Forza Motorsport, the 8th entry in the series, came out on October 10, 2023. The release has left fans with mixed opinions. Fans cannot seem to like or dislike the game collectively. Unsurprisingly, user reviews are subjective, as they should be. The case in point, however, shows a surprising level of variance between reviews. People are either all praise or don’t care for the game.
Forza Motorsport‘s user score on Metacritic is 6.5, labelled Mixed or Average. On the Steam product page, the review verdict says Mixed. The arguments that the game is fantastic or horrific each have various facets. Hence, exploring them from a series novice and a series veteran perspective is only logical.
The Dichotomy of Experiences Players Are Having With Forza Motorsport
Fans of the series were looking forward to the game’s release because of the series’ brilliant track record. The game was also the series’ next entry after six long years.
Social media platforms are flush with players’ opinions on various aspects of the game. Some players appreciate the graphical fidelity of the game. They understand the experience of photorealism, and the game looks truly next-gen.
The game’s graphical quality can be attributed to the crisp textures, level of detail, and ray-tracing. The title also supports dynamic 4K at 60 frames per second, which makes it feel buttery smooth on the Series X.
Contrastingly, some users weren’t impressed with the game’s graphics. Another user on X even said that the game’s shadows look like they are from the “PS1 era.“
The game’s AI and Drivatars were also heavily criticised by the community. Various media can be seen all over the internet where the AI in-game behaves awkwardly, to say the very least. The default wheel settings for the game also received a whole lot of criticism from gamers. To the extent that even players possessing a driving wheel prefer to play with a controller due to the settings.
On the other hand, some fans loved the driving and gameplay in general. The Xbox version of the game performs pretty well and feels well optimized. The PC port of Forza Motorsport has tonnes of performance issues. Even gamers with decent PC builds are complaining about optimisation and VRAM overspill issues.
Forza Motorsport also introduced an RPG-like level-up system to the game. This implies that to upgrade a car and install better parts, one must level up their vehicle to meet a certain threshold. Many players did not take kindly to this change.
People called this system of levelling up boring, repetitive, and robotic. The community is requesting a rollback of the feature. The standard dealership system, the way cars were levelled up conventionally, is missing in the title.
Although many players are downright frustrated and disappointed with the game, some are more or less satisfied with what Forza Motorsport offers. Some players who haven’t been racing simulator enthusiasts and have picked up the genre for the first time admit enjoying it thanks to the title.
Scope for Improvement in Forza Motorsport and Comparisons With Gran Turismo 7
Forza Motorsport’s direct rival on the PlayStation 5 is Gran Turismo 7. Fans of both games and owners of Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 have turned this rivalry into an indirect console comparison. Numerous posts on social media can be seen where people are comparing the two games and defending their preferences vehemently.
From the physics, graphics, level of detail, and car interiors to textures and ray tracing, the games are being compared almost on every possible metric. People have various positive and negative comments about both games. It is worth noting that although Forza Motorsport came out this year, Gran Turismo came out in 2021 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Possible improvements for the game can begin with fixing the PC port, as it is one area mentioned repeatedly by reviewers and players alike. People are finding it not just unoptimized but even unplayable at times. The AI is another area that can improve with subsequent patches and updates.
The game is a live service model, which means that new content and even support for the game will be offered for an extended period of time.
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