The Forza Motorsport franchise is one of the biggest arcade-sim franchises to ever hit the market. The Forza Motorsport games had everything— a huge library of cars, racing at breakneck speeds, a variety of weather conditions, iconic tracks, but most of all, the headbanging dubstep soundtracks that we all loved.
It was the only series ever to rival the likes of Gran Turismo. If Gran Turismo had a more detailed car tuning experience, Forza would top it off with better graphics and track conditions. The back and forth between fans of these games was incredible. However, this article is not about settling the debate about the best franchise.
It’s all about Forza Motorsport, the games in the franchise, the impact they made, and how memorable they were to fans. In short, these are all Forza Motorsport games, ranked from worst to best.
Forza Motorsport 5
Forza Motorsport 5 was a more or less a disaster on release. Not to say the game was terrible, but the difficulties the developers faced moving to a new platform (the Xbox One) really impacted the quality of the game. As a result, there was a serious lack of content at launch.
To the game’s credit, it was also overshadowed by the success of Forza Horizon. The expectations were sky high, and the game just failed to deliver. While future patches and content releases made the game better, the first expression soiled the mood for most gamers.
However, not all was bad. Forza Motorsport 5 made huge strides in graphical advancement; the game looked visually stunning at that time compared to previous games. The physics were also improved greatly. Despite the poor tracklist, the racing itself was pretty solid.
Overall, Forza Motorsport 5 aimed for too much and failed. But it did open up the path for the new generation of Forza Motorsport games.
Forza Motorsport 6
Turn 10 had learned from the failures of Motorsport 5. They aimed to fix the mistakes of the previous games, and they succeeded.
Unlike the lack of content in Motorsport 5, the successor had much more at launch. There were over 450 cars to choose from, a wide selection of tracks, and an improved story mode with 70 hours of gameplay. However, the highlight was the weather conditions and nighttime racing. Not to mention, nighttime racing looked even better with the stunning visuals. While the new weather system felt incomplete, it still made the racing thrilling and exciting.
Overall, Forza Motorsport 6 felt like a filler episode in the series. It innovated a lot, but most of the features still needed a bit of polishing.
Forza Motorsport 7
Forza Motorsport 7 is basically the final polished version of Motorsport 5 and 6. There wasn’t a lot of innovation in Motorsport 7. It focused more on polishing and improving the existing gameplay and features introduced in the previous two games.
The highlight feature of Motorsport 7 was the dynamic weather. Track conditions would change during races, which made for a more realistic and immersive gameplay. There was more content on release, too, more cars, and tracks, including the return of the fan-favorite Maple Valley Raceway from Motorsport 4.
The game was also miles ahead in terms of visuals — it looked stunning. However, there were also problems. Firstly, the career mode felt too grindy, and it took the fun away from progressing in the game. There were also major quality-of-life issues, especially when it came to car upgrades. You could only upgrade your car using Car Points instead of the game’s main currency, which a lot of fans (including me) hated.
To sum up, Forza Motorsport 7 is one of the best new-gen Motorsport games. It’s graphically stunning, the driving is incredible as you’d expect from a Forza game, there are numerous iconic tracks, and a huge library of cars to race with.
It’s one of the best entry points into the franchise if you have never played a Forza Motorsport game before.
Forza Motorsport (2023)
Forza Motorsport (2023) was Turn 10’s attempt at perfecting the sim racing formula. They wanted to create a dedicated game for sim racing enthusiasts, and they kind of succeeded. Thanks to the new physics model, the driving in this game is incredible.
As someone who loves to drive around Spa, going through Eau Rouge feels exciting and thrilling. You can feel the elevation change, the tire losing traction, the engine breaking from the downshifts, the effect of weather on track conditions, and so much more. There are future content promises as well, like the recent leaks of IndyCar supposedly joining the game.
Not to mention, the variety of driving assist settings the game offers to ease in new players. Sim Racers have a bad reputation for having a steep learning curve, but with the customization the game offers in terms of assists, it makes it very easy to convince a friend to try the game with you.
Apart from that, Forza Motorsport (2023) holds to the franchise’s identity — breathtaking visuals, realistic driving experience, a large library of different spec cars, and a lot of fun tracks, it’s got it all.
Forza Motorsport (2005)
The game that started the Forza franchise. It was Turn 10’s attempt at an accessible simulation racing experience for the Xbox gamers.
Forza Motorsport wasn’t anything crazy because it didn’t have to be. It offered a handful of tracks, decent driving physics, great graphics for that time, and most of all, the nostalgic headbanging soundtracks we all still miss.
It was more than just a Gran Turismo clone for the Xbox. In fact, it was much better in certain areas. The crash physics, intelligent AI behaviour, and the driving assists were all significantly better than those of Gran Turismo 4.
Forza Motorsport 2
Forza Motorsport 2 only offered improvements over the first game. The studio didn’t experiment much; instead, they took what made the first game good and dialed it up a notch. It’s why this game has aged like fine wine, and it still gives you the same thrill that it gave to thousands of fans on release.
The major improvement was obviously the graphics. The game looked and felt more realistic. The driving and damage physics were all massively improved from the first game. Not to mention, the soundtracks, which were the most beloved part of the first game, were massively improved, too.
Overall, it’s a game that has stood the test of time and is a favorite for many.
Forza Motorsport 3
Forza Motorsport 3 aimed to improve and build over its predecessor, and it massively succeeded. It was, hands down, the best simulation racing game ever released at that time, even dethroning Gran Turismo.
It had the same responsive driving, plethora of customization options, fun tracks, and amazing soundtracks, but better. It also offered a wider range of cars, from fast road cars to supercharged hypercars. The car customization and the career mode were the highlights of this game.
The ability to take a road car and build it up to a track monster was by far my favorite part of this game. Overall, Forza Motorsport 3 was and still is a fun and thrilling sim-racer that you can pour hours into.
Forza Motorsport 4
Forza Motorsport 4 is arguably the best Forza Motorsport game there is. Turn 10 Studios perfected everything that made the previous games great and packed it nicely in the form of Motorsport 4.
Everything about this game was sensational. The career mode is the best the series has ever had. The AI was intuitive and intelligent. It adapted to player progression and upgraded the cars to match the pace of the player. This made every race feel like a challenge; the more you progressed, the more intense and competitive the AI became.
Of course, you can’t help but talk about the graphic overhaul. Forza Motorsport 4 looked decades ahead of its competition. The game looked stunning, the tracks realistic, and the car models phenomenal. Not to mention the amazing sound design of this game. Turn 10 worked hard to get authentic audio from engines and tracks, which just added to the game’s realism and immersion.
Overall, if you want to try the Forza Motorsport series at its best, then try Motorsport 4.
Forza Motorsport is and always will be one of the biggest sim racing franchises. From the very first Forza Motorsport to the latest Motorsport (2023), the series has been extremely fun. Sure, there have been some misses like Motorsport 5, but most of the games in the franchise are still worth playing even today.
