Shacknews Best Xbox One Game of 2018 - Forza Horizon 4

To say that Microsoft has failed to match Sony on the number of big-time exclusive games this generation would be fair. Halo 5 and Gears of War 4 were nice, but the Xbox Games Division hasn’t had anything to match up against Uncharted 4, God of War, or Spider-Man until the release of Forza Horizon 4. It is the killer app for Microsoft’s console this generation and is clearly the Shacknews Best Xbox One Game of 2018.

Developer Playground Games is made up of castoffs from the development teams of some of the greatest racing games ever released. Once they had the opportunity to work with the framework provided by Turn10 Studios and the Forza series, the team at Playground created their own franchise in Forza Horizon. The Forza Horizon series brings all the attention to detail and love of the automobile that the mainline Forza series is known for and offers its up in an easy to digest package that can win over all types of gamers, even those who don’t normally play racing games.

Forza Horizon 4 offers an exhausting list of vehicles to choose from, all while making them easy and fun to collect. Even better, the nearly 500 vehicles in the game each bring something unique to the table in terms of gameplay. No two cars drive the same and the game’s upgrade and modification systems allow players to build multiple variations out of the same ride. If you prefer import hatchbacks to Italian supercars, you can still compete in any event thanks to the upgrade system.

Getting your cars to drive well is only half of the battle in Forza Horizon 4. Because the game world is shared with up to 72 other players at any given time, showing off your whip is a big part of the experience. A powerful livery editor is included with the game, allowing creative types to dream up just about anything that will fit on the sheet metal of a vehicle. Even those without a single creative bone in their body can make use of the game’s sharing tools, opening up thousands of paint jobs and designs to anyone. Driving your 1984 GMC panel van off the side of a mountain is much more fun when you have an airbrushed wizard sprayed on the sides.

Speaking of mountains, Forza Horizon 4 takes the action to the United Kingdom and spreads the action across a densely-packed open world that offers a taste of the British coast and the Scottish highlands. Virtually every square foot of the world is packed with amazing roads and scenery. Every inch of surface area that isn’t a road is also traversable at any time as well. A small-scale version of Edinburgh offers a generous helping of street racing action for those that prefer tight, 90-degree turns and narrow alleys. There is something on the map for every type of driver and it all fits together seamlessly.

If the outstanding map design wasn’t enough to wow you, the team at Playground Games also introduced the all-new seasons feature with Forza Horizon 4. As time passes, the climate changes, sometime drastically altering the landscape and offering a fresh slate of events and options for drivers. From the rainy spring road races to mountain scaling during blizzards, Forza Horizon 4 has it all and the weather offers meaningful changes to how the cars handle.

To top if off, the game is an absolute stunner graphically. All the car models are painstaking recreated from their real-life counterparts. Water droplets slide off your windshield as you increase speed. The cars ahead of you kick up rocks and dust on the backwoods rally tracks. The game runs at a native 4K on the Xbox One X and has upgraded textures to match. Every part of the visual presentation is crisp and clean (except when you sling your car into the mud). The game also sports the best implementation of HDR in any video game thus far. Rather than a simple increase in contrast or blasting you in the face with bright lights, Forza Horizon 4 uses the extended dynamic range to offer a view into its world that simply looks more realistic and lifelike. You can see clearly into wheel wells during overcast events where there would simply be black in SDR. Raindrops are illuminated in a vibrant red as they fall just behind the brakelights of a Ferrari at midnight. If you need to show off your 4K TV, this is the game.

When you factor in all the features above and the best crossplay implementation that we’ve seen so far in any game, it’s easy to love what Forza Horizon 4 brings to the table. Car nuts can realistically spend hundreds of hours in the game and still only experience half of what can be done. Casual players can participate in races with the most diehard fans and still enjoy a fun, competitive experience. This is Microsoft’s killer app and the Best Xbox One Game of 2018.

Don't miss out on the best video games of 2018 — head over to the Shacknews Awards 2018 home page to brush up on our picks for the very best games to release this year.

Chris Jarrard

Contributing Tech Editor

Chris Jarrard likes playing games, crankin' tunes, and looking for fights on obscure online message boards. He understands that breakfast food is the only true food. Don't @ him.