Forza Motorsport began as Microsoft’s answer to sim racing juggernaut Gran Turismo when it first hit Xbox in 2005. Despite Sony’s flagship racing game being four games in by that time, Turn 10 Studios’ game introduced several features that would push the genre forward in meaningful ways, including driving assists, incredibly deep car customization, damage models and serious online play.
Since then, two significant things have occurred. Playground Games’ open-world spin-off Forza Horizon evolved into the most important game within the arcade racing genre. Meanwhile, Forza Motorsport managed to eventually stand neck-and-neck with Polyphony Digital’s PlayStation exclusive.
This is what makes Forza Motorsport (2023) such an interesting release. Not only has it been six years since Forza Motorsport 7 dropped on Xbox One, but its main rival has adopted a handful of features synonymous with the series. Instead of taking an “everything but the kitchen sink” approach this time around, Forza Motorsport focuses a lot more on the sport of automotive circuit racing.
From a new system for performance upgrades to pre-race qualifying laps and new Forza Race Regulation ratings system in online multiplayer, Forza Motorsport seriously leans into the feeling of a professional automotive race day. As the first Forza Motorsport to be built from the ground up for Xbox Series X and Series S, the realistic racer also has dynamic time of day and weather on tracks while utilizing the latest rendering technology like ray tracing. Even the audio gets improvements, with the latest game being the first in the series to be mixed natively for Dolby Atmos.
Forza Motorsport is available for Xbox Series X|S and PC on October 10, with early access coming for Premium edition owners five days earlier. Here’s a rundown of our experience with Forza Motorsport after playing for about a week.
The eighth mainline entry in Turn 10’s storied racing simulation series, Forza Motorsport (2023) features 20 tracks alongside over 500 cars at launch.
What we liked about it
The most engaging and accessible approach to sim racing yet
Forza has historically pushed toward making sim racing as approachable as possible. Forza Motorsport manages to appease both hardcore automotive racing enthusiasts and casual gamers without making many sacrifices on either end. Standard features like handling characteristics, rewinding time to try a tricky turn over again and various difficulty settings remain, in addition to a wealth of accessibility options for impaired gamers.
More than any other sim racing game available, Forza Motorsport gives players the freedom to race exactly how they like. New additions to pre-race settings include the ability to select starting positions and how much fuel players have in their car or selecting tire set-ups before the race starts. This adds a significant layer to actual racing strategy, as pit stops become a lot more important in the higher-tier races.
Before each race, there is a practice session that lets you test setups and learn the track. These sessions serve as a way to gain Car Points for car upgrades (which we’ll touch on later) by getting graded for various track segments. All players have to do during practice runs is beat a set time and complete three laps, though players can race a track within a set time limit.
Even series veterans are going to find much use here as the improved driving model makes handling even more grippy and grounded from tire to track. Forza Motorsport removes the slightly floaty feeling that made sliding around turns easier compared to Gran Turismo. Now, cars have a weight to them that’ll make players really think about how they approach the apex of a turn, let alone attempting an overtake. For the first time in Forza Motorsport, races feel more involved outside of simply driving well and having the best performance setup.
Better evolution of car collecting, upgrading and customization
Usually, Forza Motorsport (and even Horizon to an extent) revolved around racing, making money, getting a better car or upgrading the player’s current car and repeating the cycle. As mentioned previously, the latest game in the racing sim series features Car Points and XP for performance upgrades outside of the credits currency. This approach does a better job of ensuring players build a relationship with a car as opposed to sticking to their favorites and forgetting cars that are specific to a racing series like hatchbacks, performance sedans or exotics. From practice runs to the race themselves, player’s cars level up outside of their driver level while racing. Players can earn XP for beating their personal best time in a track segment, clean overtakes and much more. If anything, Forza Motorsport has taken inspiration from Forza Horizon’s moment-to-moment racing.
Between races, players can use Car Points to purchase upgrades within their car level. Players who just want a faster car with better handling can just auto-upgrade while tinkerers can pick specific parts they want improved. Again, this prevents the standard Forza Motorsport practice of spending credits on a car and maxing it out from the jump. It’s a really clever way to understand the nuances in driving various cars alongside what upgrades do to them specifically, while keeping races as competitive as possible. This does lend itself to a role-playing game feel that’s reminiscent of Ubisoft’s The Crew series. Most importantly, it allows players to spend their actual credits solely on building their car collection.
Between the dozens of single-player and multiplayer racing leagues, it’s almost impossible to stick with one car enough to max it out quickly. This plays into Turn 10’s plan to make Forza Motorsport a long-term live service game, as it’s going to take time to fully upgrade cars. Many of the highest performance and body upgrades can reach as high as level 50. Thankfully, XP and Car Points are given frequently enough that players can feel significant performance enhancements after each race. Of course, the artistic set can customize the color and liveries to their heart’s content through a graphics editor.
