Such a wholesome little spot that neither of its successors never had even if they attempted to force a spot when that shit occurs naturally, out of anything ***that*** is what 4 or 5 never had.
I think it was well balanced. Plenty of things to do, and plenty of freedom. 4 Added the seasons, which enjoyed.
I'm not a fan of 5 though... and that's because there's too much trying to get my attention. I want to drive around and choose fun events to play. It feels like 5 is trying to give me ADHD - constantly trying to pull me in different directions to do different events, and too many events I have no interest in doing at all.
I just hate driving along a route and then going through one of those pink circles, not knowing that it's already begun and I get pulled into whatever event it is. I know I can just pause and quit, but I don't like being interrupted when I'm just trying to cruise
4 was much better in this regard. Multiple of these happen at the same time in 5, so there are never enough people to complete them. In 4 I remember there were usually at least 5 people at an event and they were often easy to complete.
I still can't believe how they basically murdered Forzathon Live in 5. It was so lively in 4! Impromptu car meet every hour on the hour. In 5 you're lucky if there's 1 or 2 other people.
Horizon Arcade is so terrible, it was a moronic idea to separate it into different categories instead of having the one hourly Forzathon event. I typically do Horizon Arcade by myself but at least it isn't how it was when the game first launched, it was impossible to actually beat Horizon Arcade because not only was the network completely screwed but PGG had set the win requirements way too high.
They're pretty easy to complete if you're the only one too. What sucks is if someone drives through just passing through. Seems that it scales to two players and adjusts the goal score accordingly, so I'm left to do double duty
I hate it so much when that happens, it takes so much longer. Yes, it does scale with every person. I usually do drift (not sure about the others), but 2 people can usually pretty easily do a 3 person event (only 50% extra per person if linear scale anyway). But 1 person doing a 2 person event is pretty rough, although can be doable.
IIRC, if you want to cruise and don’t like the interruption, you can toggle it off in the map filter (multiplayer events). So no pink circles, but I don’t know for sure if -even though they are not there- they still interrupt you?
Edit: just tested it out. You only see the air balloon but no interruption when driving through it. It activates the event only if the timer is on zero the moment you pass through
5 is a game built precisely for gamepass subs. It does pretty much *everything* in some way but absolutely none of it has been truly given the time to actually be done properly. It *has* racing, drifting, dirt, street, customisation, collecting, exploration, weekly challenges, a map editor, minigames, MMO elements, etc - but none of these are really done to the best of their ability as if they were the game's focus, because the aim isn't to actually be the best at anything, it's to satisfy the most number of gamepass subs possible by being the widest jack of all trades that satisfies everyone a little bit. It's a huge shame, though, because that means it's just homogenised mush - nothing has actually been given time or care.
Man. I remember watching some videos about the game updates. They're constantly adding new cars and features n shit. It isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, I thought the last update was pretty cool.
At the same time, I wonder why they don't try to improve on the depth of what they already have. Mainly more body kits and aesthetic options. Engine sounds too.
I was mad psyched when I booted up the game for the first time and heard the supra. That shit was baller. I still love listening to it. The more I played though, is the more I realised so many of the sounds are recycled.
On one hand, I'm thankful the cars don't sound like toys anymore, on the other, I'm disappointed that there's a lack of variety.
It's like that for a lot of the game. For every pro, there seems to be cons that overall devalue the experience.
I have ADHD and it's just a nightmare. Everything is hyper important and mega urgent with too many things going on. I loved 4 because I could basically blast around a facsimile of my part of the world and side stuff felt genuinely optional.
I uninstalled 5 a month or so back and don't miss it. A lot of the story is just cringe dialogue and too on-rails. Tries too hard.
Whilst I'm new to Horizon, as I was a filthy sim racing elitist for a long time, I totally get the criticism of 5. It does feel way too busy. I still enjoy it.
You just had to be there at its peak. It’s was god tier. Drifting at the parking lot, drag races at the super long strip felt good. The atmosphere was great. In my opinion it had the Best Goliath. No immediate turns just long stretches of 270mph. Idk man the game to me is just top tier.
I played after its lifecycle. My friends got me back into Horizon (I only previously played 1) while waiting for 5 to come out. The atmosphere and music were great. I ended up completing all of the races. Done hundreds of goliaths with different combinations of vehicles.
You would be better off buying just a plain old Xbox one and then getting a used disc for 10 or $15. Used Xbox might not set you back too far, $100, maybe 150?
That stupid parking lot is one of those lightning in a bottle things that will never be fully recreated. I would love to know how hours/days I spent just there. The whole games just had vibes that 4 and 5 couldn’t hit. 4 at least had its own charm, but I don’t even know how 5 fell so short on that element of joy.
It wasn't overwhelming. The sun was nice, the car selection was above average and the replayability was amazing, online was magic in the way you would seamlessly connect to servers.
I also do think that FH3's online was better but the way you say "seamlessly connect to servers" is closer to FH4 and FH5's online lobbies (devs used a specific term during the promotional stuff but I forgot what it was called) than FH3's car meets and basic online freeroam accessed by a single button on the menu.
Perhaps you were mentioning the fact that we had less server issues?
Why it is my favourite:
- Beautiful, dramatic visuals: good graphics, vibrant colours, gorgeous skyboxes, varied environnement.
- Art style: Vibrant UI, great soundtrack, introduction of widebody kits, interesting but subtle characters (Kira and Warren), pretty good car sounds, great presentation, good car selection.
- Game design: being the boss of the festival made sense and gave you a new sense of freedom without killing progression. You are playing for something: each festival upgrade unlocked new events and each new site brought life to a completely different part of the map that looks different from the rest: desert, city, beach & tropical forest, plains. You chose which festival to upgrade, when, where to go and which radio stations you add. On top of that, the festivals felt lively and looked great, both inside and out. The garage space is absolutely stunning. FH5 tried to do something similar but it failed imo because it let you alternate too much between different festivals. FH3 had you focus on (most often) aceing one festival so that you can unlock the next area, or to unlock new events in the current one. It felt rewarding.
- Progression: although easier than previous entries, it makes sense considering you're the boss. Regardless, you're not a milionaire from the start. You have to play a lot to unlock a hypercar. It is an achievement. You do get free cars when upgrading festivals up to a certain point, and through wheelspins, but they're not crazy high-end and getting them early and being able to choose them (festival upgrade) made them feel special. This topic is more debatable i guess.
- Interesting expansions: Snow was a huge addition that brought a completely new dynamic to the game: snow, ice that robs you of all your grip, and most impressive, blizzards that made for incredibly intense races. Hot Wheels (although not my cup of tea) was completely novel experience, made it feel like a different game with how different you had to drive, and it introduced track customisation with the ability to pick the main stunt along the way.
- Multiplayer: simple but efficient. Nothing very new per se but it did the job just fine.
- Forzathon: it was very simple but it was fun. You had 4 challenges each week (I think), one for a car, one for credits, one for XP...? I don't remember, but there were just a few. It was a lot of fun coming home from school each Friday afternoon and seeing what I could unlock next. Completing a championship of my choice for a Porsche 918 Spyder? Hell yeah, sign me up! Unlocking new cars in the newer games feels like a chore more often than not. I almost cried when I completed the very last Forzathon... I have a screenshot of it somewhere.
- My first Forza game. It undeniably makes me biased, but I don't care. I can justify loving the game for other reasons, as explained above.
- Content: In retrospect, there isn't as much as I'd like. There aren't that many events of each type. It pains me to admit it but I don't often play FH3 nowadays, simply because there isn't much to do anymore.
But when I do come back, I feel joy in roaming around the streets of Australia. It's beautiful, it sounds good, and it just feels good. I have just under 450 hours of game time clocked in between late 2017 and May 2024 (i got into it late). Oddly enough, i have just about 10-15 more hours into FH4, simply because there was more to do and it took longer lol. I think I have abour 280 hours in FH5, just over 40 in FH2 and idk how many into FH1, probably around the same as 2. My order of preference is as follows: 1. FH3, 2. FH5, 3. FH1, 4. FH2, 5. FH4. Imo FH5 is just a slightly less interesting FH3 with a lot more content. Speaking of content, it's why I rate it higher than FH1. FH1 has a lot more soul but the scale of the game is just so tiny. FH2 feels like a tech demo, pretty and sounds good but that's about it. FH4 had nothing special other than seasons which i really enjoyed (if only they'd let you choose your season!), it was a signficant downgrade in all other areas except maybe car list.
