It’s undeniable that racing games are a massive part of the gaming industry and gather numerous players every year with new releases. You can also find numerous genres, including simulators, arcades, and simcades.

One of the most famous racing franchises is Forza Horizon. The simcade saga is currently composed of five open-world racing games with stunning graphics and some of the biggest car lists ever seen in a racing game.

Both Forza Horizon 4 and 5 are references in the racing genre, making it challenging to choose which title to go with. But don't worry. We will help you win this challenge.

In this article, we will directly compare the two latest releases (Forza Horizon 4 and 5) to see which option is best for your library. Make sure to look at all the items listed below to see which video game best suits what you’re looking for.

Both Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Horizon 5 are considered simcade games. But what does that mean?

Simcade is a hybrid genre that mixes racing simulators with arcade elements. Different from the Forza Motorsport franchise, where each gameplay mechanic is meant to replicate reality, here you’ll find much more flexible settings that allow you to play the game, like a Need for Speed or The Crew title.

Simcades usually feature numerous settings the player can customize to adapt the gameplay to their style, making it possible to create a driving feeling similar to Motorsport or completely arcade-like. Not many games take this approach, making it easier for Forza Horizon to become the most important title of it. For this reason, making direct comparisons between the two most recent games is so important when choosing which one to go for.

The world of racing games has numerous titles of all kinds, going from simulators to completely arcade-like experiences. But Forza Horizon takes a different approach, perfectly mixing both types of experience in a unique game featuring all the elements we love from the Motorsport series.

The project developed by Playground Games features an open world full of places and events to explore. All games revolve around the main event called the Horizon Festival, where the player must compete for the best position and win the grand prize.

The festival comprises different events, including drift, street, and even the dirt races we all love. This tradition started in the first title and goes all the way to Forza Horizon 5, the franchise's latest release.

There’s much to do when exploring the event, from hidden treasure chests to drift zones and different cars hidden throughout the map. You can play any Horizon game for several hours and always have something new to do.

Knowing where to purchase your game is also very important to ensure you find the best deal. From the official store of each platform to website marketplaces, there are several places where you can find video game keys. 

Out of all the available choices, RoyalCDKeys stands out as the optimal option for enhancing your gameplay experience. Offering keys for over a thousand games, including top racing titles and various others, we cater to both PC and console players, ensuring we have precisely what you're looking for.

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Now it’s time to compare both games side by side to see which one is the definitive experience of the saga. Make sure to take a look at all categories to ensure you make the right decision when choosing your next racing game.

Here are the main aspects you need to consider when choosing a Forza Horizon title:

Map Exploration

Since Forza Horizon is an open-world racing game franchise, it is natural that map exploration is an important factor to look at when choosing which one to play. The festival of Forza Horizon 4 takes place in Edinburgh, with streets and places that will take the player on a trip to Great Britain. You can also find numerous real-life monuments on the game that tell a little about the place you’re in and its story. It is one of the best locations where Forza Horizon ever took place and features many different areas that will keep you immersed in the exploration tasks.

On the other hand, Forza Horizon 5 takes place in Mexico, which can instantly be identified through the biomes and other aspects you’ll discover while exploring. The new festival sites are always fun to explore and directly reflect the aesthetics of where the game takes place.

Throughout the map, you’ll find the same types of events of the base game of Forza Horizon 4, including the glorified fast travel points, player houses, average speed cameras, and many others. One of the most unique characteristics of the FH5 map is the towering volcano the player can explore while driving.

Both games have stunning sights throughout the entire map, but the map from Forza Horizon 4 is still better than its successor. FH5 has an incredible-looking map with dense jungles and stunning landscapes. Still, the cities don’t feel as alive as in Forza Horizon 4, and the fourth title also features more interesting tourist attractions and points of interest to visit. Both games are incredible when it comes to the world-building, but FH4 has a slight advantage.

Car List

One of the main characteristics of Forza Horizon is the vast car list featuring hundreds of different models. The two games don’t disappoint the players, featuring some of the best lists ever seen on racing titles.

You can find all kinds of vehicles, from classic cars to hypercars, like Koenigseggs and Bugattis. The extensive selection gets even bigger when considering the numerous DLCs available to expand this list with exclusive collections. You can find themed DLCs, like James Bond vehicles and even Hot Wheels cars.

