Forza Horizon 4's Xbox One X 60fps mode is the real deal
Developer Playground Games excels in creating vibrant, varied landscapes - and Forza Horizon 4 doesn't disappoint. Based on a preview build we recently sampled, Xbox One X offers up two compelling ways to explore it too. For the first time in the Horizon series' history, console users get a choice between 4K resolution at 30 frames per second and a new performance mode that delivers a solid 60fps. It's a long-requested feature, and while a mainstay of the Forza Motorsport games, it's been off limits for the Horizon series on Xbox - until now.
The 60fps mode is significant, especially in terms of its sheer consistency, but running the game at its default 4K30 should be the first port of call in appreciating the sheer quality in the visuals. ForzaTech shines as its global tour finally returns home to Great Britain, and while the push for colour, confetti and fireworks keeps the series' trademark bombast, at its core the terrain is accurately modelled, with photo-realistic takes on each country's landmarks. The game's four seasons also distinguish this move to Britain too. From spring through to winter, materials, foliage, sky-boxes and of course, driving physics change with the conditions. The open world map size is roughly similar to Horizon 3 all told, but the new four-way split helps multiply the possibilities.
It's a bold new direction for the series but the switch from season to season isn't a gradual transition, but rather a hard cut - it fades in and out, planting you in the middle of an idealised version of each. However, it still represents a fundamental challenge from a technological perspective.
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