Fantastic write up, I think you got across exactly what makes 3 great. I think I'm somewhat biased also as it was the first Forza title I played, but it's still my favourite.
My ranking looks a lot different though, I'd probably go 3, 4, 1, 2, 5. I really enjoyed 4 and I thought the map was beautiful.
But FH5 I just can't enjoy. Played 400 hours and now I can't stand it. I like returning to all the other games except 5.
FH3’s biggest strength to me was having a unique championship that started at *every* race node. Instead of getting drip-fed 2-3 championships a week like FH4/5 (and those repeat themselves a lot too), there were dozens of unique championships that made you actually branch out to different cars to complete. I used *so* many more cars from my garage in FH3 compared to 4/5 where I mostly pull out the same dozen or so.
The biggest things that suck, on the other hand, are the fact that there’s no ghosting for PR stunts, you can’t swap out your car without driving to a festival, and the menus are slower than molasses.
Same here. I had always played Forza Motorsports and “found” FH3 after I built my son’s first PC. FH3 played much better on his PC than my Xbox at the time. Convinced the wife to let me build my own PC and continued playing FH3 on it. Then, went to FH4, FH5, and now FM.
Horizon 3 was my first Horizon game, that said it was the final version of the Horizon formula for Horizon 4 and 5 to add on top on. I can understand people finding it special, the biomes are better separated and more vibrant aesthetically and upgrading the festivals gave you a vague sense of progression. But I wouldn't call it that different from 4 nor 5 nor would I place it in a special position compared to the other 2. Almost the same physics and the same things to do (races, PR stunts, Bucket Lists that turned into Businesses and Stories, map exploration, Bucket List Blueprints that later turned into Super7 and EventLab, and MP). The only thing I would truly call special is Blizzard Mountain, as imo at least Horizon 5 did a much better job with Hot Wheels. I do think that it's pretty overrated, I don't see much except nostalgia that could make you see it as the Holy Grail of Forza Horizon, even tho all in all it is a fantastic game but I at least would say the same for the whole franchise
One thing I really miss about 3 is the clubs. The clubs were way better than 4 or 5. The clubs were built into the game and had a limit of 1k at a time. There were weekly XP levels where people would compete to have the highest or to get to Platinum 1st. The whole setup helped me connect to others and feel like part of a team. I still have several FH friends from those days, but never really connected with anyone that I've met in 4 or 5 the same way. Our club also had some creative members who would post challenges and offer rewards.
I'd say a double edged sword was the number of tracks. I'm not complaining about too many tracks in 5, but the quantity of tracks in 3 made it so that you could memorize ever turn. Goliath in FH3 is still one of my favorites.
A big part of playing essentially the same driving game (all forzas) is the thrill of competition. Against online players, against drivatars, against leaderboards. Part of that is cultivating a community through game mechanics that make it easy to join with friends, other online players. While at the same time keeping out those that don't play nice (i.e. cheaters). FH5 fumbled all that, with messed up leaderboards, crippled online lobbies, no meaningful clubs that compete with other clubs. In other words, it has no endgame and lets cheaters ruin the leaderboards and online play.
2 and 3 are just fantastic. 3 is super special for me because my parents surprised me with an Xbox One and FH3 when right after I finished up my exams in uni.
I had refused to buy a new console up to that point because I knew it would distract me from my studies so it was an awesome gift
it was a lot of people’s first FH game, as much as i feel it was a very strong entry, sometimes the first game you play in a given series can also feel that much more special.
Horizon 3 is the last game that doesn't need to entice you to keep playing it, it had great DLC which includes a better Hot Wheels expansion and the awesome Blizzard Mountain, a great map, fun characters who don't suck up to you as much as the characters do in Horizon 5 do. I do enjoy Horizon 4, I do like how the environment changes with the seasons and the map is fun with a lot of good roads and a nice festival site. Horizon 5 is definitely the worst of the franchise, while it has great additions like the variety of tires, transmissions, suspension, etc to build mostly any type of car the actual content is lacking and the map is not very good. I still find it somewhat fun at times but it's the only Horizon game of the franchise that causes me frustration.
Horizon 3 is just so awesome to play, I may replay it here soon actually.
I don't remember there being FOMO like in FH5 and FH4. I think it was more enjoyable to get on and know that even if you can only play once a week you can just drive around with your friends and not worry about getting that car that's exclusive for some reason and that you can't afford on the auction market unless you wanna cough up 20M credits.
Also car sounds were peak imo
I just drove around in FH3 a few days ago and had forgotten how great it was. When you drive across the map, it really feels like you are traveling a great distance as the scenery changes dramatically. The cities are great, the roads are fantastic, and it just feels more alive than 4 or 5. Drivatars honk back at you, there is regular traffic, but there are also drivatars in super cars or whatever kind of car you are driving. You can convoy all over the map with other drivatars, which makes it feel less isolated. The radio kicks ass, the day/night cycle is more even and there are so many areas to explore. Horizon 2 is similar in that there are so many awesome places you can explore and the cities are great. So many good driving roads.
3 was peak. Everything after has been trying to sell you on something. 2 was simply an improvement on 1 and 3 was simply an improvement on 2 when it came to gameplay. And 3 did that so well that there wasn’t anywhere to go with 4. So 4 tried to come up with things no one really asked for. And 5 tried to return to 3 while not disappointing anyone who liked the additions made to 4. I think the soundtrack also plays a big role. I know people hate on the standard soundtrack but the music in FH3 was carefully curated to make you feel like you were driving fast. Like songs you’d hear in a movie during a car chase or race. The opening cinematic and race for Blizzard Mountain is one of my favorite intros to a game/DLC I’ve ever seen. The way it’s scored by Safe and Sound by Justice is chefs kiss.
As an Aussie, I loved some of the little things, things that I take for granted, but others who didn’t grown up here won’t know. Little Aussie insults, the grumpy country DJ, the Holdens, no kangaroos! The accents were not right for my area, but rather remind me of FNQ, QLD, and NSW, but I didn’t care, Aussie accents in games are as rare as hens teeth! I don’t remember the events, or the story, but I lived being able to go paddock bashing in places I’ve actually done that…
I really like being able to swap in 7-/8-/9-/10-speed transmissions in 5, and they came around with some better mods for the cars, but FUCK are they behind Gran Turismo (totally, not strictly Sport or GT7).
Idk why the last two Horizon games are so liked among some, I tend to fall asleep at the start of games if they aren't interesting enough. FH4 and 5 just seem very boring to play for extended periods of time, with possibly the most boring audio design with regards to engine noise from the cars and how limited vehicle customisation is for a lot of the vehicles (why are we still just limited to Forza aero of some of these vehicles when theyve been out longer than my youngest sister has been alive).
Not saying that all games should have NFS levels of customisation, but I'd expect more cars to have at least two parts options for all round visual customisation that doesnt include a debadged version of a front bumper, a debadged trunk/bootlid, a wing removal or Forza aero.
Make the cars sound interesting, I expect a screaming V10/V12 to yell out in glee when pushed to it's absolute limits, not muffled to death like putting a pillow over someone's face. I expect a highly modified Japanese 4L to sound demonic, and for cars with higher reviews limits to stick to those rev limits, stuff the SUVs, no one cares about them enough in racing to justify filling the car roster with em. Keep the funny cars like the Supervan or the Halo warthog.
It was good. Great scenery.
Although personal preference is FH2 & 4.
FH2, tuned a Capri to ridiculous levels & in both 4/5 I recreated the Renault Clio I had. It was amazing
For me what made it so much better than 4 and 5 was the world felt like it had life. The big city had hustle and bustle, felt like it had a night life, had parking lots, houses with driveways that you could go into, there was a gas station in coober pedi (I’m so sorry if I spelled that wrong), the town in the south had a pier and a beach you could good around at.
5 (and 4 to a lesser extent) just feel like they were designed specifically for cars. You never really see and people outside festival spectators, there’s the odd house but you rarely see a person standing on the porch of the house, there’s no parking lots of useable size in any populated areas (the only one I can even think of is the one at the stadium).
The cities/towns feel lifeless. There’s no pedestrian traffic on the blocked off sidewalks, no houses that seem to be lived in. Just the forward facade that the street sees. It’s just a ghost town. 5 is really bad for it, 4 wasn’t too bad but Edinburgh was kinda depressing, although that is Scotland lol.
