At Gamescom 2018, I attended a hands-off presentation for the upcoming Forza Horizon 4. The game was being played on PC, and the Playground Games representative explained that this time, will be making sure the PC version works well at launch. Forza Horizon 3 was one of the first titles to utilize Microsoft’s Play Anywhere and they had some difficulty in developing that version. They had learnt a lot and will make sure none of those issues is present this year’s game.
The PC version will run at 60 FPS from the start, and you will be able to go beyond the ultra-settings. It even has support for HDR and Dolby Atmos for the platform. Coming to the game itself, Forza Horizon 4 is based around three core ideas – the locations, dynamic seasons and the social and multiplayer features.
As an example, I was shown a single race being played through the entire season catalogue. It started in the summer, and you could see a drastic change in the image on the screen at every turning point. The transitions to the different seasons changed the lighting, colour, sky, road surface, weather and so on, while effects like moisture would have a noticeable impact on how you are expected to drive.
The weather will change after every single real-life week. It will bring brand new content, more replayability, more ways to play the same tracks but also exclusives for that season. The Ultimate Edition of the game will grant you two new cars every week for 20 plus weeks, while every 4 weeks, there will be massive updates with more content being added. There will also be special challenges hourly, daily and weekly for you to take part in. All of this is being done to make sure that the game always has something new for you every time you hit play.
There will be a Club section which will utilize Xbox One OS features to bring up to 2000 members together. Looking for a group will available inside the club, as well as exclusive chat and a system for you to directly watch the live stream of other members.
Forza Horizon 4 is going all in for PvP this year. In the past, the players complained that coming first wasn't rewarded as much as skill based or clean driving. But with a 6v6 team based PVP mode called Team Adventure, every single racers position will make a difference. All players, apart from the last, will get points based on their position, which will then be added to a total, determining which team won the round. It definitely seemed like multiplayer in Forza Horizon 4 is designed around racing as a group, and that it was an extra hook for members of Xbox Game Pass to continue playing with their friends. The game will also include a ranked racing mode, where you will need 10 qualification races to get a skill rating, which will go up or down depending upon performance.
The presentation ended with a final surprise, the confirmation of a Halo-themed showcase event in the game. We got to see Master Chief racing in a Warthog, complete with Halo styled environmental objects, music, other covenant vehicles randomly flying around and so much more.
Overall Forza Horizon 4 left a very positive impression. The games are always excellent, and there is no doubt that this next one will be too with a bigger world combined with constantly updating seasons to changing the look and feel of the game is a great idea, whereas new content every week or so is always welcome. Forza Horizon 4 is the perfect racing game for purists and casual fans alike and is shaping up to be the best in the series.
By: Parth Bagaria
Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