Considering the car roster of each game, Forza Horizon 4 wins the fight, being the best game if you’re looking for a good vehicle variety for all kinds of tracks and situations. Whether you’re dirt racing or drifting in the snow, there’s always a car that suits your needs.

Houses and Other Interactive Places

Another essential factor characteristic of Horizon titles is that the player can acquire houses throughout the scenario. These houses can be used as a place to store your cars and customize them and as fast travel spots across the map.

If you’re in a specific zone and want to fast-travel to the other side of the city, you can teleport there as long as you have purchased the house.

Forza Horizon 4 has some of the most gorgeous houses of the entire franchise, including the Lake District and the Edinburgh Castle. Forza Horizon 5 features incredible visuals, which shows in the places you can buy. In both games, the houses don’t have objectives inside and are travel points where players can manage their cars and settings.

When comparing Forza Horizon 5 vs. Forza Horizon 4, the fourth title has a clear advantage in this category. Forza Horizon 5 features only seven houses the player can buy, while Forza Horizon 4 has thirteen houses, each with a lot more personality in its characteristics.

Downloadable Content

Another aspect where Forza Horizon 4 has a huge advantage is when it comes to DLC content. Both games have multiple DLCs you can purchase, but the FH4 selection is on another level. It features two major downloadable contents that extend the gameplay in hours and bring numerous new elements to it.

Fortune Island was inspired by the game Sea of Thieves, also from Microsoft, and takes the player to a treasure-hunting adventure on an island with incredible landscapes and views. You also have the Lego Speed Champions DLC, where you’ll find numerous Lego versions of famous hypercars, such as the McLaren Senna and the Ferrari F40.

Forza Horizon 5 also has a pretty solid DLC selection, with the Hot Wheels-themed content being its main downloadable extra. It is a very fun DLC that many players will enjoy spending time with, but overall, it’s not on the same level as FH4.

Graphics

As expected from a more recent game, Forza Horizon 5 features better graphics and physics, being the best option if that’s what you’re looking for. Everything is projected to look as real as possible, from the interiors of the cars to the textures of the world.

This can also be seen in the effects of burning tires and the mud on the car when dirt races. These better details won’t impact your gameplay but are definitely an improvement compared to the previous release. Still, there are also better things that impact your gameplay and are extremely relevant when choosing which one to go for.

One example is the drifting physics. If you like this type of racing, you’ll notice clear improvements compared to the previous release. Mexico presents the player with an environment variety that allows numerous types of racing, so having good physics is indispensable for a great experience when changing between the events.

Forza Horizon 4 also features some of the prettiest graphics of the last generation and will make you spend numerous hours just appreciating the UK landscapes you’ll find, especially with HDR enabled. But when it comes to graphics, FH5 is still undoubtedly the winner. 

But this comes with a cost. You’ll need a fairly powerful PC to run the game at a stable frame rate.

Races and Events

One of the main characteristics of Horizon is that it allows the players to do everything Motorsport doesn’t. That’s why it is indispensable for the game to have a variety of objectives and more options while exploring the festival.

Even though the tracks and normal race events are pretty solid on FH5, the special events are way better in Horizon 4. From dirt races against motorcycles to competitions against airplanes, Forza Horizon 4 has many other objectives. You can be a taxi driver and take people to their destination, or even become a stunt pilot for the Horizon movie. There are endless possibilities.

Forza Horizon 5 lacks objectives that keep the player immersed and wanting to explore the different areas of the map, making you feel that the possibilities curve is a bit flat sometimes. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad game, and you still have many things to do that will keep you playing for numerous hours.

No doubt, Forza Horizon is one of the most successful racing game franchises of all time, and its two most recent titles are among the best. They include the essence of the franchise and all the elements we love in the genre, including a great car selection and a big map to explore.

This makes it a true challenge to choose which Forza Horizon is better. But when considering all the elements listed and the overall gameplay, Forza Horizon 4 is still a better choice for your library. 

From the physics to the events you can participate in, everything is top-tier to keep you entertained from the beginning to the end. You can play it on both Xbox and PC, making it the perfect option whether you prefer console or desktop.

Now, it’s time for you to grab your car keys and explore everything the Horizon Festival offers. It is the definitive Horizon experience that’ll please even the most picky gamers.