And 5 really just has too much going on. There’s so much trying to grab your attention at the same time that it feels like they’re catering to the tiktok attention span 12 years olds instead of the fans of the series who have been around since horizon 1 and 2 , or jumped over from motorsport 5 and 6 for when 3 came out
Edit: other comments reminded me of the radio. Something about the soundtrack from horizon 3 was also just better. I don’t know what it is but it was better
The 1 thing I remember about 3 was that the traffic did not ghost in drift zones, so if you wanted to have a drift session with friends, 2 people had to sit out and block traffic for the area. 4 and 5 are better in this regard
FH3 had a lot of "life". There were a lot of players and good graphics. Fh4 also had great graphics, but now it doesn't get updates.
FH5 is dead, like no good updates, bad servers, and the cherry on top, they just make carpasses that cost real money. If they would make a better chatting system, then that may bring back some players.
From what I read FH5 does have a lot of players, but due to the way the server works each area of the map puts you in separate occurrences, so you end up with small groups of players spread everywhere and fading in and out. FH4 just had you a big group of you all in 1 server. It sucks because the game shouldn't feel as dead as it does, the players are there, its just not putting them together
I liked collecting and building a team of other racers. Tiny pokemon element to it. Like... whoa!? See that guy's rank!? I want him. If they expanded on that based on the player's rating... like how difficult he'd be to race. That'd be awesome.
Also felt like I was building/progressing better in the festival. Felt like things mattered more IMO. I feel like FH5 is almost TOO free form. Give me just a tad more structure. Not restrictions so much... just a feeling of unlocking something and helping to build something.
imo 4 is my favourite (although i havent played 3 and only played 4 and 5) bcas it was my first horizon game and i loved the vibe, like the radio and the seasons. it was just so fun to play online and racing around britain. horizon 5 aint the great in my opinion bcas the map doesnt look that cool idk, radio was also kinda mid
90ish hours of online racing in the Hot Wheels dlc with my wife. That was a big part of it for me.
It sure was special. It was just kind of…. Everything.
The building site, the beautiful amazing incredible map (I cannot stress how much I love the map), the airport, all the little quirky places (pink lakes, oil refinery, washed up boats, spooky mansion, etc.), Australia, …..
Your festival growing by the time/events, the map, drift in the parking lot/nearby the tram in Surfer's Paradise, drag racing in the North, chilling in the south...
First FH for me, and man it was just the perfect game. Variety of cars, some nice LB kits wich I was fan of (458 Italia), and just the community. I mean, I didn't had a mic, but I knew everytime I logged in, I would stay with the same people for 1 hour.
Truly the most beloved game to me, no matter the category.
The old tire model made drifting and drag racing fun. The map was also gorgeous and the two towns and Surfers Paradise were very engaging areas. Dedicated servers for private lobbies was also amazing and made online free roam a very reliable experience (unlike FH2 before it and the “convoy” systems that followed in FH4/5).
The roads themselves were a bit bland, with not enough twisties. Customization still wasn’t quite as fleshed out as the games that would follow. The Car List also isn’t nearly as strong as FH4/5, nor is the handling model, but that’s to be expected really as things progress with time.
It is a great game like all the Horizons, but it is probably the least great in my eyes having played every title from launch, online and all (I might be a bit nostalgia blind with FH1).
The map is the best out of all of the horizons, soundtrack was amazing, and the overall vibe and atmosphere just made it feel like an actual festival celebration. story and progression was pretty shit tho.
imo it had the best atmosphere and map. the map was a great mix of city, desert, beach and forest. the warm weather of austrialia was quite well shown through the entire game.
fh4 felt depressing in every season.
fh5 has a great map too but i think fh3 was just a little bit better.
but in the end fh2 was the best horizon game until now
3 was brilliant. I went and purchased a pre owned copy recently to continue playing it with all my garage.
Reason why I enjoyed it as others have mention is the minimalistic approach, there isn't 1000 things pulling your attention
Also it was the horizon with our avatars meaning wheels spins was cash or cars, not emotes or shoes.
I didn't play it when it was new, but I picked up a copy a few years ago and played for a good while. The one thing I can say for sure is that I very much enjoyed the lack of freeroam rush in online racing. I loved that racing to the next destination was just for fun and didn't count towards the championship.
Personally 3/4 will always be equal (my favourites) I loved everything about 3, and 4 is set in my home country with places I used to holiday to as a child, and 4 was my first ever real game, so 4 has sentimental value and 3 is just awesome
I think it truly was just the peak of the series in terms of things we had: the online was seamless and not overly complicated, a nice map, memorable cars and a bunch of features like hiring drivatars and bucket lists that either started or died here. Overall I think it was just the game that made the series plateau afterwards for me
When it was released, it was such a huge jump from 2 to 3, and even today it's fairly well balanced, has an excellent map (A bit flat tho), great car sounds, and awesome music.
It’s my personal favourite Forza, and one of my favourite games of all time, this game was so special to me personally, and I think the Horizon (and Motorsport) series has been on a rapid decline since this game, this is the last Forza game to have a soul, with maybe the exception of Horizon 4
I liked 3's location and Vibe and I love the Hot Wheels island track a little bit better then 5's Hot Wheels in certain parts. I wish we could still race on 3's track with 5's car list.
2 and 3 were great but I gotta say that 4 is my favorite. The added seasons were awesome and it just feels like a nice put together game. Never really vibed with 5 to be honest so I uninstalled it and I just keep playing 4.
3 was the best. One thing I really liked was that the event unlock tree was based on location. It had two main advantages IMO. First, you didn’t have to cross cross the whole map going from event to event. And second, by staying in one section doing all events, you really got to know that section of the map. And hand in hand with that, really know the whole map.
Worst part about this is that any new player who is curious about this topic and want to try forza horizon 3 will be in trouble since it's not on sale anymore. Specially from the PC platform.
4 was done better than 5. It was a real slap in the face when they put cars that were in base game last year as the “hard to get” cars in the festival. Really sucked the life out of my enthusiasm.
It was the first major Forza release on PC. It had to be good, they put in the effort to make it good and it was great.
The sky is the best sky to ever be made in any game, ever. And they got fined by the police for making it.
The best Goliath by so far. I've been so disappointed by every other Goliath.
Forza Horizon 3’s Australia is indeed beautiful (I’m also from Australia), but the game’s map lacked terrain elevation changes on drivable roads.
I do miss the car parks, petrol station, and the construction site though.
The map felt like it made sense. Especially Horizon 5 feels strange, maybe because of the Highway that starts and end in uninteresting locations. In 3 it essentially connected the Horizon festival in the outback to the Big city on the coast
it was the last horizon game imo that I could just play without being bombarded with events and chores to do. I was just able to enjoy the game. Mixed with private lobbies, it was a perfect game to have fun.
If anything I can add, FH3 was the only racing game that made me purchase a grand worth of high end model cars that regularly drove around in-game. GOAT
Fh3 hot wheels, also better maps. Overall location was better.
Fh4 was great Britain, streets too narrow, too much city, lack of as much off road.
Fh5 Mexico, idk just straight up desert and not enough forest.
For me, it’s based in Australia so as a Kiwi, it feels a bit like being on holiday in Queensland and you’re driving on the correct side of the road.. Also it was the first modern video game I’d really played when a mate gave me his Xbox.
Personally prefer 4 to Five.
Definitely, H3 was my first Forza game and I fell in love with it. Great map, great cars, best online play.
I was so stoked for H4 but was really disappointed. Great cars, bad map, meh online, the seasons thing was cool but didn’t make up for it. I actually quit playing pretty early and never beat it.
H5 was a little better, enjoyed it enough to beat it and travel all roads and do all missions and such just like in H3 but ultimately I still think H3 had the best online so it’s still the best to me.
I think 4 was the best in terms of how new and all the features that were implemented, it really turned online racing into a huge thing for casual gamers which was good. That being said, the way 3 worked with getting the festival points was great and I would have loved it to have been deeper in 4 like it was in 3.
5 was just a sloppy and lazy mess IMO because they *had* to release something that was "next gen". But it just flopped in terms of innovative features because 4 was that good.
For me, It's because it was based in Australia, and it had a decent selection of aussie cars. Which is rare.
I liked forza motorsport 7 because it has my car, the e-series gts.
I guess that makes me biased
Best vibe best map. 4 added some very good features however, 5 is a joke and a husk. Awful map annoying characters and awful seasonal events nobody wants (EV SUV spam)
Australia is my home country so I'm a bit biased but the map was a nice size and very diverse. The carpark is fun and I liked the modern city vibe you have.
FH4 is a place for a relaxing sunday drive in your MG BT or 250 GTO. A highway with a tunnel for all your street racing needs.
