Forza Horizon 4 PC review

If you’ve ever visited Edinburgh, you’re going to love Playground Games’s latest open world. Forza Horizon 4’s take on the Scottish capital is exquisite. This is the ‘Auld Reekie’ of Trainspotting and T2; all blistering sprints down Princes Street and gruelling slogs up Arthur’s Seat… minus the naughty narcotics. Edinburgh is the glistening jewel at the heart of this Blighty-based driving sim, and the keen eye for detail that’s gone into recreating the iconic city can be felt throughout this electrifying racer. With Forza Horizon 3, Playground Games served up a scintillating take on the Australian Outback, but virtual vitamin D is a lot harder to come by in Horizon 4. With Bondi Beach now firmly in the rearview mirror, the latest installment in the sandbox series courts miserable drizzle, low-hanging wisps of soupy mist, and wheel-high clumps of snow as the campaign whisks you through four British seasons. While the weather may have gone down the drain, no amount of digital downpours can dampen my love for Horizon 4’s captivating take on the British Isles. A squashed down approximation of the UK, it encompasses the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands, a picturesque take on the Lake District, and sleepy pockets of Cheshire charm courtesy of the village of Astmoor. As you zip around in the returning drone mode looking for those elusive Barn Finds and the clapped-out classic motors they house, it’s easy to forget you’re playing a driving game. Whether flying past fields dotted with hay bales or squinting through the draped windows of a countryside pub, it occasionally feels like you’re playing Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture: Racing Edition.