REVIEW
8.4· Great
Forza Horizon 5 PS5 Review – Xbox’s Festival Becomes PS5 Pro’s Showcase Open-World Racer
Our Forza Horizon 5 PS5 review breaks down visuals, handling, content, and the key PS5 Pro enhancements that make this the definitive console version.
Forza Horizon 5 finally arriving on PS5 felt unlikely a few years ago. This is Xbox’s flagship open world racer, a Mexico-set festival of speed that has already hoovered up awards and tens of millions of players on Xbox and PC. Now it lands on Sony’s console in a feature-complete form, complete with both major expansions, the Horizon Realms update, and full cross-play with other platforms.
The twist is that it is also PS5 Pro enhanced. Performance and Quality modes are available on both PS5 and PS5 Pro, but the newer hardware pushes draw distance, foliage density, and ray tracing further, turning an already stunning racer into a genuine technical showpiece for Sony’s upgraded console.
Game Snapshot
| Release Date | 29 April 2025 (PS5) |
| Platforms | PS5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC (Microsoft Store/Steam) |
| Price | £54.99/$59.99 Standard Edition at launch on PS5 |
| Rating | PEGI 3 | ESRB E for Everyone |
| Genre | Open world racing |
| Length | ~20 hours (main festival), ~40-50 hours (story plus typical side content), well over 100 hours including DLC and completionist goals |
| Install Size | ~132 GB (Standard)/157 GB (Premium Edition) on PS5 |
Presentation and World Design
Set in a condensed but remarkably varied version of Mexico, Forza Horizon 5 remains one of the most striking open world racers around. Snow-topped volcano, jungles, arid scrubland, colonial towns, beaches and canyons all sit within a single seamless map, stitched together by a dynamic weather and seasonal system that changes lighting, surface grip and ambience week by week. On PS5, car models are lavishly detailed, from bodywork reflections to brake discs glowing under sustained pressure. The base console’s Quality mode targets crisp 4K at 30 frames per second with more aggressive shadows and effects, while Performance mode pares back a little visual flourish to hold 60 frames per second. PS5 Pro is where the presentation really steps up. In Performance mode you effectively get Quality-level foliage density and increased draw distance while maintaining 60 fps, so hillsides look fuller and tree lines stay convincing far into the distance. Quality mode then layers on more advanced ray tracing, improving reflections, global illumination and ambient occlusion both in the garage and out in the world, although the 30 fps cap makes this better suited to relaxed cruising and photo sessions than competitive play. It is not a generational leap over the Xbox Series X version, but viewed purely as a PS5 title, it looks and feels like a premium, showroom-fresh racer.
Gameplay and Combat
There is no combat here, only driving, but Horizon’s handling model is more nuanced than the festival atmosphere suggests. With full assists on, it behaves like a friendly arcade racer, letting you fling hypercars across dirt tracks with minimal punishment. Switch those assists off and there is a surprisingly readable, weighty simulation under the bonnet, with different drivetrains and tyre setups demanding respect on varied terrain. The core loop is simple. You race, drift, jump and generally misbehave across the map to earn accolades and expand festival outposts, unlocking new event types and story threads. The sheer variety is impressive. Standard road races sit alongside cross-country point-to-point events, drift zones, speed traps, trailblazer runs, long endurance races and the more bespoke showcases against planes or set-piece challenges. EventLab lets the community build wild custom tracks and game modes, which you can drop into almost instantly. On the PS5 version, nothing fundamental has changed, which is both a compliment and a caveat. Handling remains outstanding and car customisation is deep, covering tuning, liveries and upgrades. At the same time, the map is still flooded with icons and notifications, the Festival Playlist can feel like homework, and AI opponents can veer from sluggish to annoyingly rubber-banded depending on the difficulty setting.
Story and Characters
Forza Horizon 5’s narrative framing is lightweight even by racing-game standards. You are a rising festival star parachuted into Mexico to help grow the Horizon brand, fronting new outposts and picking up local characters along the way. Each festival chapter has its own little story arc, from celebrating off-road culture to recreating classic racing moments. Structurally, it works. Story missions are often where the game indulges in its best set pieces, stitching multiple car swaps and weather effects into a single, tightly choreographed drive. The flip side is tone. Character writing is relentlessly chirpy and safe, with on-air DJ banter and side-character dialogue that rarely rises above serviceable, and sometimes grates if you play with English VO. Several reviewers, and plenty of players, still call this out as the game’s weakest pillar. If you are here for cars rather than characters, you will tolerate it easily, but Horizon 5 is not suddenly a story-led racer on PS5.Value and Longevity
In raw content, the PS5 edition is generous. The base game brings an enormous Mexico map, hundreds of cars, seasonal events, online playlists and a never-ending supply of user-generated EventLab creations. On top of that, the Premium Edition bundles the excellent Hot Wheels and Rally Adventure expansions, which add their own maps and campaigns, plus VIP, a Welcome Pack and a 42-car pass. A straight run through the main festival takes around 20 hours, but engaging with seasonal objectives, expansions and collectables pushes you towards that 100-hour mark and beyond. On PS5, though, you are paying full price rather than dipping in via Game Pass, which makes the Standard Edition’s £54.99 / $59.99 easier to swallow if you know you will actually live in it for months. One important catch is that saves do not carry over from Xbox or PC, so even existing Horizon veterans must start fresh on PS5. Progression is fast enough that this is not a deal-breaker, but it is worth factoring in if you were hoping to import a mature garage.