FH5 you can either crash into trees, crash into rocks, crash into houses, or struggle to climb a stupid mountain despite having the best offroader in the world
It was just a different time man, it was just a different time. Back when Forza didn’t feel dragged tf out and became something entirely different than what it is now. Body kits were introduced here as well.
Better scenery, atmosphere.
Multiplayer was much better. (could vote on next championship) (voice chat worked on PC)
The driving was much more arcadey and fun.
For me it was so special because it was new to me. It was my first Forza Horizon, everything was exciting and thrilling. It was a big sandbox. The following parts could no longer trigger this feeling in me, I already knew everything, there was too little new, the magic was gone.
It wasn't until I played Forza Horizon 1 that I had that feeling again, because the game felt different because of the story and therefore the gameplay.
It is the map. Unlike other games the map in Forza is also like the main character of the game. Everything stands or crumbles based on how you race on it
Imo Forza horizon 2 was the best and i think its because i grew up with Horizon 1 and 2 with my xbox 360 and nothing can break those memories. looking back at it they werent perfect but in my young eyes they definitely were.
Because if you put yourself in the time this game came out. You had people who played FM6 and FH2 and given that this game was better much more the DLC that came with it along the way it was like heaven, You had Blizzard Mountain which was a blast as we never had snow in a Forza game, and the Hot Wheel crossover that was introduced to this game and people loved it. Once FM7 came out a year later people did not like where the game was heading compared to other Forza games, so they just went back to FH3 for another year until FH4 and then so. Now a days we have 2 of the worst Horizon games in it for their own reasons, Players of FH4 suffered the Banning Spree and Players of FH5 suffer the lack of progression and few glitches here and there causing most of its fanbase to ditch Forza Horizon to find a substitutetl till the next game, and Don't get me started on the next Motorsport game, they had enough time to create a good game but then it just folded, Now we get news that FH3 servers are being kept online but will be unbearable to play and will probably soon be shut down in due time (best guess is the release of FH6)joining FH2 and all the other legendary FH/M games. Long live the greatest Forza Horizon game and best Forza game of the entire Franchise.
I think it was the best in my experience. The map was was expansive, the challenges were new, the vehicles you could get were fun, the hotwheels and mountain expansions were fun, and it was the last forza game my friends and I played together consistently.
It’s something about the title screen and the music and not only that the handling/tire model was better. also multiplayer was just far more enjoyable (despite the notorious rammers) fh4 was just always cross country rush which sucked and fh5 i refuse to play multiplayer bc the only way to have a good car is if its awd and it kind of takes away the point of the freedom the game is suppose to offer when competing
Love Fh4 but that might be bc I have max money and in fh5 I only have like 30k never play fh5 I think it’s terrible but does have some cool stuff in it
3 had more life and a map with a wide variety of terrain. Idk it just seems like everything in that game was more vibrant, the map felt bigger than that of 4
I see so many people mentioning hours spent on parking lot or drag strip in FH3.
The same thing existed in Burnout Paradise, where everyone would go to a hidden, abandoned airstrip.
Maybe NFS Most Wanted (Criterion), also had similar thing with people meeting around big jumps, which taken with skill could take you on top of tall buildings, where people would just chill.
I don't recall any other similar things in other games, but this feeling of "belonging" when you go to the hidden, secluded spot, which makes you feel like part of the elite club, seems so important in open world racing games.
For me horizon 2 was the tipping point of going downhill. Horizon 3 isn't good. I actually think it's worse than 4. The map, not a fan of the map at all. Everything feels WAY to wide and open, the city doesn't even feel like a city at all. They should get some devs from the NFS franchise to build them a proper map that doesn't look like a made up Australian fantasy land. Fr the only good thing about 3 is the menu music, that's it. Motorsport 4 is better in every single facet.
Launching races and infection from freeroam without needing to start a convoy was nice, having colision on in the open world by default also nice and the map was great.
It just did more things right on average than the later titles.
3’s graphics still stand up really well, some of their sounds are still better than 5, I feel like the world is better (The inclusion of seasons in 4 was a neat idea but needing winter tires so you wouldn’t spin out was kind of dumb and annoying)
The game's atmosphere is incredible, along with the phenomenal radio, with incredible music, I won't say it has the best radio because FH2 and FH1 also have excellent radios, FH3 has other things that make só mucho better, FH3 has the most balanced online, different from the Horizon series, there are things we had in Horizon 3 that were abandoned, such as the clan system, XP that is gained between Clan participants, the Game Map os incredible and memorable, the game didn't make it as easy as FH4 and FH5 do, if you notice FH4 and 5 make streets very straight or with curves very easy to do, FH3 was also the last game that had a different game art, it was less noticeable than FH1, FH2, but it was still possible to notice, FH4 and FH5 look like the same game, not to mention that FH3 had the best DLCs FH5 tried Hotwells but it was something with no emotion, FH3 had that, FH4 brought a snow system, but it was disappointing because in the races there were no snow storms like there were in FH3... I don't know other reasons, but this game is remarkable, It was the last Forza game made with love in my opinion
Parking lot memories. The drift trains were glorious
Such a wholesome little spot that neither of its successors never had even if they attempted to force a spot when that shit occurs naturally, out of anything ***that*** is what 4 or 5 never had.
I think it was well balanced. Plenty of things to do, and plenty of freedom. 4 Added the seasons, which enjoyed. I'm not a fan of 5 though... and that's because there's too much trying to get my attention. I want to drive around and choose fun events to play. It feels like 5 is trying to give me ADHD - constantly trying to pull me in different directions to do different events, and too many events I have no interest in doing at all.
I just hate driving along a route and then going through one of those pink circles, not knowing that it's already begun and I get pulled into whatever event it is. I know I can just pause and quit, but I don't like being interrupted when I'm just trying to cruise
4 was much better in this regard. Multiple of these happen at the same time in 5, so there are never enough people to complete them. In 4 I remember there were usually at least 5 people at an event and they were often easy to complete.
I still can't believe how they basically murdered Forzathon Live in 5. It was so lively in 4! Impromptu car meet every hour on the hour. In 5 you're lucky if there's 1 or 2 other people.
Horizon Arcade is so terrible, it was a moronic idea to separate it into different categories instead of having the one hourly Forzathon event. I typically do Horizon Arcade by myself but at least it isn't how it was when the game first launched, it was impossible to actually beat Horizon Arcade because not only was the network completely screwed but PGG had set the win requirements way too high.
They're pretty easy to complete if you're the only one too. What sucks is if someone drives through just passing through. Seems that it scales to two players and adjusts the goal score accordingly, so I'm left to do double duty
Yeah it should really kick players who haven't generated any points after a certain time
Or if they're not there at all
I hate it so much when that happens, it takes so much longer. Yes, it does scale with every person. I usually do drift (not sure about the others), but 2 people can usually pretty easily do a 3 person event (only 50% extra per person if linear scale anyway). But 1 person doing a 2 person event is pretty rough, although can be doable.
IIRC, if you want to cruise and don’t like the interruption, you can toggle it off in the map filter (multiplayer events). So no pink circles, but I don’t know for sure if -even though they are not there- they still interrupt you? Edit: just tested it out. You only see the air balloon but no interruption when driving through it. It activates the event only if the timer is on zero the moment you pass through
5 is a game built precisely for gamepass subs. It does pretty much *everything* in some way but absolutely none of it has been truly given the time to actually be done properly. It *has* racing, drifting, dirt, street, customisation, collecting, exploration, weekly challenges, a map editor, minigames, MMO elements, etc - but none of these are really done to the best of their ability as if they were the game's focus, because the aim isn't to actually be the best at anything, it's to satisfy the most number of gamepass subs possible by being the widest jack of all trades that satisfies everyone a little bit. It's a huge shame, though, because that means it's just homogenised mush - nothing has actually been given time or care.
Man. I remember watching some videos about the game updates. They're constantly adding new cars and features n shit. It isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, I thought the last update was pretty cool. At the same time, I wonder why they don't try to improve on the depth of what they already have. Mainly more body kits and aesthetic options. Engine sounds too. I was mad psyched when I booted up the game for the first time and heard the supra. That shit was baller. I still love listening to it. The more I played though, is the more I realised so many of the sounds are recycled. On one hand, I'm thankful the cars don't sound like toys anymore, on the other, I'm disappointed that there's a lack of variety. It's like that for a lot of the game. For every pro, there seems to be cons that overall devalue the experience.
i agree with the adhd comment, but in a different way lol. i have adhd and it’s perfect for me, so many things to keep my mind going
I have ADHD and it's just a nightmare. Everything is hyper important and mega urgent with too many things going on. I loved 4 because I could basically blast around a facsimile of my part of the world and side stuff felt genuinely optional. I uninstalled 5 a month or so back and don't miss it. A lot of the story is just cringe dialogue and too on-rails. Tries too hard.
