Playground Games’s latest addition to the Forza franchise is all set to make its debut, and take over the discourse around the racing side of things in the gaming world. But how does one judge a title that comes from a long line of great racing games? Better yet, would ranking them all even be possible, considering how hard it can be to pick one over the other?
Well, that’s exactly what we set out to do, and it’s been a lot of back and forth before we could come to an agreement on this particular pecking order. Without further ado, let’s kick things into gear and take a nostalgic drive through Forza’s history, beginning with:
15. Forza Street
We always look back at this one with a tinge of regret, as it could have been so much more. But all it managed to be was a confused amalgamation of Motorsport and Horizon that never quite managed to replicate the flair of either. Street was certainly an easy pick for the last spot on this list.
But it did manage to entertain during its time as a free-to-play spinoff, so credit where it’s due.
14. Forza Motorsport 5
Although this one had some interesting additions like Drivatar and some truly gorgeous graphics for its time, it falls to a lower rank thanks to a rather short selection of cars and tracks in the initial release and an over-reliance on DLC over the course of its shelf life.
It’s still a solid racing title, although its modern successors in the franchise might have you leaving it for better tracks if you were to try it out today.
13. Forza Motorsport (2023)
Here’s where things begin to get tricky. This soft reboot of the Motorsport side of things after 2017’s Forza Motorsport 7 is definitely among the finer entries in the franchise. It takes it racing seriously, while still giving you enough control over the experience to remain an accessible sim.
But its progress-breaking bugs on release, and a lack of track variety held it back from true greatness, with Forza Horizon 5 being a better alternative despite its more arcade-focused experience.
12. Forza Horizon
This one’s not held back by much, but a rather repetitive single-player mode despite the Horizon Festival’s debut, and the lack of weather effects does come to mind. It took a lot of inspiration from Forza 4, even letting you import your custom cars alongside that one’s excellent physics.
But it’s ultimately outdone by the remaining titles on this list, and we must say that this one was definitely a game-changer at the time of its release.
11. Forza Horizon 2
This one has stayed with us over the years thanks to that opening sequence that put us behind the wheel of a very powerful Lamborghini. And it’s definitely a great arcade racer with the Festival now beginning to come into its own. The European setting gave us an open world that was astounding, until it began to interfere with our enjoyment of it.
A few baffling design choices and a lackluster perk system for the player character might not seem like major complaints on paper, but have definitely been enough of a problem in this one to place it in the lower end of Forza’s greatest hits.
10. Forza Motorsport 7
There wasn’t too much wrong with this one when it was released, with the only real complaint being how aggressive Drivatars could get on greater difficulties. We always have a laugh about how many collisions came about from their eagerness to see us place below them in a race.
But the rest of this one was in line with the franchise’s well-earned reputation for creating racing sims that were confident in their identity, and subsequently quite clear in their vision.
9. Forza Motorsport 6
Forza 6 definitely hit the sweet spot as far as its racing sim trappings are concerned, with its successor being an evolutionary, rather than a revolutionary title. That wasn’t the case with this one, and the way it improved upon its predecessor made it a very special addition to the franchise’s line-up.
It was enough to make the Xbox One the console to beat as far as racing sims were concerned, back when the console wars were still a thing.
8. Forza Motorsport 2
This one manages to rank higher than Forza 6 despite its age, thanks to what it achieved for the franchise. Like how the sixth title in the franchise built on everything great about the previous one, Forza 2 was such a massive upgrade over its predecessor, and a title that could be seen as a stepping stone to where we’re at with the franchise today.
With excellent driving mechanics, great graphics and performance (minor graphical issues aside), and a respectable lineup of cars and tracks, this one is a milestone in the franchise’s history that simply cannot be ignored.
7. Forza Motorsport 4
This one’s excellent multiplayer, and the superb use of everything the Xbox 360 had to offer makes it a valuable presence in the franchise’s illustrious history. But its Career Mode was far too lackluster, which is saying something considering that even Jeremy Clarkson couldn’t infuse it with life as the narrator.
However, it’s still adherent to the franchise’s high quality, and was a solid racing sim for its time.
6. Forza Horizon 3
We’re finally getting to the best of the franchise, and Horizon 3 is a great place to start. It exemplifies everything that has made the Horizon Festival’s open-world approach so viable for an arcade racer, and the gorgeous take on Australia it brought to the table has us smiling to ourselves as we remember playing it for the first time.
This one’s the source of many fond memories, and we’d say it was an important step towards the astounding quality of what’s on offer in the Horizon line even today.
5. Forza Motorsport
We’re still partial to the OG version of this one despite the 2023 title sharing its name with it. This was the game that began to challenge Gran Turismo, and be the new kid on the block in the racing sim circuit. It helps that it did everything right at the time, making this one a legacy title that put the franchise on the map.
One could even say that this one was the opening chapter of a book that’s seen a lot of success over the years.
4. Forza Horizon 4
The British leg of the Horizon Festival continues to be a fine presence among the other Horizon entries in the franchise. We were particularly fond of how it took away our role as the boss of the Festival, instead making us a rookie working our way up the ranks to access more races and cars.
That made things much more believable, and the stakes a lot more personal in comparison to the previous titles. Aside from that, the racing and the open world were as enthralling as we had gotten used to, and this one definitely remains among our favorite racers of all time.
3. Forza Motorsport 3
This one definitely deserves the top spot on the racing sim side of things, being a title that struck a sublime balance between difficulty and accessibility, perhaps even setting up a template for its successors in the franchise to work with.
It definitely deserves a place of respect on this list, and is a title that we’d argue was a good influence on each one that followed it.
2. Forza Horizon 6
It’s probably no surprise that this one is at the top of this list. The Horizon Festival finally going to Japan, and the beauty and splendor you find there, make this one fresh yet familiar, bringing everything that’s been good in the Horizon series into one slick, polished package.
It’s the culmination of a formula that has made sweeping changes rather unnecessary, and as such, plays things too safe for it to be considered a revolutionary title. That’s been a recurring challenge in an effort to rank all the Forza games, and this one probably bears the brunt of that the most.
1. Forza Horizon 5
It’s no surprise that this one continues to be among the best of Forza. Mexico was an incredible location for the Festival, while the game continues to be a very presentable masterpiece on current-gen hardware. We’d say it goes toe to toe with its successor, and might even come out on top depending on where you like to do your racing.
Forza Horizon 5 has more than earned its place close to the top of the franchise’s most polished and iconic titles, and remains a very strong contender for the throne against the game that followed it.
And that’s about it from us with this one. We’re almost certain that you’ve raised an eyebrow at least once as you’ve heard us out, and that’s the beauty of the Forza franchise. With a list of offerings this iconic, we’re sure that each of you might switch things around.
But we’re sure we all agree that Forza’s among the finest in modern racing games, and looks poised to hold that position for many years to come. We certainly hope it manages to do that, but for now, we’ve got a car meet to do in Tokyo, and the winter races await us.