Technical Notes
The PS5 port is impressively polished. Panic Button’s work delivers two rendering modes on both PS5 and PS5 Pro: Performance at 60 fps and Quality at 30 fps. Resolution is typically 4K in both, although Performance mode can dip below that internally while maintaining sharp output. On PS5 Pro, the headline enhancements are an upgraded Performance mode with higher fidelity foliage, increased draw distance and reduced pop-in at 60 fps, alongside a Quality mode that adds ray-traced car reflections during normal gameplay as well as in the garage. The overall result is a smoother, denser world with fewer visual compromises, making PS5 Pro the best console version if you have the hardware. DualSense support is strong, with haptics and adaptive triggers conveying surface changes, wheel slip and braking pressure convincingly. Load times from SSD are very short. Less positively, you must link a Microsoft account and, for online play, maintain an active PS Plus subscription, and there is no cross-save with other platforms, only shared leaderboards and UGC. The PS5 version is also digital only.Final Word
Forza Horizon 5’s arrival on PS5 is a quiet landmark. It brings one of Xbox’s crown-jewel series to a new audience without losing any of its scale or swagger, and PS5 Pro goes further by offering the most attractive and stable console version available right now. As a driving sandbox, it is outstanding, marrying approachable handling with enough simulation depth to reward proper tuning and skill development. You do have to accept the usual Horizon excesses, from busy menus to overbearing chatter, plus the inconvenience of a fresh save and mandatory Microsoft account. If you can live with that, PS5 owners finally have an open world racer that rivals anything on the platform, and PS5 Pro owners gain a fantastic new showpiece for their display.
FAQ
Does Forza Horizon 5 run better on PS5 Pro than on a standard PS5?
Yes. Both consoles offer Performance (60 fps) and Quality (30 fps) modes, but PS5 Pro’s extra power is used to increase draw distance, foliage density and overall scene detail in Performance, and to add ray-traced car reflections during normal gameplay in Quality. The frame rate remains very solid in both modes on Pro, making it the best console option if you care about image stability and smoothness.
How long does Forza Horizon 5 take to beat on PS5?
If you focus on the main festival campaign and a handful of side events, you are looking at roughly 20 hours. Players who chase most storylines, dabble in seasonal playlists and sample EventLab and online events can easily spend 40 to 50 hours. Adding the Hot Wheels and Rally Adventure expansions, plus collectables and high-end cars, pushes the game well beyond 100 hours for completionist-minded drivers.
Do I need PS Plus and a Microsoft account to play Forza Horizon 5 on PS5?
You can play solo and offline without a subscription, but you must link a Microsoft account the first time you launch the game on PS5, even for single-player. A PlayStation Plus membership is required for online multiplayer features such as convoys and competitive events. The PS5 version is digital only and does not offer cross-save with Xbox or PC, although leaderboards and user-generated content are shared across platforms.
Does Forza Horizon 5 support PSVR2 or split-screen?
Forza Horizon 5 does not include native PSVR2 support. It can be played in PSVR2’s cinematic mode, which essentially mirrors your TV on a virtual screen, but the game remains a standard flat title. There is no local split-screen multiplayer on PS5 either. All co-op and competitive racing is handled online via convoys and playlists, with full cross-play between PS5, Xbox and PC.
Is it worth double-dipping if I already own Forza Horizon 5 on Xbox or PC?
It depends on how much you want Forza in your PS5 ecosystem. Your existing save and car collection cannot be imported, so you will be starting from scratch, but you do gain DualSense support, PlayStation trophies, access to your PS5 friends list and the option to play a visually enhanced version on PS5 Pro. If you still play regularly elsewhere, the lack of cross-save is a genuine drawback; if you fancy a fresh start on your primary console, the PS5 version is an excellent way to do it.
8.4
Great
SpawningPoint Verdict
Review summary
Forza Horizon 5’s PS5 release brings one of the generation’s standout racers to Sony’s audience in near-definitive form. The handling still strikes a rare balance between instant accessibility and genuine depth, and Mexico’s sprawling festival map remains a joy to explore, now joined by substantial Hot Wheels and rally expansions plus the Horizon Realms update. On PS5 Pro the package truly shines, pairing a rock-solid 60 fps with denser foliage, longer draw distances and enhanced ray tracing that make this the best console version yet. You must accept a noisy UI, feather-light story and a fresh save, but as an open world racer to live in on PS5, Horizon 5 is hard to beat.
