An excellent companion piece to the open-world, frantic off-road action of Forza Horizon, Forza Motorsport is the next generation of racing that I’ve been waiting so very long for.
"Forza Motorsport offers over 500 real-world cars and 20 tracks with dynamic weather conditions for a cutting-edge racing experience. Earn performance upgrades and tackle advanced AI opponents in the Builders Cup Career Mode. Compete in Featured Multiplayer events or create your own races for endless racing possibilities."
The game has stunning graphics and a wide variety of cars, making it visually appealing and enjoyable for car enthusiasts.
Driving physics are fun and provide a good balance between arcade and simulation, making it accessible for casual players.
The game has improved significantly since launch, with regular updates adding new content and fixing bugs.
The AI is poorly designed, often causing frustrating collisions and penalties for players who are not at fault.
The progression system is grindy, requiring players to level up individual cars before they can be fully upgraded, which can be tedious.
The game suffers from frequent crashes and long loading times, making it difficult to enjoy the overall experience.
graphics
1,059 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
60%
15%
The graphics in "Forza Motorsport" have received mixed reviews, with many players praising the stunning visuals and detailed car models, especially when settings are optimized. However, numerous reports highlight significant graphical glitches, poor optimization, and inconsistent performance, leading to a frustrating experience for many users. Overall, while the game showcases impressive graphics under ideal conditions, it struggles with stability and quality across various setups, leaving some players disappointed compared to previous titles in the franchise.
“First off, the graphics in this game are stunning.”
“The graphics are absolutely fantastic and for example, weather changes during longer races are truly breathtaking.”
“The graphics are beautiful, the tuning model is worse than in Forza Horizon.”
“I bought this game and played no more than 4 hours; played is a word I would use loosely as I spent more time on loading screens than actually racing. The time I spent racing there was lag, graphic glitches like everything was mirrors, and I mean everything, so you couldn't really see where you were driving. Then there was the fun of when you did actually complete a race, the game would crash.”
“The graphics have gone backwards, and cars now visually appear more flat than they used to.”
“The graphics are a horrific downgrade from other Forza titles.”
optimization
969 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
54%
35%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including stuttering, frame rate drops, and crashes, even on high-end systems. While some users have noted improvements in performance following updates, others continue to experience severe optimization problems that hinder gameplay. Overall, the game appears to be poorly optimized for PC, with many recommending waiting for further patches before purchasing.
“Performance has seen marked improvement since launch, with framerates now much more stable.”
“I play on ultra settings 1080p no DLLs and no RT locked on 60fps and I have found no stutter or FPS drops; without FPS lock, it ran between 70-90fps on R7 5800X and 3060Ti, so it seems to be well optimized.”
“With enhanced optimization, I found myself able to enjoy crisp 1080p visuals on high settings, complete with RTX features enabled, all while maintaining a buttery-smooth 75 frames per second.”
“The optimization is garbage, with so much stuttering in practice for multiplayer and it crashes a lot.”
“The game suffers from severe performance issues, with frame rate drops and long loading times even on high-end hardware.”
“The performance is still terrible on a 3060ti and r5 5600 64gb ddr4 cl16@3466.”
gameplay
333 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
53%
9%
The gameplay of Forza Motorsport has received mixed reviews, with many praising its driving mechanics, physics, and overall fun factor, while others criticize the game's performance issues, AI behavior, and the implementation of grindy progression systems. Players appreciate the realistic feel and extensive car customization options, but express frustration over bugs, limited content, and the lack of a compelling single-player experience. Overall, while the core gameplay is enjoyable, significant technical and design flaws detract from the overall experience.
“The gameplay is enjoyable but constant crashes, most frustratingly when crossing the finish line, make it not worth the time.”
“The realistic driving mechanics provide a rewarding experience for players who enjoy fine-tuning their skills and mastering the art of racing.”
“With its impressive graphics, detailed car mechanics, and robust single-player campaign, the game provides hours of engaging gameplay for racing fans.”
“They seem to care more about the helmets and racing suits than the gameplay.”
“Terrible AI, woeful and thoughtless mechanics added in, and lacking a good career mode.”
