It's no surprise that Forza Horizon 5 is going stronger than ever, with updates upon updates. Recently, Playground Games introduced some of the most iconic vehicles from cinema history (with a catch), and not just that. The game is stacked with reward cars that should entice any automotive and gaming enthusiast with the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, GR Yaris, and many more.
The latest big update introduced the retro-futuristic Hyundai N Vision 74, the 2021 Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4, the 1986 BMW M635CSi, the 1980 Lotus Esprit Turbo, and the 1986 Citroen BX 4TC, and from the looks of it, that was just the start.
The Modern Horizons update will reward those skilled enough to face the Festival Playlist with astounding cars like the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N, 2021 Toyota GR Yaris, 2023 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S, and the 2023 KIA EV6 GT. To properly test out these rides, the developers also introduced 17 new EventLab props with which you can build your ideal highway. Among them, you'll find assets like Highway Pillars, Highway Short Curves, Lane Split Junction, Lane Merge, Incline (medium & long), Highway Roads (4 lanes & 2 lanes), and Short Highway Roads (4 lanes & 2 lanes).
The Universal Icons Car Pack costs $10 on Xbox and Steam and features some of the most iconic vehicles ever to grace the silver screen! Well, actually, there are only three main ones, and two are sort of a repeat, which caused a bit of a fuss in Steam's player review section.
Photo: Xbox
David Hasselhoff's K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider, the Jurassic Park 1992 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, and Back to the Future's DMC DeLorean are headlining the lineup, but the latter comes in three, one from each movie. At least the good part is that lights and sounds replicate the special effects from the trilogy when you hit the famous 88 mph or 142 kilometers per hour mark. Sadly for K.I.T.T. fans, the Hoff doesn't jump out of the car.
Steam players have not been kind to this 10-dollar pack, leaving thumbs down and comments like "Stop scamming us. This should've been in the $100 Ultimate Edition," or "The Ecto 1 and Ecto 1A from Ghostbusters I & II should definitely have been included in this pack, that at least would've helped ease the blow of the price tag for this DLC." Consequently, the bundle currently has a 66% mixed review score.
As for the reward cars, the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse is already available, with its whopping 500 horsepower and 418 lb-ft or (567 Nm) of torque, as opposed to its base version that "only" produces 460 hp or 468 with the Active Valve Performance Exhaust option.
Next, the 2023 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N and the 2023 Kia EV6 GT arrive on June 27, the 2021 Toyota GR Yaris on July 4, and finally, the 2023 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S lands on July 11. To unlock the Kia EV6 GT, you need 80 points during the Modern Horizons Festival Playlist. The dark pony requires 20 points during the Week 1 "Summer" Season, available between June 20 and June 27.
Photo: Xbox
To unlock the 641-hp Hyundai Ioniq 5 N that can reach 62 mph or 100 kph in just 3.4 seconds, you need 20 points during the Week 2 "Autumn" Season, available between June 27 and July 4. The 2.1-liter 257 hp GR Yaris also needs 20 points but during the Week 3 "Winter" Season, between July 4-11. Lastly, the astonishing 750-hp 2023 Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo Turbo S can hit 62 mph from a standstill in just 2.4 seconds, and you need 20 points during the Week 4 "Spring" Season between July 11-15.
The developer says the next update will feature a new "Evolving World Coffee Shop," if that sounds familiar, along with new but undisclosed rides.
On Steam, Forza Horizon 5 Standard Edition is on sale, 50% off from $60, meaning 30 US dollars. The Deluxe Edition costs $40, down 50% from $80, and the Premium Edition is 50 bucks, down from $100. The $100 Premium Add-Ons Bundle is also half-price at $50. Lastly, the Ultimate Driving bundle usually costs $200, but now it's just 33% off at $135.
While Xbox released its flagship Gran Turismo 7 competitor, Forza Motorsport, in 2023, the belle of the ball is still 2021's Forza Horizon 5. Aside from a small audience, Motorsport didn't catch on, but Horizon 5 is more popular than ever. In the past 24 hours (at the time of writing), Forza Motorsport only had a peak of 936 players, while Horizon 5 is going strong with 26,098 people. The all-time peak for the former was 4,703 nine months ago, while the latter saw 81,096 over three years ago.
With Xbox exclusives—or, better said, former Xbox exclusives—seeing their way onto PlayStation 5, logic would dictate that it's only a matter of time before we see Forza Horizon 5 and possibly its sequel on the PlayStation ecosystem.
Codrin just loves American classics, from the 1940s and ‘50s, all the way to the muscle cars of the '60s and '70s. In his perfect world, we'll still see Hudsons and Road Runners roaming the streets for years to come (even in EV form, if that's what it takes to keep the aesthetic alive). Full profile
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