How similar is this to the Motorsport games?

Been hearing a lot about Horizon 5, and I’m intrigued, but I absolutely hate the Forza Motorsport games. Not saying they’re bad games or anything, I just personally have zero interest in hyper-realistic sims. Don’t want to get stuck with another Forza game on my tag if I won’t get any enjoyment out of it. So I’m interested to know if anyone out there has played this game who also hated the Motorsport games. I’m good with racing portions of sandbox games, kart racers, Burnout, etc., but games like GT and Forza M are not for me.

This is a good question. My only experience with the Horizon series is that Fast and Furious tie-in game they made. My understanding is that this series is meant as a casual racer and not a sim. I almost voted for the 1st option. Then I realized I have no firsthand knowledge of Horizon 5, so it would be better for others to answer. I have been considering starting this too, so I am interested in what others think.

This is a good question. My only experience with the Horizon series is that Fast and Furious tie-in game they made. My understanding is that this series is meant as a casual racer and not a sim. I almost voted for the 1st option. Then I realized I have no firsthand knowledge of Horizon 5, so it would be better for others to answer. I have been considering starting this too, so I am interested in what others think.

Originally Posted by jeffmomm

Good to know, thanks! I haven’t played any of them, and the one criticism I’ve heard of the game so far was that they played it safe and stuck to the formula, so it seems likely that it would hold true here if it was true of the previous ones.

Having played a couple of the Motorsport games and the first Horizon game, I can say I enjoyed the Horizon game more since it's not restricted to "go win these races to progress" and has a variety of activities to complete with leaderboards to see how you stack up against your list of Xbox friends (for example -- there are speed cameras to drive past at a given speed, which the leaderboard shows how fast your friends drove past it so that there's a challenge for you to post a better speed than they did).

Motorsport games = sim racing, locked to tracks only
Horizon games = arcade racing, open world with side activities.

I find in Horizon games that racing is mostly a distraction from doing all the other stuff. The simulation elements are there if you have an interest in customizing every detail of your car (gear ratios, tire pressure, etc), but you don't ever have to open those menus in the Horizon games if you don't want to. You can also play on the easiest difficulty to make it a cakewalk.

Horizon 5 has had a bumpy start with several bugs and problems. Many have been addressed already, and many more will be fixed over time. The "story" is also a bit cringe-worthy. Both 3 & 4 did a better job of story and progression.

It's on game pass, so you can give it a try without buying it (If you don't have game pass, why not??). It was also one of the easier Horizon games to complete (I still need the season smash collectibles, but that's a time gated achievement anyway). There is also a bit of a challenge for one of the achievements that requires a full month of time invested.

Overall, I still think Horizon 4 was a more solid entry, but 5 has potential depending on how quickly it gets more fixes and what DLC might come down the road.

Motorsport games = sim racing, locked to tracks only
Horizon games = arcade racing, open world with side activities.

I find in Horizon games that racing is mostly a distraction from doing all the other stuff. The simulation elements are there if you have an interest in customizing every detail of your car (gear ratios, tire pressure, etc), but you don't ever have to open those menus in the Horizon games if you don't want to. You can also play on the easiest difficulty to make it a cakewalk.

Horizon 5 has had a bumpy start with several bugs and problems. Many have been addressed already, and many more will be fixed over time. The "story" is also a bit cringe-worthy. Both 3 & 4 did a better job of story and progression.

It's on game pass, so you can give it a try without buying it (If you don't have game pass, why not??). It was also one of the easier Horizon games to complete (I still need the season smash collectibles, but that's a time gated achievement anyway). There is also a bit of a challenge for one of the achievements that requires a full month of time invested.

Overall, I still think Horizon 4 was a more solid entry, but 5 has potential depending on how quickly it gets more fixes and what DLC might come down the road.

Originally Posted by Hotdogmcgee

Thanks for this! This matches my expectations but it is nice to have confirmation.