredibly similar in terms of structure, handling, and style. So much so that it’s a running joke in the community that the franchise hasn’t really changed since Horizon 3. So much so that so many of the major criticisms that people make towards Horizon 5 also apply for Horizon 4; yet it feels like people turn a blind eye to them nowadays, despite them being made constantly when 4 was the latest game, which is, to say the least, kinda silly.

Following are some of the main targets of criticism in FH4 back in the day:

Main targets of criticism

• Campaign
  • Lack of progression
  • Cheating Drivatars
  • NPC dialogue
  • Wheelspins
• Map
  • Location
  • Lack of tighter roads
  • Lack of elevation
  • Lack of biome variety
  • Lack of a modern city
  • Lack of car-centric infrastructure (race tracks, parking areas, drag strips, mountain roads, gas stations, etc.)
  • Winter
• Multiplayer
  • FOMO
  • Bad and slow connectivity
  • Lobbies
  • Broken ranked multiplayer
  • Meta builds/cars
  • Cheaters
• Cars
  • Lack of customization options
  • Car audio
  • Lack of ‘regular’ cars
  • Outdated car models
• Miscellaneous
  • Soundtrack
  • Lego DLC

Some of these I got from my memory of being part of the community back then, but most of them are also present in HokiHoshi’s FH5 wishlist video, which I think is the biggest and best receipt I can bring out for my argument, as the wishlist was made entirely out of player suggestions. And I also think they speak by themselves, since you don’t have to dig too deep to find criticism like these being thrown at Horizon 5 nowadays, but ignored when it comes to Horizon 4.

Why is it like this?

Pinpointing an exact reason for why we see this is simply impossible, but I think I have a few plausible explanations that aren’t just ‘people simply liked 4 more than 5’ or ‘5’s map sucks’.

Horizon 4 was their first Forza game. While I think Horizon 3 is the first ‘mainstream’ game of the series, FH4 is the one that really blew up and introduced the series to a massive contingent of people. I think I say for most that the first experience of a Horizon game is an absolute dopamine overdose: there’s really nothing like it in the market right now. When you go to another game after already having experienced part of what it offers, the thrill wears down faster than it did before. 

Nostalgia. Horizon 4 is almost 8 years old, people have made dozens of memories and dedicated hundreds of hours to it, especially during the period where the pandemic had boomed. Nostalgia is almost inevitable in this scenario.

Burnout. Horizon 5 released in 2021 and has had, by far, the biggest lifespan of the Horizon series, with its last major DLC (Rally Adventure) coming out in 2023. Many people eventually got tired of it or felt like they did everything that they wanted to and just moved on, or played it so much that they got burnt out.

When you count all of these together, I think the picture becomes clearer: players have already experienced the core experience of Horizon in the 4th game, so it doesn’t excite them as much in the sequel. Because of that, the shortcomings become clearer and people feel burned out faster, whereas nostalgia works as rose tinted glasses for their first game, hiding the flaws and highlighting the good moments.

Closing thoughts

I have to make it very clear that I don’t dislike Horizon 4: I’ve sunk over 900 hours in it throughout its lifespan and I don’t regret it one bit. The things that the Horizon franchise excels cater really hard to my specific taste in racing games, and FH4 is a very meaningful game to me, just like the whole series. My purpose also isn’t to make you start disliking these games, you can think whatever you want about them.

But what I wanted to do is maybe spark a conversation about something I’ve seen in this community for years already and, even if unlikely, I wouldn’t doubt seeing this switch of public opinion again with Horizon 5 a few years down the line. Feel free to agree, disagree or add something to the discussion, I want to see what others think about this.