Wildcats are rushing to play the newest installment in the Forza Horizon racing game franchise Forza Horizon 5. Forza Horizon 5 is the biggest game in the franchise yet coming at a whopping 103 Gigabytes of storage consumption at launch. 

Mahad Yusuf, a senior and a player of the Forza games since 2011, explained “ It’s a big game but I think it’s worth it because it looks really good, and the map is huge and the carlist is also huge” in defense of the space Forza Horizon 5 takes up.

Developed by Playground Games Forza Horizon 5 is a breath of fresh air to the open-world racing franchise taking place in a fictional part of Mexico. The new installment has an updated carlist from the last game with better-rendered cars and updated sounds from the last game as well. 

Latif Saulimon, a senior who has been a fan of the games since 2016, said, “My favorite feature is the new map because it has a little bit of everything and it’s like double the size of the last one.” 

The Forza series has brought together a community of players, some of who consider themselves car people. “I never was really able to get into cars; it was just a hobby that did not click with me, but I still love the games,” said Yusuf. 

Saulimon stated, “I have sort of liked cars since I was little, but I got a lot more into them a couple of years ago.” Although one of these fans is a car person and one is not, Forza still has their interest.

The new game has brought exclusive new features. Yusuf stated, “I think the online features they added make it a lot easier to play with friends and have more fun online.” Those new online features include private sessions which were absent from the last installment and the new “Events Lab” mode which lets players build their own tracks. 

Forza Horizon 5 is the highest-ranked Forza game in the franchises history with IGN ranking it at a perfect 10/10.  

“I think it (Forza Horizon 5) has the possibility to be one of my favorite games because there’s a lot to do and it’s a good game to jump on with friends,”  Yusuf said. 

Horizon 5 compared to the other Forza games is the biggest of the series. With a map twice the size and a graphics package that triples the old game. With everything included in the new game, it justifies the record-breaking launch of 10 million copies sold. If you like racing games, cars, or just want a new game to play over the break Forza Horizon 5 is a great candidate.