“The gameplay is dry and boring.”
stability
307 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
93%
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent crashes, freezes, and graphical glitches that significantly disrupt gameplay. Many users have experienced long loading times and issues with multiplayer connectivity, leading to frustration and a sense that the game remains unfinished despite ongoing updates. While some players have had relatively smooth experiences, the overwhelming consensus is that the game is currently plagued by bugs and performance issues, making it difficult to recommend for those seeking a stable racing experience.
“Game looks phenomenal, runs great and is a lot of fun!”
“Good game, zero issues with it.. it did force my hand and I upgraded to a 3070.. runs great!”
“I am running on an old 1070 Nvidia and it looks and runs great.”
“I bought this game and played no more than 4 hours; I spent more time on loading screens than actually racing. The time I spent racing was plagued with lag and graphical glitches, and after completing a race, the game would crash.”
“Game is really buggy and the loading times are the worst I've seen in a game made in the past two decades.”
“This game is still a buggy mess. The graphical glitches are numerous and glaring, and the game crashes constantly, making it unplayable.”
grinding
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
1%
98%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it excessively tedious and frustrating. While some appreciate the depth it adds to car customization and progression, the overwhelming consensus is that the grind for car levels and upgrades is often seen as a chore, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game. Players express a desire for a more streamlined system that allows for quicker access to upgrades and a more engaging experience without the need for extensive grinding.
“It's not grindy.”
“The original implementation was an overly grindy, unfulfilling chore that took away the sense of excitement and accomplishment in car ownership.”
“The main appeal of choosing any car and going racing with it is ruined by locking even the most basic upgrades behind extremely tedious grinding.”
“The progression system is so stupid & awful, hours & hours of pointless grinding, I've gotten over 10 cars to level 50 & it's always a pain & annoying as hell.”
story
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
69%
19%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed to negative feedback, with many users noting a lack of depth and engagement in the narrative. While some appreciate the lengthy story mode, others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking a cohesive storyline, often comparing it unfavorably to other racing games like Gran Turismo 7. Overall, players express disappointment over the absence of a meaningful single-player experience and the reliance on online connectivity for career modes, leading to a perception of the game as unfinished or lacking in content.
“The story mode was good for at least 50 hours.”
“I didn't expect a full RPG experience or anything, but I expected some sort of racing driver backstory where you would feel some sense of progress beyond unlocking car parts.”
“As of writing, I've finished all the 'story' missions and have around 80 hours of gameplay.”
“Career mode feels barebones like in Grid 2019; there's no story or good career mode. Here it's actually even worse because no race car events in career feel even more unfinished.”
“I just cannot understand games that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to create and have the most brand new recent technology and graphics but physics for a child and no story and no money put into testing the development and fine-tuning the glitches.”
“The story is basic and repeats itself every race; the car variety isn't that great.”
music
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
74%
16%
The music aspect of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players noting a significant lack of a compelling soundtrack during races and an overall uninspired audio experience. While some users mentioned that the music is slightly better than in previous installments, the absence of catchy tracks and the presence of generic sound effects have left many feeling disappointed. Overall, the game's audio presentation is criticized for being forgettable and lacking the engaging atmosphere found in earlier titles.
“The music is better, though that is a subjective opinion.”
“Great handling, fantastic modernized progression, and a great soundtrack.”
“The music from Motorsport 2-4 was peak menu music and overall aesthetic of having a good sound to it.”
“The soundtrack is terrible.”
“The soundtrack is as close to non-existent as you can get, which is a crying shame.”
“Forza's soundtracks have taken a huge step backwards in the last 10 years, to the point where I would outright mute the soundtracks in Forza 6 and 7 and either play my own music in a separate window or just race in silence, which is what you do in this game anyway since there is no soundtrack when you're actually racing.”
monetization
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
39%
55%
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn significant criticism from players, who describe it as a blatant cash grab by Microsoft, characterized by heavy reliance on microtransactions and paid DLC. Many feel that the focus on monetization detracts from the gameplay experience, leading to a perception of the game as unfinished and creatively lacking. Overall, the community expresses disappointment over what they see as greedy practices in a full-priced title, undermining the game's potential as a competitive racing experience.
