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Every Forza Horizon game ranked from best to worst
From the British brilliance of Forza Horizon 4 to the Colorado original, we rank every Forza Horizon game from best to worst and explain what made each one stand out.
When it comes to open-world arcade racing games, nobody does it better than Playground Games. The Xbox-owned studio’s Forza Horizon series has long dominated the open roads, combining the high-fidelity visuals of the Forza Motorsport series with a theme park-like assortment of side activities and racing extravaganzas to work through. Following the recent release of Forza Horizon 6, it’s time to head to the starting line and decide which game sits in pole position, and which one’s right at the back of the grid.
01
Forza Horizon 4
Forza Horizon 4 perfected the formula
© Xbox Game Studios
The Horizon festival landed on the shores of ol’ Blighty in Forza Horizon 4, and it was the best rendition to-date. The Great British map offered a rich selection of terrain to tear through.
From the stone wall-lined roads of the Lake District to the bustling city reminiscent of Edinburgh, through to the awe-inspiring beauty of rural Scotland, it was all represented. The map might not have been the biggest in the series, but it was filled with natural beauty to soak up, races to win, and side activities to stumble upon.
Whether it was Barn Finds, Horizon Story Chapters, #FORZATHON live events, PR Stunts, or simply speeding around the map with friends, Forza Horizon 4 was the true pinnacle of the series. While Forza Horizon 3 lay the groundwork, 4 topped it off with dynamic weather that fundamentally changed how players interacted with the world.
Derwenwater freezing over opened up entirely new areas in winter, while rain-soaked roads required a more delicate touch when navigating corners. Rather than simply acting as a visual gimmick, the changing seasons gave the map a sense of variety that kept it feeling fresh.
Combined with one of the most diverse maps in the series and an endless list of activities to tackle, Forza Horizon 4 struck the perfect balance between freedom, progression and high-octane set-pieces. Every element of the Horizon formula came together here, making it the benchmark that every entry since has been measured against.
Plus, its second expansion took you to a LEGO world! What more could you want?
02
Forza Horizon 6
Forza Horizon 6 combines the series’ soul with stunning visuals
© Xbox Game Studios
After years of asking for it, fans finally got to visit the Horizon festival in Japan. Combining the tightly-packed cityscapes with winding mountain roads and vast stretches of rural meadows, the location lived up to the hype. Playground Games understood the assignment, and it ensured that Japanese car culture was represented in true form, too, with car meets to attend, street races, and intense 1v1 touges.
Progression received an overhaul, too. Wristbands returned, marking progress through the typical racing action, and a separate Explorer rank was introduced. This indicates a player’s progression through side activities such as decorating their houses, finding collectibles, tuning vehicles, and taking photos of the various cars at the festival, to name a few.
The only major downside comes from its rather rubber-bandy AI. Difficulty settings don’t feel quite right, either making races far too easy to win, or AI racers appearing out of nowhere to snatch victory from your hands on the final straight.
It’s still early days for Horizon 6, but this entry feels like a true return to form for the series. With more content due to be released in the form of paid expansions, car packs and free seasonal content, the future is bright for Horizon Japan.
03
Forza Horizon 3
Forza Horizon 3 revolutionised open-world freedom
© Xbox Game Studios
At this point in the list, it’s difficult to go wrong. Forza Horizon 3 took us down under to Australia, and with it came a true sandbox revolution for the series. While the first two games in the series had been limited open-world experiences, Australia gave players true freedom to explore the world and approach events however they saw fit.
Players could crash through dense rainforests, drift through tight city streets, or take their car for a romantic drive down pristine beaches wherever and whenever they wanted.
Doing away with wristbands, Horizon 3 saw players working on building up the festival, expanding it to new locations around Australia as they gained fans, and choosing which festival sites to unlock next. This also meant they could decide what types of events appeared at those sites, giving players a sense of ownership and growth that previous entries in the series didn’t.
It also introduced the Horizon Blueprint system, allowing players to choose their own routes, set vehicle type restrictions, and adjust other settings for their custom race events. These, too, would all feed into the progression.
With a diverse map, a wealth of side activities to complete, a huge roster of cars and a slightly different take on the Horizon festival story and progression, Forza Horizon 3 is often seen as one of the peaks of the series, and it’s not difficult to see why.
04
Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 scaled up visual fidelity
© Xbox Game Studios
The Mexican leg of the Horizon festival ushered in a new era of visual fidelity. While the series has always been known for its graphical prowess, Horizon 5 took that to the next level with photorealistic levels of detail in the environments and vehicle models. More than 700 cars became available through launch content and post-release updates. Each one struck an impressive balance between realistic handling and arcade accessibility.
Alas, the Mexico map was lacklustre. Cities felt a little too flat, and the large stretches of desert all got a little too samey. Opting for a huge map may have been the right call on paper, but its scale often came at the expense of variety. Long drives frequently blurred together, and there were fewer memorable landmarks or roads that begged to be revisited. It’s still a fun game, but compared to the more distinctive worlds of other titles, it falls a little short once the novelty of exploration wears off.
05
Forza Horizon 2
Forza Horizon 2 unlocked off-road and online freedom
© Xbox Game Studios
Forza Horizon 2 took the festival vibes to the south of France and northern Italy, offering up stunning coastal roads, sun-soaked fields, and vineyards ripe for driving through. The reins were loosened with this entry, allowing players to venture off-road, but it was the advances in online play that made it stand out over its predecessor.
The freedom to drive around the map in true Free Roam and access every race in multiplayer made it far more seamless. It also introduced Road Trips, stringing four events together and scoring players on the total XP earned both in the events and on the journeys between each of them.
Unfortunately, this Road Trip structure also spilled over into the single-player, making each ‘progression’ to the next festival hub a bit of a chore in the latter stages. One too many indestructible objects in the environment could interrupt cross-country driving, but the title successfully expanded the scope of the series regardless.
Still haven't had enough Forza Horizon 6?
06
Forza Horizon
Forza Horizon laid the foundation for the series to build upon
© Xbox Game Studios
The original game took players to the city of Colorado, rather than opting for an enormous country-wide festival. While that limited scope has its drawbacks, Forza Horizon made up for it with a really satisfying sense of progression. Players truly were the rookies starting in the slow hatchback, grinding out wins to work their way up to sitting in the driver’s seat of the flashiest supercars in the world. It also truly embraced the automotive festival feel, with late-night party vibes, legal street racing and a true passion for the subculture that other entries haven’t always nailed.
However, hardware limitations on the Xbox 360 restricted the open-world design. Invisible walls prevented off-road exploration, and the vehicle roster was understandably limited in comparison to its successors. It still has a special place in the hearts of many fans, but the technical gaps separate it from its successors.
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