REVIEW: Forza Motorsport focuses on the competitive and forgets the casual

There is a subgenre of racing games in which it is not enough to be fast and have cool cars, you need to love motorsport and understand its entire history to appreciate the developers' effort in creating the experience. Forza Motorsports is one of those games, with a part of the audience potentially feeling alienated if they are not so connected to said world.

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Forza Motorsport is dedication

Officially the eighth game in the main Forza series, but which chose to have a simpler name that refers to a fresh start, when turning on, we see, straight away, that in Forza Motorsports, in fact, things are a little different, although still familiar .

We are thrown into an extensive tutorial that explains the basics of the game: how each race in career mode requires 3 training laps before actually starting, the way that the cars have their own levels that unlock more tuning options and the famous rewind of racing. However, all of this becomes a bit exhausting for those who don't have as much experience with racing games and just wanted something more casual.

Of course, driving assistance and the like are available, but that doesn't mean that the game seems to have lost some of the characteristic that some previous chapters of the franchise had of just picking up a race and playing quickly in career mode, with everything here being made up of extensive championships which, with mandatory training laps, become even longer.

There seems to be an effort by Turn 10, the game's producer, to keep a more casual audience away from the game – which is not a problem in itself, since Forza Horizon exists, but it is clear that series like Gran Turismo go in the opposite direction, allowing both casual and serious players to enjoy the same game.

Of course, the speed race still exists, but even there some details are still a bit too extensive or complex. The fact that the car needs to increase in level for its tuning to be released, for example, is something that forces the player to play with it in an inferior form before being able to have it in its ideal form, and although I understand the thought — something probably close to trying out the car before investing in it (Test Drive) —, it is undeniable that it becomes a very serious problem when any activity starts to become an hour-long exercise.

A believable representation of the racing world

At the same time, when we are on the tracks racing, what becomes evident is how the game is a technical masterpiece and promises to be absurd for racing lovers. The car damage is realistic, the physics and aerodynamics make you feel completely in control of the vehicles and the competitions are intense and well done, with each overtaking being more worthwhile than the last and being in itself a unique challenge that will not be repeated thanks to the game's brilliant AI, which allows races to become real battles in mechanical carriages like I've never seen in another game of its kind. 

Graphically, Forza Motorsport is also excellent, even when playing on the Xbox Series S. The lighting is beautiful, with sun rays reflecting incredibly on the metal of the car, reflections in water or on rival vehicles and the landscapes of the most beautiful tracks. and which can be viewed with excellence in photo mode.

What remains, then, is this curious dichotomy between a beautiful and exquisitely made game for car lovers and a title that, in fact, seems to want to alienate casual players at all costs. It really seems to me like it's an attempt to make the two Forza series for different audiences, which could be a little problematic.

See, the Horizon series is fun, but it doesn't feature real tracks and competition rules. Motorsports, in its new chapter, seems to be doing just the opposite, focusing so much on the competitive world that it forgets some of the fun. Even its online mode is completely serious, with specific rules and classifications so that the race itself can take place.

Conclusion

How can I have a verdict on a game that, on the one hand, is technically one of the best things I've ever seen, but on the other hand seems to want me to delve into it to a level that I might not be capable of? Honestly, I've been pondering this question throughout the week of testing I've had with Forza Motorsport, and my conclusion is to appreciate what it does well, but understand that perhaps I'm not its audience.

I love cars, I love racing, but I don't have the time necessary to dedicate myself to the level that the game seems to want to demand from its players. There's no problem with that, after all, I'm sure many people will be happy with the title, more than me, but perhaps I expected a more balanced experience between casual and competitive.

Who knows, in future updates this request will not be met. But for now, we are left with this impression about Forza Motosport.

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Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (3 / 10 / 23)