After six long years and several Horizon spin-offs, Turn 10 has finally released the successor to its racing simulator series, Forza Motorsport. Dropping the numbered naming convention altogether, the newer game arrives as a reboot of sorts, offering a fresh new take to what many still consider as the closest alternative to PlayStation’s Gran Turismo franchise on Xbox and PC.
As you’d expect, plenty of improvements have been introduced in the latest installation from the series, including several elements borrowed from its arcade-y cousin. One of which is its intro sequence, where you’re immediately thrown behind the wheel of a 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray after the opening montage, sparing you no quarter of what to expect throughout the game.
Then there’s the new player progression system which replaces the much scorned loot box mechanic from Forza Motorsport 7. This time around, you can purchase new gear, cars and upgrades with in-game credits earned from just playing the game – be it by participating in solo or multiplayer races and tournaments, or just simply hitting the tracks for a practice session.
Of course, the graphics in Forza Motorsport 2023 get a major upgrade as well, bringing its sense of immersion to a whole new level. This is thanks to the new lighting, shading and ray tracing features, as well as the insane attention to detail present on the game’s characters, world and especially the abundance of cars it offers, which ranges from stock to track-ready versions of popular models from numerous real-world manufacturers.
However, those gaming on PC may want to proceed with caution before getting the game. As noted by numerous Steam reviews, Forza Motorsport appears to suffer from poor optimisation, which has led to sub-par performance even on fairly decent PC setups. This is something I’ve not actually experienced myself, though should I note that I’m running on a Windows 10 system with an Intel Core i5-10400 processor, 32GB RAM, and an NVIDIA RTX3070 8GB GDDR6 GPU.
Moving on.
Car damage also makes a return and is much more believable this time. Granted, you won’t see parts falling off, but paint scraping and scratches, as well as dents and broken glass occur accordingly, based on the direction of impact. As with its predecessor and the Horizon spinoffs, there’s actually no consequences for getting your car all banged up, therefore damage control is present merely for the sake of cosmetics. Although, take note that certain races will apply collision penalties, so you would want to think twice about forcing an overtake at tight corners. Personally, I welcome this, as it does motivate me to do better on the track.
On that note, driving mechanics have vastly improved on Forza Motorsport 2023, which is mostly credited to Turn 10’s recent experiences with the last two Horizon entries that were released prior to this. Controls are tighter, while car physics react realistically depending on vehicle model as well as the different modifications applied.
The game is also newbie friendly, offering numerous driving assistance for braking, cornering and so on in order to make even the tough circuits and races more accessible to the non-hardcore crowd – but not to the point that it will guarantee a victory. Keep in mind that these are loaded up by default, which can be deactivated entirely via the settings menu after loading up Forza Motorsport for the first time. For serious learners, the game will encourage you to gradually tone down the assistance features as you continue to hone your driving skills.
Speaking of which, climbing the ranks will open up tougher races as well as more cars, modification parts and avatar gear, while participating in certain tournaments (both solo and multiplayer) gives you the chance to win unique items as well as certain cars for free. As I’ve mentioned earlier, player progression in Forza Motorsport 2023 is much more rewarding in more ways than one, and is definitely leagues better than its predecessor’s horrendous luck-based loot box system.
However, it’s not all that perfect either. One gripe I have with the system is that you have to level up each car individually if you wish to unlock every upgrade. This can lead to a tedious grind, though the argument here is that you spend more time familiarising yourself with each vehicle that you purchase or earn. The problem is, this also applies to duplicate cars, meaning that you have to repeat the entire process again if you’re thinking of having two or more cars of the same model for different situations.
Other drawbacks include the lower number of locations and cars. Where its prequel launched with 32 locations, Forza Motorsport 2023’s current state only offers a total of 20 fictional and real-world locations, including the franchise’s signature Maple Valley race track and Japan’s Suzuka Circuit. Meanwhile, the number of cars in the game totals at over 500 models, which is around 200 less than what was featured in 2017’s Forza Motorsport 7. Not to worry though, Turn 10 is promising that more locations and vehicles will be made available via future downloadable content, starting from Spring 2024 onwards.
Last but not least, we have the game’s audio. Whether its car engines, the sound of tyres on tarmac, gear shifting and so on, Turn 10’s efforts in this department is *chef’s kiss*. As for soundtrack, Forza Motorsport 2023 uses ambient, indie electronic music, which is much calmer and focused when compared to the high octane drum & bass selection offered by its Horizon cousins. However, these are only present in the game’s menus, as music has been completely removed from races. Personally, I don’t mind it at all since it allows me to fully appreciate the various in-game audio which I mentioned earlier.
In conclusion, Forza Motorsport 2023 is a return to form to Turn 10’s much more serious racing series. For those longing for a fresh and engaging driving simulator experience on PC and Xbox, this game will certainly help you scratch that itch and then some. It’s also worth mentioning that the game is being offered as part of Microsoft’s PC Game Pass subscription, so that’s an option for those who wish to try it before actually buying it.
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