Forza Horizon review - Telegraph Steering is slightly looser too, taking into account Horizon's sprawling map and varied event types. However, switch off all of the assists and you have full-fat Forza handling: weighty but pliant, drift-friendly but with a wonderful grounded connection between tyres and tarmac. Horizon, then, falls between camps: an arcade racer with realistic handling, or a simulation with a boisterous side. Take your pick. That ambiguity is what makes Horizon interesting, adding a jolt of charisma to a racing series that has arguably lacked a human side in its mechanical excellence. That this comes under the stewardship of new developer PlayGround Games makes sense. The UK-based studio is largely made up of alumni from various different racing studios up-and-down the country. Codemasters, Bizarre Creations and Black Rock Studio all decorate the CVs of the Playground team, and that melting pot of ideas and experience has produced the layered bodywork that fits on Forza's chassis. So you have a skill system inspired by PGR's Kudos mechanic, awarding you points for adventurous driving. You have a touch of rallying, Codemasters' speciality. And the Showcase events which have you racing planes, choppers and hot-air balloons recall the cinematic grandeur of Split/Second. Horizon's individual components aren't as finely honed as the games that inspired them --the skill system, in particular, is undercooked-- but their breadth fits the open-world structure well, offering a keen sense of variety in the races scattered across the map, from tight winding circuits, to breathless point-to-point sprints, to raucous street races. It's a clever, engaging mix that encourages you to keep an eclectic selection of cars in the garage Colorado is a lively and luxurious setting, the roaring supercars and hot pink colour scheme of the Horizon festival contrasting with the bronzed serenity of the Rocky Mountains. The Festival itself is a fascinating piece of stage-setting. It likely won't be for everyone, an overly hip cornucopia of dude-bro chit-chat, dubstep and unfettered corporate branding (the overly aggressive push for micro-transactions is a little unseemly too). But the context it provides is surprisingly involving and, despite the cool exterior, rather good-natured. There's a tale of sorts, with you playing as a wholesome American white-bread driver (edgy) who qualifies for the Horizon Festival race circuit at the last-minute. From there, you compete in races across the map, winning points in order to upgrade your coloured wristband, which opens up more opportunities. There are a few stereotypical rivals to fend off in the events, before running the gauntlet against them one-on-one to pinch their cars. The sliver of narrative is never intrusive, just neat window-dressing to give Horizon context and personality. It shouldn't be underestimated how stage-setting can lift a game like this. One of my favourite moments in my time with Horizon was a showcase event which plonked me in the seat of a Ferrari F40 and made me race against a bi-plane. Break it down and it was a simple time-trial, the plane is naturally scripted, so it was essentially me against the road in a particularly fabulous car. But Playground's skill in plucking a section of their map to make into a route made it a real thrill. Roaring through twisted tunnels, the midday sun peeking over the Rockies, long stretches of open-road tightening as I reached the criss-cross of a small town. All the while a biplane screeching overhead. Seat-of-the-pants type stuff. The map that Playground supplies is a wonderful thing, and such a pleasure to drive across you'll likely never use the quick travel spots scattered around at key points. It's a shame that the open-world is perhaps not as well-utilised as you'd like. What is there is good: signs to find and smash in order to get a discount and the upgrade shop, speed traps to whizz past and strive to be the fastest among your friends and nine classic cars hidden in barns across the map. But that's it in terms of encouraged exploration. There are set tasks to find beautiful photo spots, which would have been nice to discover yourself, rather than being given the GPS co-ordinates to follow. And the road feels strangely empty of civilian traffic for a motoring festival. Multiplayer too, doesn't capitalise on the open map. There is a free-roam mode which offers up a handful of co-operative tasks, and there are traditional races and playground games such as Tag that adorned Forza 4, but it's distinctly compartmentalised. Good as the core racing is, compared to Test Drive Unlimited's persistent online world, or Need For Speed Most Wanted's innovative use of a free-flowing multiplayer in an open-world city, Horizon feels a lap behind. But it's difficult to complain too heartily when the single-player and thrill of driving as good as it is in Horizon. Human competition is encouraged here too, with offers to race against a friend's ghost following each and every race. You feel that the lone player was the main objective for Horizon, and that area of the game benefits from that focus. The type of game to take at your own pace, whether that's pootling around the map or blistering through a race. Arcade? Simulation? Whatever. This is a thrilling, charismatic, feel-good racer. They are the definitions that matter.