Today is the day! All of us here at Playground Games are excited to welcome you to Sierra Nueva as you begin your Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure. Play it today on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC on Windows and Steam, and Cloud Gaming (Beta).
Ready to jump in? If you already own the Forza Horizon 5 Premium Add-Ons Bundle, Premium Edition, or Expansions Bundle, you’re all set to begin playing. Simply download the latest Forza Horizon 5 series update and the Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure expansion from the Microsoft Store or Steam. For those of you who do not yet own Forza Horizon 5, all versions of the game are now 40% off the full price on the Microsoft Store and Steam.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1613281/Forza_Horizon_5_Rally_Adventure/?snr=1_5_9__405
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/21685/Forza_Horizon_5_Premium_AddOns_Bundle/?snr=1_5_9__403
How to Play
As noted above, to play Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure you will need to download both the latest game update and the expansion separately. Once installed, you can load into the game and begin the Horizon Badlands Expedition by accessing the Rally Adventure icon on the northwest coast of the game map in Dunas Blancas.
Players who are brand-new to Forza Horizon 5 will need to complete the initial experience of the base game before travelling to Sierra Nueva. This includes the first drive to the Horizon Festival, the creation of your character and selecting a starter car, the first Showcase Event featuring the Cargo Plane, and completing either of the first two available Horizon Story chapters.
Once the Horizon Badlands Expedition is completed, you can access the Sierra Nueva map through the Pause Menu at any time. Fast Travel is free and immediately available to those who own the Buenas Vistas Player House in Mexico. Players have access to their full garage in Sierra Nueva and can begin exploring the new map and career in their favorite cars without any class restrictions.
Build Your Rally Career
Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure introduces players to an all-new rally career. In the first hour of gameplay, familiarize yourself with all three rally teams as you get a flavor of asphalt, dirt and night racing in Sierra Nueva. Each team has a dedicated captain who will be your co-driver in events.
Captained by Alejandra, the Apex Predators are all about the asphalt in Road Rally. Alex leads the Horizon Raptors ready to kick up the dust in Dirt Rally. Finally, as the Grit Reapers ambassador, Ramiro will put that dramatic helicopter spotlight to use in Night Rally.
Once you’ve experienced the first rally of all three teams, you’ll choose your starter team. Each unlocks new events and challenges, featuring a dedicated progression tree with nine Reputation Ranks and unique rewards. Completion of Reputation Challenges will contribute to unlocking new events, rewards and the invites to join the other rally teams.
Once Reputation Rank 8 and eight race victories have been achieved in each team’s career, the associated head-to-head Ambassador Race is unlocked. Beating the team captain rewards the player with their car, while winning all three unlocks the Horizon Badlands Goliath, where you can race to become the Horizon Rally Champion and drive home in the all-electric 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Platinum.
Leave Your Mark
Sierra Nueva introduces several new biomes to explore including the town of Pueblo Artza, a huge Abandoned Quarry perfect for some Gymkhana action, epic deformable Sand Dunes, the tight and twisting Desert Gorge, rolling Green Hills, and an entirely smashable Palm Forest. You’ll even find the remote village of Cráteres Secos nestled into a breathtaking crater! These biomes will change every week as seasonal rotations occur and bring new weather changes, just like on Mexico.
With a great mix of asphalt and off-road tracks, Sierra Nueva features a drivable area of 6.25 miles squared – that's 16.2km squared – with 38 miles (61km) of roads full of unpredictable adverse-camber turns, blind crests and thrilling asphalt jumps. For a closer look at the environments of Sierra Nueva, check out our deep dive here of each biome. Now let’s explore the improved deformation technology in Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure.
Over the years rally drivers have put Sierra Nueva through its pace and this is nowhere better reflected than in the rugged deformable sand roads interwoven with pre-deformed tire tracks. As deformable surfaces are driven over repeatedly, they accrue multiple tire tracks and trails. Tire tread is visible in these deformed tracks while the deformation-width is adjusted based on the car’s speed, tire size and steering angle.
Meanwhile, sand trails kicked up by vehicles can be seen in the far distance, so you can spot the work of other drivers that are miles away! It also persists for longer with shadows and camera-lens accumulation as you drive through it. These dust plumes are physics-driven and result in the most complex weather effect in a Forza Horizon game.
