Among all of the new game announcements and teasers, Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 5 is still going strong. Since launching in early November, over 20 million players have entered the Hall of Fame. There have also been various new vehicles, progression improvements, new events, Horizon Stories, and much more over the past few months.
However, on July 19th, Forza Horizon 5 will receive its first paid expansion in Hot Wheels. As the name indicates, it adds lots of new Hot Wheels-themed content to the game in the form of new cars, events, and much more. Costing $20 standalone, it’s purchasable as part of the Forza Horizon 5 Premium Add-Ons, the Expansion Bundle or with the game’s Premium Edition.
All of that aside, what should you expect from the new Hot Wheels expansion before it arrives on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC? Let’s take a look at eight things here.
Horizon Hot Wheels Park and New Biomes
The expansion offers a brand new location – the Horizon Hot Wheels Park residing in the clouds above Mexico, as it should. It offers over 200 kilometres of track and its own play space with different activities. You’ll also find various tracks like rumble and ice along with magnet tracks for defying gravity. Four new biomes are introduced – Giant’s Canyon with its rock formations; Forest Falls with its trees and waterfalls; Horizon Nexus with an intricate network of tracks suspending the Festival site; and of course, Ice Cauldron where lava meets the tundra. Each location is “packed with spectacular detail and diversity” so there will be plenty of cool sights to take in.
Hot Wheels Academy
Before hopping into those death-defying new locations, you’ll have to enlist in the new Hot Wheels Academy. As part of the new campaign, players will receive the 2013 Hot Wheels Baja Bone Shaker, a B Class vehicle, and work their way up to better vehicles by completing activities. Eventually, you’ll unlock new X-Class vehicles to add to your already speedy roster.
10 New Cars
Ten new cars are coming with four being Hot Wheels cars scaled up to life-size. There’s the 2018 Chevrolet Hot Wheels COPO Camaro with its 580 horsepower engine and sleek orange finish; the 2012 Hot Wheels Bad to the Blade with a 1000 cc engine capable of delivering a top speed of 230 miles per hour; and the 2021 Hennessey Venom F5 with its 1,817 horsepower and a top speed that goes beyond 311 mph. You also have options like the 2006 Mosler MT900 GT3, 2019 Brabham BT62, 2018 SUBARU WRX STI ARX Supercar, and the timeless 2000 Hot Wheels Deora II among other cars.
It’s also worth noting that those who don’t own the expansion can still earn some new Hot Wheels cars. Three new vehicles – the 2012 Hot Wheels Rip Rod, 1949 Hot Wheels Ford F-5 Dually Custom Hot Rod and the 2005 Hot Wheels Ford Mustang – were recently added to Wheelspins via the recent Series 9 Update. So by simply playing the base game and garnering experience, you can add these to your collection for free.
Hot Wheels Heats Events and Horizon Story
After enlisting into the Hot Wheels Academy, there will be new missions to complete, which will open up new Hot Wheels Heats events. What these offer remains to be seen, but a new Horizon Story spread over five parts is also promised. This will go over the entire history of the model car franchise, and hopefully, it gives players a new appreciation for the same.
New Accolades, Collectibles, and More
It wouldn’t be a new Forza Horizon expansion without other new activities like PR Stunts and collectibles like Floating Pinatas and Bonus Boards. New Accolades are also available to complete, offering some direction for what you should prioritize in your Hot Wheels journey. In addition, there are also new Hot Wheels Seasonal Events which contribute to your Festival Playlist completion. So if you’re looking for something different from the usual Seasonal Events, then this is an acceptable way to mix things up and still earn seasonal rewards.
Free Fast Travel
In the base game, navigating around Mexico can take some time and while fast travel is an option, it will cost you (and requires specific places to travel to). Not only do you have to spend two million Credits to unlock the ability to fast travel anywhere but you also have to smash billboards to reduce the fast travel cost to zero. Thankfully, free fast travel is unlocked from the very start of the Hot Wheels expansion, allowing players to teleport anywhere within the map. No fuss, no muss, and it will help in keeping pace with your friends while playing.
Playable in Co-op from the Start
There’s a good amount of new content to experience but what if you want to play it with friends from the get-go? Well, good news. For the first time, the Hot Wheels expansion is playable from the very beginning in co-op. It’s a good change and allows everyone in your friend circle to maintain the same progress while experiencing everything for the first time together.
Track Designer
Racing is only one part of the Hot Wheels experience. The other is building wicked tracks with loops, jumps and other crazy elements to see how your cars fare. The expansion caters to this by letting you design tracks. By heading to the EventLab, you can utilize more than 80 new track and stunt pieces. The Hot Wheels Creation Kit also provides new props, and everything easily snaps together. Once your track is built, share it with the community and see what they think. Even if building tracks isn’t your forte, this opens the doors for tons of community-created Hot Wheels content to experience on a daily basis.
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