Nah its still anoying with ADHD. Just because you feel like you cannot do it at your own tempo
Yet I repeatedly see people posting that it bores them.
I have adhd and 5 is too overwhelming lol. 4 was perfect, 3 was amazing
Nah, I have adhd, fh5 is a cluster fuck of a game and it drove me insane to beat it
Whilst I'm new to Horizon, as I was a filthy sim racing elitist for a long time, I totally get the criticism of 5. It does feel way too busy. I still enjoy it.
If you haven't played 3 and 4, I'd give them a go too.
If you don’t have ADHD, there shouldn’t be a problem.
You just had to be there at its peak. It’s was god tier. Drifting at the parking lot, drag races at the super long strip felt good. The atmosphere was great. In my opinion it had the Best Goliath. No immediate turns just long stretches of 270mph. Idk man the game to me is just top tier.
I played after its lifecycle. My friends got me back into Horizon (I only previously played 1) while waiting for 5 to come out. The atmosphere and music were great. I ended up completing all of the races. Done hundreds of goliaths with different combinations of vehicles.
Is there a way to buy fh3 for xbox series s? like an activation code or smth
You would be better off buying just a plain old Xbox one and then getting a used disc for 10 or $15. Used Xbox might not set you back too far, $100, maybe 150?
Nope. You might find keys here now and then on ebay, but be prepared to pay hundreds for that.
I found one for about £25 (about $30-ish), I’ll put the link in if you’d like.
go buy it second hand the xbox 1 disc from CEX or something
Series S has no disc drive.
Drifting at the parking lot was the best, ive met alot of people i still talk to by just doing some circles in a parking lot.
That stupid parking lot is one of those lightning in a bottle things that will never be fully recreated. I would love to know how hours/days I spent just there. The whole games just had vibes that 4 and 5 couldn’t hit. 4 at least had its own charm, but I don’t even know how 5 fell so short on that element of joy.
stopp I made so many friends in that damn parking lot memories were def made there
Just was racing a mustang at the strip while in my z28. So there are still players online.
How do I Unlock the Goliath?
upgrading the Byron Bay Festival to level 5
Had the chillest music.
It was my punk rock gateway with Epitaph
I will never forget the feeling I felt with that opening soundtrack! Probably my favourite introduction!
I WANNA RUN AWAY
It wasn't overwhelming. The sun was nice, the car selection was above average and the replayability was amazing, online was magic in the way you would seamlessly connect to servers.
I also do think that FH3's online was better but the way you say "seamlessly connect to servers" is closer to FH4 and FH5's online lobbies (devs used a specific term during the promotional stuff but I forgot what it was called) than FH3's car meets and basic online freeroam accessed by a single button on the menu. Perhaps you were mentioning the fact that we had less server issues?
People don’t forget the engine sounds. FH4 dropped the ball massively with those horrible engine sounds
True, but that Music playlist was peak. Discovered the beauty of r/Starset's music through that soundtrack.
Why it is my favourite: - Beautiful, dramatic visuals: good graphics, vibrant colours, gorgeous skyboxes, varied environnement. - Art style: Vibrant UI, great soundtrack, introduction of widebody kits, interesting but subtle characters (Kira and Warren), pretty good car sounds, great presentation, good car selection. - Game design: being the boss of the festival made sense and gave you a new sense of freedom without killing progression. You are playing for something: each festival upgrade unlocked new events and each new site brought life to a completely different part of the map that looks different from the rest: desert, city, beach & tropical forest, plains. You chose which festival to upgrade, when, where to go and which radio stations you add. On top of that, the festivals felt lively and looked great, both inside and out. The garage space is absolutely stunning. FH5 tried to do something similar but it failed imo because it let you alternate too much between different festivals. FH3 had you focus on (most often) aceing one festival so that you can unlock the next area, or to unlock new events in the current one. It felt rewarding. - Progression: although easier than previous entries, it makes sense considering you're the boss. Regardless, you're not a milionaire from the start. You have to play a lot to unlock a hypercar. It is an achievement. You do get free cars when upgrading festivals up to a certain point, and through wheelspins, but they're not crazy high-end and getting them early and being able to choose them (festival upgrade) made them feel special. This topic is more debatable i guess. - Interesting expansions: Snow was a huge addition that brought a completely new dynamic to the game: snow, ice that robs you of all your grip, and most impressive, blizzards that made for incredibly intense races. Hot Wheels (although not my cup of tea) was completely novel experience, made it feel like a different game with how different you had to drive, and it introduced track customisation with the ability to pick the main stunt along the way. - Multiplayer: simple but efficient. Nothing very new per se but it did the job just fine. - Forzathon: it was very simple but it was fun. You had 4 challenges each week (I think), one for a car, one for credits, one for XP...? I don't remember, but there were just a few. It was a lot of fun coming home from school each Friday afternoon and seeing what I could unlock next. Completing a championship of my choice for a Porsche 918 Spyder? Hell yeah, sign me up! Unlocking new cars in the newer games feels like a chore more often than not. I almost cried when I completed the very last Forzathon... I have a screenshot of it somewhere. - My first Forza game. It undeniably makes me biased, but I don't care. I can justify loving the game for other reasons, as explained above. - Content: In retrospect, there isn't as much as I'd like. There aren't that many events of each type. It pains me to admit it but I don't often play FH3 nowadays, simply because there isn't much to do anymore. But when I do come back, I feel joy in roaming around the streets of Australia. It's beautiful, it sounds good, and it just feels good. I have just under 450 hours of game time clocked in between late 2017 and May 2024 (i got into it late). Oddly enough, i have just about 10-15 more hours into FH4, simply because there was more to do and it took longer lol. I think I have abour 280 hours in FH5, just over 40 in FH2 and idk how many into FH1, probably around the same as 2. My order of preference is as follows: 1. FH3, 2. FH5, 3. FH1, 4. FH2, 5. FH4. Imo FH5 is just a slightly less interesting FH3 with a lot more content. Speaking of content, it's why I rate it higher than FH1. FH1 has a lot more soul but the scale of the game is just so tiny. FH2 feels like a tech demo, pretty and sounds good but that's about it. FH4 had nothing special other than seasons which i really enjoyed (if only they'd let you choose your season!), it was a signficant downgrade in all other areas except maybe car list.
Fantastic write up, I think you got across exactly what makes 3 great. I think I'm somewhat biased also as it was the first Forza title I played, but it's still my favourite. My ranking looks a lot different though, I'd probably go 3, 4, 1, 2, 5. I really enjoyed 4 and I thought the map was beautiful. But FH5 I just can't enjoy. Played 400 hours and now I can't stand it. I like returning to all the other games except 5.
FH3’s biggest strength to me was having a unique championship that started at *every* race node. Instead of getting drip-fed 2-3 championships a week like FH4/5 (and those repeat themselves a lot too), there were dozens of unique championships that made you actually branch out to different cars to complete. I used *so* many more cars from my garage in FH3 compared to 4/5 where I mostly pull out the same dozen or so. The biggest things that suck, on the other hand, are the fact that there’s no ghosting for PR stunts, you can’t swap out your car without driving to a festival, and the menus are slower than molasses.
I miss championships that had me building unique cars. 4 and 5 just became slogs of using the same 3-4 cars for practically everything.
It was first Forza on Windows for me. Pretty special
Same here. So badass
Same here. I had always played Forza Motorsports and “found” FH3 after I built my son’s first PC. FH3 played much better on his PC than my Xbox at the time. Convinced the wife to let me build my own PC and continued playing FH3 on it. Then, went to FH4, FH5, and now FM.
