The Forza Horizon series has always had a solid track record when it comes to DLCs and quality-of-life updates. Over the years, each game has grown steadily more impressive, rewarding long-time fans while still managing to bring in new players with flashy content and smart tweaks. With Forza Horizon 5: Horizon Realms, Playground Games is once again doing something a bit different—and this time it’s available across Xbox, PC, and, for the first time ever, PlayStation 5 starting April 25th.
So, what exactly is Horizon Realms? It’s not a new expansion or another festival site, but a fresh twist that resurrects a bunch of past, limited-time tracks. The catch? These old tracks aren’t being brought back as traditional races. Instead, players can access them in two new ways: skill mode or free roam. There’s no starting grid, no finish line, and no lap counter. It’s all about the score or just driving for fun. That said, don’t expect to explore beyond the bounds of these tracks—the Realms are all self-contained, surrounded by large barriers that cut off the rest of the open world, isolating each experience to its own little thing.
The Horizon Realms update adds twelve of these “Realms,” each based on an event or environment that once appeared in the rotating playlist of seasonal content. In free roam mode, you can explore them at your leisure, take friends in with you for a casual cruise, or just vibe solo and soak in the sights. Then there’s skill mode, which gives you five minutes to rack up as many points as possible. Drifting, smashing into props, catching air, and chaining together combos. It all adds to your score, as long as you don’t crash your car and lose your points. It’s a simple loop, but there’s a nice little high-score chase buried in there that’ll keep the competitive crowd busy.
“With Forza Horizon 5: Horizon Realms, Playground Games is once again doing something a bit different—and this time it’s available across Xbox, PC, and, for the first time ever, PlayStation 5 starting April 25th.”
Beyond just the thrill of chasing skill chains, Horizon Realms also feeds into the game’s accolades system. You’ll earn in-game achievement-style milestones for each Realm, and completing them unlocks reward cars, along with some of the more sought-after Forzathon points. Those can be spent in the rotating shop to grab returning rare vehicles, cosmetics, and other stuff like cool horn SFX.
If you’ve already seen everything you can in Forza Horizon 5, is Horizon Realms enough to pull you back in? Probably not. There’s no real new festival content or story missions, and aside from a handful of cars, the only real change is the inclusion of these twelve tracks. But if you’re someone who still checks in regularly or if you’re a PS5 player jumping in for the first time, this is a smart way to get even more out of the base game without dropping extra cash on a full-blown expansion.
Among the twelve Realms, a few really stood out, either for their presentation or just how fun they were to play in.
Summer Party
Easily the most visually cheerful of the bunch, Summer Party drops you into a brightly lit arena packed with cardboard waves, beach balls, umbrellas, and other playful props. It has that peak summer festival energy that’s just fun to vibe in. It’s not necessarily the best track for high-speed runs, but it’s a great place to cruise around with the radio on and take in the sights. That said, this was the one Realm where I ran into consistent bugs, specifically on the big half-pipes that line the arena. Every time I tried to take one at high speed, my car would somehow get stuck in the air, barely moving forward at 2 km/h. It was more frustrating than game-breaking, but it’s something to keep in mind.
Día de Muertos
Set at night with glowing decorations, winding streets, and drones spelling out shapes and skulls in the sky, this Realm is visually stunning. It leans more into tight turns and technical driving, so it’s best experienced in free roam rather than score attack. There’s just something relaxing about weaving through the glowing lanterns. This track, in particular, made me wish we had the option to replay these Realms as actual races.
Retrowave Highway
Hands down, the most fun Realm in the Horizon Realm update. Retrowave Highway is a neon-filled, synth fever dream that stretches long into the distance. I tuned my vehicle to X-Class and just drove as fast as I could, tearing through glowing lightposts and watching the skill chain multiplier go wild. It’s one of the few tracks where speed really feels like the focus, and the entire vibe makes it feel like something ripped from a retro future racing game. If you only check out one Realm, make it this one.
All in all, Forza Horizon 5: Horizon Realms isn’t a game-changer, but it is a pretty solid reason to jump back in for an hour or two. More importantly, Horizon Realms gives players, especially newcomers on PS5, a fresh way to experience some of the best bits of Forza Horizon 5 without needing to wait for the playlist to cycle around again. It’s not a revolution, but it is a nice reminder of what makes this series so enduringly fun: the freedom to just drive, explore, and make your own fun in the most stylish ways possible.
