Amory Blaine

Completion #8 of 2026 - Forza Horizon 5 (2021) Finished April 2026, on an Xbox Series X in quality mode. Like a lot of you, I play games for the same reason I watch film and TV - to feel something. One emotion we underrate in critiques of video games is joy, and that’s exactly what Horizon 5 provides in spades. The festival vibe oozes off the screen and out of your sound system via the beautiful tropical Mexico pastiche, and the excellent soundtrack (though I would argue it’s not quite as good as FH4’s). Obviously Im aware this is an arcade rather than sim racer, but in terms of the art form, it’s definitely the simulation gameplay that takes precedent here vs the storytelling (and that is not a problem for me with this kind of game). That being said, I did enjoy having the protagonist of FH4 return to star here in 5, and to play the superstar rather than yet another “up and comer”. Apparently I’m in the minority with this view. I recommend this to anyone, before music licensing leads to it eventually being delisted for, stores like its predecessors. #Forza #ForzaHorizon5