Excellent visuals and audio
Forza Motorsport manages to hit all the current gen buzzwords, offering 4K resolution at a smooth 60 frames per second while delivering ray tracing for ultra-realistic lighting and shadows. Off the bat, car models look better than ever and break apart in even more detail during collisions. The upgrade in reflections provides a cool visual effect of cars reflecting themselves alongside other cars around them, which looks especially nice in replays and photo mode.
Real-time day cycles really give the feeling of a long, hard-fought race weekend. Add dynamic weather into the mix and Forza Motorsport really does push the Xbox Series X (and S) to the absolute limit. Racing at night in the middle of a thunderstorm as headlights reflect off of various surfaces truly has to be seen to be believed. Then there are the little details that really make this racing world come alive, like fully animated fans and crew members in the stands and in pits. When it comes to technical performance across Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC, they all look great.
Forza Motorsport really shines on a gaming PC if you have a system to blow out all of the settings. The biggest reason to play the PC version is ray-traced global illumination, which grounds everything visually through enhanced lighting. Alongside that is support for resolutions beyond 4K, ultrawide monitor support and upscaling tech through Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR 2.2. On Xbox Series X, there are three options including performance (which prioritizes frame rate), performance RT and visuals (which prioritizes resolution) Meanwhile, the Xbox Series S features just two modes — performance and visuals — with both lacking ray tracing within gameplay. All of this is done without a noticeable drop in frame rate.
Audio is just as impressive; it’s the first game in the series to natively be mixed in Dolby Atmos and Windows Sonic. Hearing the various cars rev their engines at the start-up line, the turbo engine spool or even race information from the coach is all fantastic. When it comes to gameplay, audio is more important than ever, as it’s easier to hear cars attempting an overtake or the squeal of the wheels as they begin to lose traction.
Regardless of how you decide to play Forza Motorsport, you’re in for an audiovisual treat.
What we didn’t like about it
A lack of racing variety
Forza Motorsport is a sim racer with a serious focus on circuit racing and nothing else. Don’t expect any dedicated drifting, drag racing or “Top Gear”-inspired challenges. There isn’t even any NASCAR racing. If players aren’t racing around the track attempting to get the best time, they’re going for top position. There is no real in-between in either single player or online multiplayer.
Not to compare Forza Motorsport to Gran Turismo 7 too much, but Sony’s legacy sim racer definitely wins in the variety department between modes like rally racing, license test and music rally. The core racing of Forza Motorsport is excellent enough if that’s all players care about, but those looking for more choices in racing types will leave a bit disappointed.
Considering Microsoft is promoting Forza Motorsport as a live service platform, maybe players will get some real level of diversity in racing styles down the line. One thing is for sure, as of launch, it definitely lacks the creativity of its open-world sibling.
Street tracks are totally missing at launch
There are around 20 tracks throughout Forza Motorsport that represent real-life legendary tracks such as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Nürburgring GP, Mugello Circuit, Suzuka Circuit and others. That’s blended with classic Turn 10 fictional tracks from the series like Maple Valley with newer ones like Hakone Circuit.
All of the tracks have great art direction and play well with the dynamic time-of-day and weather effects. Most importantly, they all do a great job of testing driving skills as well. Considering the amount of racing done in Forza Motorsport, players will have seen everything by the time they reach around 10 to 15 hours of gameplay
The last several Forza Motorsport games also used street tracks to display how far Turn 10 could push the graphical prowess of the series. From Forza Motorsport 5’s Prague to Forza Motorsport 7’s Dubai, street tracks were a nice diversion from purposely made circuits. Microsoft has promised free downloadable tracks as time passes. It would just be nice to have some diversification in the track types at launch.
No auction house
Since Forza Motorsport 2 in 2007, the auction house has become a mainstay in the series. Players were able to take a car that they’ve gotten tired of using or a rare vehicle they don’t want anymore and sell it to the highest bidder. On the other hand, it was an easy way to get certain cars if one had the money.
The nature of the Car Points and XP system pretty much negates the ability to have an auction house in Forza Motorsport. This removes a certain community aspect that’s been a part of the series’ DNA for over a decade. Meanwhile, the choice of not having an auction house won’t allow players to make money on the side. Though the Car Points and XP system are fantastic additions to Forza Motorsport, the trade-off is noticeable.
Bottom line
Forza Motorsport is a triumphant addition to the franchise. Its blend of accessibility and depth, enhanced customization and stunning visual and audio presentation makes it a must-play for racing enthusiasts.
Although it falls short in some areas, it’s clear that Turn 10 Studios has laid a strong foundation for the future, and as a live service platform, it holds the promise of evolving and addressing its shortcomings over time. Turn 10’s crown jewel redefines what a sim racing experience can be and it’s a thrilling journey for all who step behind the virtual wheel.