Horizon Rally Modes
All events in Sierra Nueva feature two distinct flavors of off-road racing: Horizon Rally and Horizon Race. Both modes do not enforce car restrictions.
Horizon Rally is a race against the clock. Follow your co-driver's pace notes and drive as fast as possible through the four split gates that are placed at around each 20% interval of the track. The co-driver is on standby from the Horizon Rally Helicopter, which dynamically follows the car and provides audio-visual callouts like upcoming turn and obstacle alerts. Hold up, did they say Chicken?
Each split-gate crossed is accompanied by a notification to highlight where you’re currently positioned on the leaderboard stage. Here's how to interpret these colors:
- Red: You have lost a position relative to other competitors.
- Orange: You have maintained your position.
- Green: You have improved your position.
- Light Green: You are in first place.
Horizon Rally events can be played in co-op with collisions disabled. For a more immersive rally experience, disable the Rally Driving Line option in the driving assists menu. This separate toggle only applies to Horizon Rally events. You can also further spruce up the challenge by increasing the AI difficulty or the PI class of your car.
Secondly, there’s Horizon Race – the racing action you already know and love from the Horizon Festival. Only this time, you’re taking on a pack of rally drivers on the thrilling roads of Sierra Nueva. Race against Drivatars or other players with collisions enabled. This mode does not feature the co-driver or helicopter.
Race Events and PR Stunts
Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure features the largest number of racing events of any Horizon expansion, and in Sierra Nueva, this means the most thrilling routes in Horizon history, so buckle up.
Here’s a look at the new Horizon Rally and Horizon Race events with all routes also supported in Rivals:
- Road Racing: 8 Apex Predators tracks.
- Dirt Racing: 8 Horizon Raptors tracks.
- Mixed Surface (Night only): 8 Grit Reapers tracks.
- Head-to-Head: 3 Ambassador Races with mixed surface cross-country events.
- Goliath Race featuring a mix of asphalt and dirt surfaces.
Here’s the breakdown of the 20 new PR Stunts:
- 5 Speed Traps: Unlocked through Apex Predators.
- 5 Speed Zones: Unlocked through Apex Predators.
- 5 Danger Signs: Unlocked through Horizon Raptors.
- 5 Drift Zones: Unlocked through Grit Reapers.
With the Midnights at Horizon series, new Rally Adventure events will be added to the Festival Playlist. These will include a Seasonal Championship and PR Stunt every week and are unlocked upon completion of the Horizon Badlands Goliath.
Look out for new smashable objects in Sierra Nueva including the Horizon Raptors Pinata Trucks at day and the Grit Reapers Crates at night, both of which respawn, as well as the Apex Predators Promotion Boards. There are 30 of these scattered around the map and they do not respawn once smashed!
Multiplayer
Horizon Open, Horizon Tour and Rivals are all available to enjoy in Sierra Nueva. Join a Horizon Open or Rivals event through the Rally Adventure tab in the Pause Menu. Go to the Horizon Tour icon located in the center-right area of the map to team-up with fellow players and race a team of Drivatars.
Horizon Open features available in Sierra Nueva include Badges, Open Racing, Custom Racing and Leaderboards. The custom filters include Road and Dirt with class options for Any, S2, S1, A, and B. All the Rally Adventure routes mentioned above are present in Horizon Open.
Create A Rally Monster
New features introduced in the Midnights at Horizon series update – available free for all Forza Horizon 5 players – allow you to build the rally machine of your wildest dreams.
Look out for all-new rally parts and body kits, adjustable Tire Profile Size on select vehicles to fit massive wheel arches, and an anti-lag system that delivers more power to turbocharged engines while producing spectacular flame effects and fire-cracker audio. Players can also enable launch control as a new driving assist to ensure a perfect start in both rally and drag racing!
Over in the EventLab Blueprint Builder, we’ve introduced new objects including branded barriers, flags and civilian vehicles, allowing you to build races that capture the look and feel of a Horizon Rally event!
Start Your Rally Adventure Today
Between its challenging roads and epic dust kick-up, we’ve designed every mile of Sierra Nueva to be incredibly fun and exciting. We can’t wait for you to embark on your Forza Horizon 5 Rally Adventure. Get it today on the Microsoft Store or Steam if you haven’t already, and we’ll see you at the Horizon Badlands Festival!