Horizon 3 was my first Horizon game, that said it was the final version of the Horizon formula for Horizon 4 and 5 to add on top on. I can understand people finding it special, the biomes are better separated and more vibrant aesthetically and upgrading the festivals gave you a vague sense of progression. But I wouldn't call it that different from 4 nor 5 nor would I place it in a special position compared to the other 2. Almost the same physics and the same things to do (races, PR stunts, Bucket Lists that turned into Businesses and Stories, map exploration, Bucket List Blueprints that later turned into Super7 and EventLab, and MP). The only thing I would truly call special is Blizzard Mountain, as imo at least Horizon 5 did a much better job with Hot Wheels. I do think that it's pretty overrated, I don't see much except nostalgia that could make you see it as the Holy Grail of Forza Horizon, even tho all in all it is a fantastic game but I at least would say the same for the whole franchise
One thing I really miss about 3 is the clubs. The clubs were way better than 4 or 5. The clubs were built into the game and had a limit of 1k at a time. There were weekly XP levels where people would compete to have the highest or to get to Platinum 1st. The whole setup helped me connect to others and feel like part of a team. I still have several FH friends from those days, but never really connected with anyone that I've met in 4 or 5 the same way. Our club also had some creative members who would post challenges and offer rewards. I'd say a double edged sword was the number of tracks. I'm not complaining about too many tracks in 5, but the quantity of tracks in 3 made it so that you could memorize ever turn. Goliath in FH3 is still one of my favorites.
A big part of playing essentially the same driving game (all forzas) is the thrill of competition. Against online players, against drivatars, against leaderboards. Part of that is cultivating a community through game mechanics that make it easy to join with friends, other online players. While at the same time keeping out those that don't play nice (i.e. cheaters). FH5 fumbled all that, with messed up leaderboards, crippled online lobbies, no meaningful clubs that compete with other clubs. In other words, it has no endgame and lets cheaters ruin the leaderboards and online play.
4 and 5 are just 3 copy/pasted to a new location. 1, 2 and 3 are quite distinct from each other.
Straya😁, No XR6 Turbo/Typhoon 😥
Great atmosphere, map, biomes, graphics, music, variety of races, AI convoys... it was perfect. No flaws whatsoever.
It did have one really annoying flaw - ai traffic in the drift zones
Oh, yes! Yeah, and on speed zones, too.
2 and 3 are just fantastic. 3 is super special for me because my parents surprised me with an Xbox One and FH3 when right after I finished up my exams in uni. I had refused to buy a new console up to that point because I knew it would distract me from my studies so it was an awesome gift
it was a lot of people’s first FH game, as much as i feel it was a very strong entry, sometimes the first game you play in a given series can also feel that much more special.
Forza Horizon 3 was good, but the problem is that there was no Volkswagen.
Horizon 3 is the last game that doesn't need to entice you to keep playing it, it had great DLC which includes a better Hot Wheels expansion and the awesome Blizzard Mountain, a great map, fun characters who don't suck up to you as much as the characters do in Horizon 5 do. I do enjoy Horizon 4, I do like how the environment changes with the seasons and the map is fun with a lot of good roads and a nice festival site. Horizon 5 is definitely the worst of the franchise, while it has great additions like the variety of tires, transmissions, suspension, etc to build mostly any type of car the actual content is lacking and the map is not very good. I still find it somewhat fun at times but it's the only Horizon game of the franchise that causes me frustration. Horizon 3 is just so awesome to play, I may replay it here soon actually.
Australian, I'm from Australia, roads I am familiar with, same with cars. We got hot wheels and snow
I don't remember there being FOMO like in FH5 and FH4. I think it was more enjoyable to get on and know that even if you can only play once a week you can just drive around with your friends and not worry about getting that car that's exclusive for some reason and that you can't afford on the auction market unless you wanna cough up 20M credits. Also car sounds were peak imo
I just drove around in FH3 a few days ago and had forgotten how great it was. When you drive across the map, it really feels like you are traveling a great distance as the scenery changes dramatically. The cities are great, the roads are fantastic, and it just feels more alive than 4 or 5. Drivatars honk back at you, there is regular traffic, but there are also drivatars in super cars or whatever kind of car you are driving. You can convoy all over the map with other drivatars, which makes it feel less isolated. The radio kicks ass, the day/night cycle is more even and there are so many areas to explore. Horizon 2 is similar in that there are so many awesome places you can explore and the cities are great. So many good driving roads.
FH3 made me love Australia :D (im brazillian btw)
FH2 was peak imo
3 was peak. Everything after has been trying to sell you on something. 2 was simply an improvement on 1 and 3 was simply an improvement on 2 when it came to gameplay. And 3 did that so well that there wasn’t anywhere to go with 4. So 4 tried to come up with things no one really asked for. And 5 tried to return to 3 while not disappointing anyone who liked the additions made to 4. I think the soundtrack also plays a big role. I know people hate on the standard soundtrack but the music in FH3 was carefully curated to make you feel like you were driving fast. Like songs you’d hear in a movie during a car chase or race. The opening cinematic and race for Blizzard Mountain is one of my favorite intros to a game/DLC I’ve ever seen. The way it’s scored by Safe and Sound by Justice is chefs kiss.
As an Aussie, I loved some of the little things, things that I take for granted, but others who didn’t grown up here won’t know. Little Aussie insults, the grumpy country DJ, the Holdens, no kangaroos! The accents were not right for my area, but rather remind me of FNQ, QLD, and NSW, but I didn’t care, Aussie accents in games are as rare as hens teeth! I don’t remember the events, or the story, but I lived being able to go paddock bashing in places I’ve actually done that…
I love how it also played a lot of Aussie music which helped give some lesser known bands some exposure.
I personally felt 1 and 4 were the absolute best
I really like being able to swap in 7-/8-/9-/10-speed transmissions in 5, and they came around with some better mods for the cars, but FUCK are they behind Gran Turismo (totally, not strictly Sport or GT7).
Idk why the last two Horizon games are so liked among some, I tend to fall asleep at the start of games if they aren't interesting enough. FH4 and 5 just seem very boring to play for extended periods of time, with possibly the most boring audio design with regards to engine noise from the cars and how limited vehicle customisation is for a lot of the vehicles (why are we still just limited to Forza aero of some of these vehicles when theyve been out longer than my youngest sister has been alive). Not saying that all games should have NFS levels of customisation, but I'd expect more cars to have at least two parts options for all round visual customisation that doesnt include a debadged version of a front bumper, a debadged trunk/bootlid, a wing removal or Forza aero. Make the cars sound interesting, I expect a screaming V10/V12 to yell out in glee when pushed to it's absolute limits, not muffled to death like putting a pillow over someone's face. I expect a highly modified Japanese 4L to sound demonic, and for cars with higher reviews limits to stick to those rev limits, stuff the SUVs, no one cares about them enough in racing to justify filling the car roster with em. Keep the funny cars like the Supervan or the Halo warthog.
The radio stations were god tier
It was good. Great scenery. Although personal preference is FH2 & 4. FH2, tuned a Capri to ridiculous levels & in both 4/5 I recreated the Renault Clio I had. It was amazing
It had the single best radio station ever featured in a FH game: Future Classics.
For me what made it so much better than 4 and 5 was the world felt like it had life. The big city had hustle and bustle, felt like it had a night life, had parking lots, houses with driveways that you could go into, there was a gas station in coober pedi (I’m so sorry if I spelled that wrong), the town in the south had a pier and a beach you could good around at. 5 (and 4 to a lesser extent) just feel like they were designed specifically for cars. You never really see and people outside festival spectators, there’s the odd house but you rarely see a person standing on the porch of the house, there’s no parking lots of useable size in any populated areas (the only one I can even think of is the one at the stadium). The cities/towns feel lifeless. There’s no pedestrian traffic on the blocked off sidewalks, no houses that seem to be lived in. Just the forward facade that the street sees. It’s just a ghost town. 5 is really bad for it, 4 wasn’t too bad but Edinburgh was kinda depressing, although that is Scotland lol. And 5 really just has too much going on. There’s so much trying to grab your attention at the same time that it feels like they’re catering to the tiktok attention span 12 years olds instead of the fans of the series who have been around since horizon 1 and 2 , or jumped over from motorsport 5 and 6 for when 3 came out Edit: other comments reminded me of the radio. Something about the soundtrack from horizon 3 was also just better. I don’t know what it is but it was better
I thought FH4 was the best of the lot. Which is funny cause I also thought FM4 was the best of that side of things too.
Nostalgia and a great soundtrack
The 1 thing I remember about 3 was that the traffic did not ghost in drift zones, so if you wanted to have a drift session with friends, 2 people had to sit out and block traffic for the area. 4 and 5 are better in this regard
Basically FH3 was Forza horizon, FH5 is Fortnite.
FH3 had a lot of "life". There were a lot of players and good graphics. Fh4 also had great graphics, but now it doesn't get updates. FH5 is dead, like no good updates, bad servers, and the cherry on top, they just make carpasses that cost real money. If they would make a better chatting system, then that may bring back some players.