“You can't buy credits through microtransactions, thank God, but why would you annoy players so much then?”
“It's not like there are even microtransactions; these decisions are forcing you into them.”
“This game is very obviously just a cash grab for Microsoft.”
“Shamefully greedy monetization practices for a full-priced game.”
“I've played phone games with less greedy monetization.”
humor
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is often described as unintentional, stemming from its numerous bugs, poor optimization, and absurd gameplay scenarios, such as winning races in economy cars against high-performance vehicles. Players find amusement in the game's flaws, like long loading times and crashes, as well as the irony of a multi-billion dollar studio struggling with issues that modders can fix quickly. Overall, while the game has its entertaining moments, many reviews suggest that the humor is overshadowed by its shortcomings.
“Hilariously terrible”
“Probably won't buy the DLC, seems like a lot for mostly just race cars I don't really care about; I play these games for the economy cars because it's funny to win 1st place in some bummy economy car against a touring car or something.”
“The game is very fun to play and to improve at; it's also very funny to play with friends.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
Overall, the game's replayability is criticized for its linear progression and lack of diverse events, leading to a feeling of stagnation after completing the main career. While some players appreciate the ability to replay championships with different cars, many express disappointment over the limited track variety and the absence of customizable race options. Additionally, concerns about optimization and the game's long-term support further diminish its replay value.
“The ability to replay championships with diverse cars, each offering unique handling and power dynamics, adds a layer of replayability that keeps the experience fresh and engaging.”
“However, they still need to add some basic quality of life features for those of us who don't want to play online (custom race weekends, custom championships) for this game to have real long-term replayability.”
“Sadly, it still lacks more events; after completing the main career races, you are left with the open class and showcase tours. For some reason, PG still decides to remove these races after 4 weeks have passed, instead of adding them to the event list and making them replayable.”
“It's something that got ported from the Horizon series and it's detrimental to the replayability of the game.”
“I feel like I have wasted my money, and that is the only replay value I am getting from this game.”
“In FM8, you instead progress linearly through different series - every single one of them - rather than choosing what you want to play. Additionally, all of the races are the same length, the championships don't randomize which tracks they use, so there's basically no replay value, and only about 1/3 of the car list qualifies for the Builder's Cup championships.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight a mix of emotional responses to the game, ranging from profound disappointment and frustration due to technical issues and gameplay mechanics, to moments of joy and connection when experiencing iconic cars. Players express feelings of distress over crashes and gameplay inconsistencies, while also finding emotional engagement through the thrill of racing and nostalgia for classic vehicles. Overall, the emotional experience is polarized, with some moments evoking strong feelings of attachment and others leading to frustration and disillusionment.
“Medium tire compound on a wet Hockenheim made me feel like I was finally part of a Ferrari team.”
“How can I be involved emotionally in this game and not lose the suspense of belief, when this game loses its textures and consequently its integrity right in front of my eyes?”
“Some iconic M3 or '93 911 completely smashed me and made me so emotional.”
atmosphere
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The atmosphere in the game is highlighted by its engaging virtual crowds that react dynamically to player actions, creating an electrifying race day experience. While some users note that the graphics may not match recent titles, the overall ambiance, including the incorporation of music and structured events, contributes positively to the game's atmosphere. However, there are criticisms regarding the lack of meaningful single-player content and a need for improvements in multiplayer and penalty systems, which detract from the overall experience.
“The virtual crowds react to every daring overtake and strategic maneuver, creating an electrifying atmosphere that mirrors the energy of a packed football arena.”
“The practice, qualify then race structure creates a nice race day atmosphere.”
“Some cars do look better than others, it is strange but the tracks, graphics, atmosphere are all great.”
“Fix the barebones multiplayer, fix the confusing penalty system, fix the lack of meaningful singleplayer content, fix the lack of any atmosphere, vibes, or soundtrack, and fix the actual bugs that still plague the game while you're at it!”
“The graphics are still no comparison to recent GT titles in terms of quality, but the overall atmosphere is better.”
“Forza Motorsport 4 runs laps on the atmosphere of the game compared to this because of its incorporation with Top Gear, choices of music, and how it unveils new cars and challenges to you.”