The Xbox event dedicated to Gamescom has just ended and from SomosXbox we had a little surprise prepared for you and that is that we have been able to speak with Mike Brown, creative director of Forza Horizon 5, to tell us and other media new details about the long-awaited driving game from Playground Games. In SomosXbox we chat with the director of Forza Horizon 5 and we bring you all the details of the game with our first contact with the expected game.
Like you a few minutes ago, On SomosXbox we got to see the opening scene of Forza Horizon 5 last week and we were just as impressed. This cinematic, as you can imagine, ties the events of Forza Horizon 4 and 5 together, since the game is a direct narrative sequel. The game begins with a descent from a plane with one of the cover cars of the game, the great Ford Branco Badlands, ideal for the volcanic terrain of Forza Horizon 5 and its map of Mexico.
While we were stunned by the graphics of the gameWe see how the next jump is starring a Corvette with which we travel very different roads, a sample of the different biomes that we will run into in the game. During races, dynamic weather events such as storms can appear in a pre-defined or even random way. One of those storms appears in the opening scene, clouding our visibility and staining the car and road.
The third jump does not go as well as it should and we end up in the jungle where we are once again stunned by the technical section of Forza Horizon 5, driving a Porsche with which we must avoid puddles and animals to be able to advance through the muddy roads. The last drop is in charge of the spectacular Mercedes AMG One F1, which mixes the best of Mercedes in F1 with what a car can give itself on conventional roads and that will be the other protagonist of the cover of the game.
We chatted with Forza Horizon 5 director Mike Brown
In addition to this exclusive look at the opening scene, Mike Brown shared with SomosXbox and other colleagues in the press several curious details of the game, which will surely resolve many doubts. We start with something that we have already mentioned and that is that the cars chosen for the cover of the game are the Mercedes AMG One and the 2021 Ford Branco Badlands.
Regarding the setting of the game, Mike commented that they chose Mexico after finishing the development of Forza Horizon 4, since they thought they wanted to make the Forza Horizon bigger, so they needed a country with many biomes and variations, that encapsulated the whole world in a single country and Mexico was the perfect choice. Regarding development, Mike says that starting well before the pandemic, they were able to make many trips to Mexico and even made contacts to help them when they couldn’t travel.
Regarding the differences that we can find with Forza Horizon 4, a different way of approaching the campaign stands out, with a game that seeks to give the player freedom, but also guide him in a certain way so that he knows what to do. With each Horizon they want to give more freedom to the player, but they understood that in the last installment it was not clear how to follow a narrative line or what to do after an event, so here they have tried to make it clearer. In addition, the game is a narrative sequel to FH4 (we went from being a rookie to a legend), so we arrived in Mexico as a pilot with a cache. Brown confirmed that we will have several characters, most of them native and with Latino voice actors like Romero.
Regarding the technical section, Brown confirmed that Forza Horizon 5 runs at 4K and 30 FPS on Xbox Series X and 1080p and 30 FPS on Xbox Series S, although they are working on an option for the game to run at 60 FPS on both consoles (with a somewhat lower resolution, we assume). Raytracing will be limited to the forced section, as already confirmed.
For fans of the changes of seasons of Forza Horizon 4, in this fifth installment we will also have those changes, but they will not be as abrupt as in Scotland. For example, in winter the snow will be in the mountains and not in the coastal areas of Mexico. The seasons will affect each biome differently and it will not be simply a change such as snow all over the land or it always rains… Adding to the weather section, in Forza Horizon 5 we will run into weather events that affect graphically and playably such as sand or tropical storms.
About extra elements of the game, Mike also confirmed that a new difficulty system will be added tentatively called “tourist” that will be more accessible for the little ones in the house or those who just want to explore the game and the territories regardless of driving skills. In Event Lab we can also create races of all kinds with different assets such as stands, bollards, and other available elements. In addition to creating races, we can also modify the rules, as we saw in the E3 video.
As for the Cars available in Forza Horizon 5, Mike did not want to get wet and has not given us a number, but he has confirmed that from next week all the cars that will appear in the final game will be confirmed. Additionally, those returning from Forza Horizon 4 will do so with refreshed and updated models.
Before closing our meeting, Mike confirmed two small curiosities: the AI of the animals has been updated so that they avoid problems with even more agility and naturalness, in addition there will be many animals in the game that will even react to the sound of cars, so if we have a silent car we can get closer without running away. It also cannot confirm the official OST or whether we will be able to link third-party apps like Spotify to the game, but it can say that they have worked with artists to create original songs for the game, including Mexican artists.
Finally, Mike answered what it was that he was most proud of about the game, being the quality and beauty of the world they have created, as well as how fun it is. Finally, appreciated the community feedback on the announcement, which has been incredibly positive And that reassures them, since as usual, developers are always nervous about what they teach because they do not know how they will react, but the feedback has been incredible.
Forza Horizon 5 will launch on Xbox on November 5.