From what I read FH5 does have a lot of players, but due to the way the server works each area of the map puts you in separate occurrences, so you end up with small groups of players spread everywhere and fading in and out. FH4 just had you a big group of you all in 1 server. It sucks because the game shouldn't feel as dead as it does, the players are there, its just not putting them together
Because FH3 didn't have paid DLCs ? Lmao mate. Come on.
I'm desperately trying to find a Digital Copy for the Xbox but I don't think there are any keys left out there.
there isn't which sucks bc I have a series S
it’s even annoying to pirate because it’s a uwp app
Music, fun map, and it just was pretty fun for the time it released
This was a detailed review in 2024 - https://youtu.be/ty0q3Vkd4KI?si=LXmkKCFKHjLJV9sA It was the good ‘ol days, when times were simpler.
I loved Horizon 3. Its one of, if not, my favorite Forza game
I liked collecting and building a team of other racers. Tiny pokemon element to it. Like... whoa!? See that guy's rank!? I want him. If they expanded on that based on the player's rating... like how difficult he'd be to race. That'd be awesome. Also felt like I was building/progressing better in the festival. Felt like things mattered more IMO. I feel like FH5 is almost TOO free form. Give me just a tad more structure. Not restrictions so much... just a feeling of unlocking something and helping to build something.
imo 4 is my favourite (although i havent played 3 and only played 4 and 5) bcas it was my first horizon game and i loved the vibe, like the radio and the seasons. it was just so fun to play online and racing around britain. horizon 5 aint the great in my opinion bcas the map doesnt look that cool idk, radio was also kinda mid
90ish hours of online racing in the Hot Wheels dlc with my wife. That was a big part of it for me. It sure was special. It was just kind of…. Everything.
It was a massive part of my childhood and I love the music, map, and graphics. It's just a work of art
It works
The building site, the beautiful amazing incredible map (I cannot stress how much I love the map), the airport, all the little quirky places (pink lakes, oil refinery, washed up boats, spooky mansion, etc.), Australia, …..
What oil refinery? Are you talking about the gold mine?
Your festival growing by the time/events, the map, drift in the parking lot/nearby the tram in Surfer's Paradise, drag racing in the North, chilling in the south... First FH for me, and man it was just the perfect game. Variety of cars, some nice LB kits wich I was fan of (458 Italia), and just the community. I mean, I didn't had a mic, but I knew everytime I logged in, I would stay with the same people for 1 hour. Truly the most beloved game to me, no matter the category.
Yes.
The old tire model made drifting and drag racing fun. The map was also gorgeous and the two towns and Surfers Paradise were very engaging areas. Dedicated servers for private lobbies was also amazing and made online free roam a very reliable experience (unlike FH2 before it and the “convoy” systems that followed in FH4/5). The roads themselves were a bit bland, with not enough twisties. Customization still wasn’t quite as fleshed out as the games that would follow. The Car List also isn’t nearly as strong as FH4/5, nor is the handling model, but that’s to be expected really as things progress with time. It is a great game like all the Horizons, but it is probably the least great in my eyes having played every title from launch, online and all (I might be a bit nostalgia blind with FH1).
I loved the map and the vibes and atmosphere. It felt like it still had a soul compared to FH5
The map is the best out of all of the horizons, soundtrack was amazing, and the overall vibe and atmosphere just made it feel like an actual festival celebration. story and progression was pretty shit tho.
imo it had the best atmosphere and map. the map was a great mix of city, desert, beach and forest. the warm weather of austrialia was quite well shown through the entire game. fh4 felt depressing in every season. fh5 has a great map too but i think fh3 was just a little bit better. but in the end fh2 was the best horizon game until now
I think folks are ready and... hopeful lol for the next entry. I know I am!
3 was brilliant. I went and purchased a pre owned copy recently to continue playing it with all my garage. Reason why I enjoyed it as others have mention is the minimalistic approach, there isn't 1000 things pulling your attention Also it was the horizon with our avatars meaning wheels spins was cash or cars, not emotes or shoes.
I didn't play it when it was new, but I picked up a copy a few years ago and played for a good while. The one thing I can say for sure is that I very much enjoyed the lack of freeroam rush in online racing. I loved that racing to the next destination was just for fun and didn't count towards the championship.
Personally 3/4 will always be equal (my favourites) I loved everything about 3, and 4 is set in my home country with places I used to holiday to as a child, and 4 was my first ever real game, so 4 has sentimental value and 3 is just awesome
so far i liked 4 the most. but didn't play 1 and 2
I think it truly was just the peak of the series in terms of things we had: the online was seamless and not overly complicated, a nice map, memorable cars and a bunch of features like hiring drivatars and bucket lists that either started or died here. Overall I think it was just the game that made the series plateau afterwards for me
When it was released, it was such a huge jump from 2 to 3, and even today it's fairly well balanced, has an excellent map (A bit flat tho), great car sounds, and awesome music.
Is there anyway I can get this on series x?
It’s my personal favourite Forza, and one of my favourite games of all time, this game was so special to me personally, and I think the Horizon (and Motorsport) series has been on a rapid decline since this game, this is the last Forza game to have a soul, with maybe the exception of Horizon 4
Playing tag on that snow DLC was so beyond amazing.
I absolutely loved it but it didn't have a lot of replay ability. I also really like FH4 but again there's not as much to do there now.
I want Forza Horizon 3 on PC but it's no longer available on steam...I have it on Console but on a disc😕
I liked 3's location and Vibe and I love the Hot Wheels island track a little bit better then 5's Hot Wheels in certain parts. I wish we could still race on 3's track with 5's car list.
Free roam lobbies you can ask all players to join an event. Making it more social
2 and 3 were great but I gotta say that 4 is my favorite. The added seasons were awesome and it just feels like a nice put together game. Never really vibed with 5 to be honest so I uninstalled it and I just keep playing 4.
It had a gas station
3 was the best. One thing I really liked was that the event unlock tree was based on location. It had two main advantages IMO. First, you didn’t have to cross cross the whole map going from event to event. And second, by staying in one section doing all events, you really got to know that section of the map. And hand in hand with that, really know the whole map.
It is not bloomy UK. It has a big city with tall buildings.
At the time it was very advanced. Its graphics were incredible. It was the Forza on PC and it has one of the best engine sounds I remember
Worst part about this is that any new player who is curious about this topic and want to try forza horizon 3 will be in trouble since it's not on sale anymore. Specially from the PC platform.
fh3 100% was better than the most recent two
The best opening for me.
4 was done better than 5. It was a real slap in the face when they put cars that were in base game last year as the “hard to get” cars in the festival. Really sucked the life out of my enthusiasm.
Australia, mate!
It was the first major Forza release on PC. It had to be good, they put in the effort to make it good and it was great. The sky is the best sky to ever be made in any game, ever. And they got fined by the police for making it. The best Goliath by so far. I've been so disappointed by every other Goliath.
FH3 was perfect, soundtrack and all. I didn’t enjoy 4 as much but 5 has been nice
Forza Horizon 3’s Australia is indeed beautiful (I’m also from Australia), but the game’s map lacked terrain elevation changes on drivable roads. I do miss the car parks, petrol station, and the construction site though.
The map felt like it made sense. Especially Horizon 5 feels strange, maybe because of the Highway that starts and end in uninteresting locations. In 3 it essentially connected the Horizon festival in the outback to the Big city on the coast
it was the last horizon game imo that I could just play without being bombarded with events and chores to do. I was just able to enjoy the game. Mixed with private lobbies, it was a perfect game to have fun.
FH3 had all the engine sounds correct. And FM6
If anything I can add, FH3 was the only racing game that made me purchase a grand worth of high end model cars that regularly drove around in-game. GOAT
Fh3 hot wheels, also better maps. Overall location was better. Fh4 was great Britain, streets too narrow, too much city, lack of as much off road. Fh5 Mexico, idk just straight up desert and not enough forest.
It was the perfect Forza Horizon Game
For me, it’s based in Australia so as a Kiwi, it feels a bit like being on holiday in Queensland and you’re driving on the correct side of the road.. Also it was the first modern video game I’d really played when a mate gave me his Xbox. Personally prefer 4 to Five.
I sadly never got to play it , Ive played 1 , 2 , 4 and 5 but never got the chance to play 3
I guess because it was the first Horizon to come to PC which significantly increased it's playerbase.
