Forza Horizon 5 hit the market last November, unanimously managing to win the title of being the best installment in the franchise, or at least that’s what critics and the public predicted at the time. At SomosXbox we consider this new installment as Microsoft’s first jump to the new generation, with fantastic graphics, exquisite gameplay and extensive content to play the Playground Games title for hours and hours. However, it is possible that some users have already completed the content of the base game to the maximum, and that is why the arrival of the first expansion of Forza Horizon 5 is now taking place, which is done in collaboration with the well-known brand Hot Wheels. Will it add something different to the title or will it just imply more content? We tell you in our analysis of Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels.
living history
As if it were the original game, Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels will start by having to move to a certain area of the original game map, at which point we can enter the Horizon Hot Wheels Park. Although some might think so from some of the images of the expansion, this new festival will not be located on the map of Mexico, but rather will take us to a whole new area located above the clouds of the original Forza Horizon 5 map.
This new location features some of the most extreme tracks we’ve ever seen in a franchise game. In addition to the classic orange tracks of the well-known toy brand, which will surround each remote place of this new festival, we find 4 completely new biomess, but that end up being familiar with respect to what was seen in the base game.
Among these biomes we find two locations very similar to those seen on the map of Mexico, such as The Canyon of the Giants and the Forest Falls. The first of these is a mix between the Living Desert biome and the Arid Hills biome; while the second is set almost entirely with the base of the Jungle biome. The third biome that we can find in the expansion is called ice cauldron, which on this occasion reminds us of the Volcano area, but with differential elements. And finally, the last biome is called Horizon Nexuswhich will be made up of orange Hot Wheels tracks.
It should be noted that this DLC has some narrative content, since we find different races that we will have to do to unlock all the Hot Wheels tests, and with which we will get to know the history of the company created by Elliot Handler and Harold Mattson, which demonstrates the enormous care that goes into the world’s best-known toy car brand. This will happen in certain tests, and really interesting facts will be revealed and that most of the world probably does not know, unless you have delved into the history of Hot Wheels.
Finally, speaking in “narrative” terms our ultimate goal will be none other than to become a legend of Hot Wheels, for which we will have to overcome up to 5 different parts that will be unlocked as we go overcoming the objectives that mark us. In addition, we will be able to unlock up to 10 completely new cars, including four exclusive Hot Wheels designs scaled to life size.
Hot Wheels: Full Speed
The slogan of “Hot Wheels, full speed” is not even painted for this expansion of Forza Horizon 5. Before we mentioned the different biomes that we will find in the game, and how the presence of the orange tracks nourishes absolutely the entire map. Well, in gameplay terms, this represents a considerable change in the behavior of our cars and in the performance of the races.
Logically, in those biomes that are similar to those seen in the base game, the behavior of the car will be the same. We will go at a lower speed when crossing water or snow, we can suffer a skid at the worst possible moment when sliding through the ice, and our vehicle can overturn when passing through the unevenness of arid areas. But the fascinating thing about Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels is How have these elements managed to get along with that of the orange tracks?.
In all the tests that we have to carry out, we will have to run along the classic tracks of the toy brand, where loopings, jumps and accelerators will be the order of the day in all the races. If we put all these elements together with the different biomes that we mentioned before, as well as with the inclusion of routes in which we can drive through “water slides” and similar elements, they give a great variety to the tests of this expansion.
In addition, to all you have to add the behavior of the physics of all the vehicles on the tracks. When racing on stages that are suspended in the sky, depending on the position we pass through, the physics of the car will change in one way or another. For example, if we do a loop when we are going up, our speed will be reduced by a few kilometers; while if we run through an area that is considerably inclined, our car will gradually slide down.
Therefore, the playable experience of Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels, although it is practically identical to that of the original game, it has those little elements that turn racing into something different, and not only that, but it ends up offering a really fun experience. However, we have the feeling that there are some tests, especially those that we will carry out with S-class cars, which have a slightly unbalanced circuit for this type of car.
A scene that removes the hiccups
In terms of image, this expansion does not imply any technical upgrade compared to what was seen in the base game, but it will be able to leave us speechless on countless occasions. The way in which the entire stage has been designed causes a constant “wow” effect that we can appreciate simply by taking a look at the images of this analysis. The mixture of biomes, the spectacular nature of the routes and the fact that we find ourselves “in the clouds” give it a fantastic visual finish.
Also, although before we talked about the biomes being inspirations from those already seen in the base game, the truth is that in this expansion they look different, given the way they get along with the orange tracks, as well as with their own limits. of the stage, there being occasions in which a precipice really ends in nothing, giving a more spectacular result.
In terms of sound, the expansion comes completely dubbed into Spanish, so we can find out about the entire history of Hot Wheels without having to read a single line of text. In addition, the fantastic soundtrack is still present, so the races will be a complete audiovisual delight.
Conclusions
To conclude our analysis of Forza Horizon 5: Hot Wheels we can say that it is a fantastic expansion, which adds enough content and a few minor gameplay changes to the base game experience to make it a must-have for all fans of the game developed by Playground Games. Perhaps we could miss that the map had a somewhat larger size (more out of desire than outright necessity) or that more original Hot Wheels cars were included.
However, the way in which the 4 new biomes get along with the Hot Wheels tracks, and all the elements that characterize them, mean that we are faced with really fun content, with which the hours will fly by.