Don't buy before release.
That's the advice in my head, the scars from No Mans Sky run deep, and yet here I am spending up on Forza '23 (for want of a better way to distinguish it).
And I can tell you, I wanted to like it, I wasn't bought into the hype, there was clearly so much of it around it was unreal, and being a refugee from the PS4/GT Sport era now in PC land, I was prepared for the worst - better to be pleasantly surprised.
So, you'll have guessed by now, that I'm not the happiest camper out there. Let's do a list and unpack...
- UI
- Handling
- Peripheral devices
- AI
That's the sh*t list, but before that, let's talk about what I do like...
The game itself, the way it flows and the upgrades, etc - that's all fantastic. Coming from GT6 on PS4 (I rage quit PS4 land with GT Sport, but this is not that tale) I have long missed a game where it's a case of buying a road car and working my way up to a race car - club racing like that is excellent fun.
And I'm new enough to this franchise to not worry about upgrade points being limited to one car, or over-tuning my car so it's un-raceable, I like to buy a few bits and get in. This is that. If you liked old-school Gran Turismo, this game is for you (mostly).
The content and graphics aren't half bad either, I'm running a 3080 Ti at 4k, so it's hard not to look good, and if I'm honest, I like RRRE and don't mind their "overly dated" graphics. I thought I was a snob, clearly I like a bit of rough.
But let's get to the list, it is most of the game after all...
UI
The easy one. It's a pet hate and a frustration that games that are ported to/from console don't do it properly. This game is no exception. Half the time there's a back button, the rest it's press escape. The continuity tester should be shot, or maybe made to spend a day with only one shoe on.
It's not the end of the world, but having to pick a mouse or keyboard depending on what screen I want to get out of is a pain for me, and smacks of poor design.
Outside of that, it's not so bad. Placing it on the spectrum... RF2 (as it was in '23) is the bottom, RRRE is the top (it really is easy to use, except when you change your mind in track selection) - I'd put the UI closer to the top for sure, it's easy to get to what you want when you want it, just not the way you want.
Handling
Ah yes. For context I'm using a DD1 and 918 Rim with V3 pedals, a solid upper-middle-of-the-road setup. Day zero I had serious doubts about the game...
Feedback through the wheel was wooden, no ripple strip feedback and just really lifeless, but patience... and I knew there were some settings to change.
A setup guide was released, and it's so much better. It's not AMS2, and never will be, but it's certainly enjoyable now and the wheel talks to what's going on, I'm OK with that.
So why is handling in the bin list?
This is an easy test... get an Audi GT3, go to Spa, and take it through Raidillon & Eau Rouge. Then do that with AMS2 (you'll need another GT3, doesn't matter), RRRE, AC and ACC.
It's terrible in Forza.
The best I can say is it's like racing in the rain, you get wash-out, then grip, then oversteer. It really does feel like the wet in other games.
That corner is iconic, that car is a classic, and having watched any amount of GT3s go through that bend I reckon I could drive through there with my eyes closed on the right line. Except in Forza '23, in which it's a lottery as to what happens next.
To be fair, it's not so bad in the club (tweaked road) cars, they handle OK, but I'm not looking forward to the higher-class races in the game for sure. In fact I said the exact same thing of Shift 2 years ago. It's the same; Physics that have been applied to some road cars the devs had access to have been cranked up (in the numbers) to make "racecar" - and that's just not the case.
I do like to be thorough in my disappointment though, so the plan is one evening to do a test and tune and see if it's a tuning issue for the car on that track. I'm not going to hold my breath though.
GT6 - better through Raidillon
Peripheral Devices
I recently bought a ghetto bass shaker - it's surprisingly cheap to do so (and you'll see the post below about that). And it's excellent.
I also run a couple of dashboards - a shift/racelogic dash on an old phone an ancient tablet with full dashboard on it, from the excellent https://www.stryder-it.de/simdashboard/ site. I love the immersion this gives me - in AMS2 for example every gear change is a shift light flashing, then a kick as I change gear - the intensity of immersion that gives is fantastic.
Couple that with crew chief, Fanatec's shift lights on the wheel & mini-dash on the DD1, and I'm well stocked with info while I race. I use all of it.
Not in Forza.
Forza, I'll accept it's day zero (or so) and devs haven't nailed the peripheral apps yet. But none of it works. I managed to get one device working - the large dash. You basically have to point the game to that specific device on your network - which is great, but I have many other devices that are now without info and won't work.
So, by design, I'm unlikely to be able to use all the gear I've built into my rig.
And that's a poor show - GRID does it fine, Dirt2 is fine... the list of older games working is right there MS... do the right thing and make it work as per the other games.
Apparently, it has to do with the sandbox game environment. Whatever, that's called an excuse, not a reason.
AI
I grew up on a farm, and for many years AI was Artificial Insemination (side note, proud to say I never lost sight of my hands in all the years of working on the farm). I actually wonder if that's the manual that was used by the devs in gathering requirements for this game's AI.
Truly I've not been f****d by AI as hard as I have in this game.
No two ways about it, I've had cars side-swipe me off the track, even if I'm off the racing line, and alongside - maybe it's meant to be a blocking move, but with a 5ghz PC I'd like to think the decision to 'change lanes' could be a bit more snappy and happen before I'm there. If it was real it would be dangerous driving.
And then into the first few corners. This is masterful - the devs have managed to recreate the open lobby experience to perfection. It's a total sh*tfest on the first few bends. Again, I'm at club level to be fair, but there's really no attempt by AI to avoid collisions, none whatsoever.
If crew chief worked, I'd expect a "hold your line" moment, but they'd need to add in some more commentary along the lines of "Car front, left, right, behind, all closing in on you" - which would aptly describe the moshpit of the early race.
In summary...
I sat down to race last night, finally after a busy week I had a spare hour or so. I was looking forward to some Forza, it's my new game after all.
10 minutes in and I was back out.
All of the above just doesn't make it a game I want to play. It's OK as a game, but the experience is very shallow for sure.
And I found myself racing a new track in RRRE in 1992 DTM cars. And it was glorious, the ripple strips rumbled, the crew chief called it, and the cars handled well (as they do for that age). I could feel the grip coming on and dropping off. The AI was behaved but assertive. And so on...
I thoroughly enjoyed the race.
And surely, when it boils down to it 99% of us are here to enjoy the racing. Forza has a way to go before I get to that point I think, and I wonder if I ever will when there are alternatives out there.