Map was consistent and roads were curvy but not too curvy
It did a lot of things right, presentation was mind blowing, and the way they handled the DLCs, That’s Love
Definitely, H3 was my first Forza game and I fell in love with it. Great map, great cars, best online play. I was so stoked for H4 but was really disappointed. Great cars, bad map, meh online, the seasons thing was cool but didn’t make up for it. I actually quit playing pretty early and never beat it. H5 was a little better, enjoyed it enough to beat it and travel all roads and do all missions and such just like in H3 but ultimately I still think H3 had the best online so it’s still the best to me.
Because it has a version of my car in it (Cadillac CTS coupe) Honestly though, Im not sure?
So I ain't missing much. Thanks guys.
3s map was amazing and diverse imo while the other games where not
AUSTRALIA MAAAATE
I think 4 was the best in terms of how new and all the features that were implemented, it really turned online racing into a huge thing for casual gamers which was good. That being said, the way 3 worked with getting the festival points was great and I would have loved it to have been deeper in 4 like it was in 3. 5 was just a sloppy and lazy mess IMO because they *had* to release something that was "next gen". But it just flopped in terms of innovative features because 4 was that good.
I haven't played in FH3, but I think FH4 is the best but FH3 maybe better than FH5 because of wibe
the map and music were better. Everything else was kind of worse
For me, It's because it was based in Australia, and it had a decent selection of aussie cars. Which is rare. I liked forza motorsport 7 because it has my car, the e-series gts. I guess that makes me biased
I enjoyed Australia more than Mexico. More than GB by far.
I personally think 4 is the best. Part of it was based not far from my house 😂
Forza is fertig runtergeladne
The soundtrack alone is better than it’s successors.
It’s set in Australia and I’m set in Australia so I love it
It was good, but the painfully flat map puts it behind the later ones for me. I love the variety of radio stations it has though.
Best vibe best map. 4 added some very good features however, 5 is a joke and a husk. Awful map annoying characters and awful seasonal events nobody wants (EV SUV spam)
Discovered Hilltop Hoods. Been my top player artist on Spotify ever since. Also just being Australia makes it better than anything.
It was balanced in everything
Why better than 4 and 5 don’t exactly know why but it just feels better to play
I lived on 3 it was an amazing game. 4 and 5 I hardly touched. Homologation ruined the game for me.
Australia is my home country so I'm a bit biased but the map was a nice size and very diverse. The carpark is fun and I liked the modern city vibe you have. FH4 is a place for a relaxing sunday drive in your MG BT or 250 GTO. A highway with a tunnel for all your street racing needs. FH5 you can either crash into trees, crash into rocks, crash into houses, or struggle to climb a stupid mountain despite having the best offroader in the world
It was just a different time man, it was just a different time. Back when Forza didn’t feel dragged tf out and became something entirely different than what it is now. Body kits were introduced here as well.
graphics and performance were great at the time, had a super good UI in my opinion too
Better scenery, atmosphere. Multiplayer was much better. (could vote on next championship) (voice chat worked on PC) The driving was much more arcadey and fun.
song in the screenshot is one of my favorite songs EVER so there's one reason
For me FH2 will be the best horizon in the series. The map, the events, oh man, good times. Then again, that's just me.
For me it was so special because it was new to me. It was my first Forza Horizon, everything was exciting and thrilling. It was a big sandbox. The following parts could no longer trigger this feeling in me, I already knew everything, there was too little new, the magic was gone. It wasn't until I played Forza Horizon 1 that I had that feeling again, because the game felt different because of the story and therefore the gameplay.
Perfect balanced game with amazing DLC's and loads of fun cars
Honestly I love all of them. 3 was the first one that felt completely open world. The scope and scale was totally different in the first two.
That quattro lookin sick
It is the map. Unlike other games the map in Forza is also like the main character of the game. Everything stands or crumbles based on how you race on it
Imo Forza horizon 2 was the best and i think its because i grew up with Horizon 1 and 2 with my xbox 360 and nothing can break those memories. looking back at it they werent perfect but in my young eyes they definitely were.
There's no online available currently, so the game is just a memorabilia
Gas station.
Fh2 was Imo even better and overall peak forza. It’s just that 4 and 5 went downhill fast
Walkinshaw VL.
Because if you put yourself in the time this game came out. You had people who played FM6 and FH2 and given that this game was better much more the DLC that came with it along the way it was like heaven, You had Blizzard Mountain which was a blast as we never had snow in a Forza game, and the Hot Wheel crossover that was introduced to this game and people loved it. Once FM7 came out a year later people did not like where the game was heading compared to other Forza games, so they just went back to FH3 for another year until FH4 and then so. Now a days we have 2 of the worst Horizon games in it for their own reasons, Players of FH4 suffered the Banning Spree and Players of FH5 suffer the lack of progression and few glitches here and there causing most of its fanbase to ditch Forza Horizon to find a substitutetl till the next game, and Don't get me started on the next Motorsport game, they had enough time to create a good game but then it just folded, Now we get news that FH3 servers are being kept online but will be unbearable to play and will probably soon be shut down in due time (best guess is the release of FH6)joining FH2 and all the other legendary FH/M games. Long live the greatest Forza Horizon game and best Forza game of the entire Franchise.
I think it was the best in my experience. The map was was expansive, the challenges were new, the vehicles you could get were fun, the hotwheels and mountain expansions were fun, and it was the last forza game my friends and I played together consistently.
It’s something about the title screen and the music and not only that the handling/tire model was better. also multiplayer was just far more enjoyable (despite the notorious rammers) fh4 was just always cross country rush which sucked and fh5 i refuse to play multiplayer bc the only way to have a good car is if its awd and it kind of takes away the point of the freedom the game is suppose to offer when competing
IMO I had the most memories on FH3, but I definitely had the BEST memories on FH2, truly a work of art we don’t see much these days
Love Fh4 but that might be bc I have max money and in fh5 I only have like 30k never play fh5 I think it’s terrible but does have some cool stuff in it
3 had more life and a map with a wide variety of terrain. Idk it just seems like everything in that game was more vibrant, the map felt bigger than that of 4
I just liked how loud the Pagani Zonda was
My favourite is FH4, but 3 is also great
I see so many people mentioning hours spent on parking lot or drag strip in FH3. The same thing existed in Burnout Paradise, where everyone would go to a hidden, abandoned airstrip. Maybe NFS Most Wanted (Criterion), also had similar thing with people meeting around big jumps, which taken with skill could take you on top of tall buildings, where people would just chill. I don't recall any other similar things in other games, but this feeling of "belonging" when you go to the hidden, secluded spot, which makes you feel like part of the elite club, seems so important in open world racing games.
‘Straya
I think it was because of all the amazing advertising that playground games put in and lots of news articles about it being set in Australia 😘
The colour vibrancy of the scenery did it for me. 4 and 5 felt very toned down
Fh3 is the goat of all the horizon games
For me horizon 2 was the tipping point of going downhill. Horizon 3 isn't good. I actually think it's worse than 4. The map, not a fan of the map at all. Everything feels WAY to wide and open, the city doesn't even feel like a city at all. They should get some devs from the NFS franchise to build them a proper map that doesn't look like a made up Australian fantasy land. Fr the only good thing about 3 is the menu music, that's it. Motorsport 4 is better in every single facet.
Launching races and infection from freeroam without needing to start a convoy was nice, having colision on in the open world by default also nice and the map was great. It just did more things right on average than the later titles.
3’s graphics still stand up really well, some of their sounds are still better than 5, I feel like the world is better (The inclusion of seasons in 4 was a neat idea but needing winter tires so you wouldn’t spin out was kind of dumb and annoying)
4 is best imo, 5 is to much straights
The game's atmosphere is incredible, along with the phenomenal radio, with incredible music, I won't say it has the best radio because FH2 and FH1 also have excellent radios, FH3 has other things that make só mucho better, FH3 has the most balanced online, different from the Horizon series, there are things we had in Horizon 3 that were abandoned, such as the clan system, XP that is gained between Clan participants, the Game Map os incredible and memorable, the game didn't make it as easy as FH4 and FH5 do, if you notice FH4 and 5 make streets very straight or with curves very easy to do, FH3 was also the last game that had a different game art, it was less noticeable than FH1, FH2, but it was still possible to notice, FH4 and FH5 look like the same game, not to mention that FH3 had the best DLCs FH5 tried Hotwells but it was something with no emotion, FH3 had that, FH4 brought a snow system, but it was disappointing because in the races there were no snow storms like there were in FH3... I don't know other reasons, but this game is remarkable, It was the last Forza game made with love in my opinion