Music turned up, eye on the road and drive away. Left to vagaries of the pandemic, we all want to get away from it all with a holiday of a lifetime and Microsoft’s Forza Horizon 5 is here to offer just that. It’s not only the best open-world racing game you can buy, the Xbox/Microsoft Windows release makes you feel alive once rubber meets the road in Mexico.

The much-awaited follow-up to 2018’s Forza Horizon 4 moves away from the uniformity of Britain. This time the map is as diverse as the scenic beauty of Mexico. It’s a tapestry of colourful locations, complete with ancient temples, jungles, coastal lines, charmingly colourful cities.... It’s a maze-like network of cobbled streets, semi-arid zones… a vast open space where anything can happen.

Of course, Mexico also means a move to right-hand-side driving unlike the gameplay in Britain or earlier in Australia. If in Britain the weather remains more or less the same, Mexico offers more dynamic conditions as you race through jungles, on beaches, across deserts or through historic cities. The changing weather conditions has allowed the game developers — Playground Games — to experiment with the overall graphics and feel of the game. It feels dynamic, more alive when light interacts with particles in the air during, say, a dust storm.

Playground Games, the developer, delivers stunning graphics and audio to give the game a real-world feel Playground Games/Microsoft

The escapist fantasy celebrates the freedom of driving, allowing you to rev up more than 500 cars that respond to the slightest of touches on the controller, complete with a soundtrack that can only be described as stunning. Every vroom, every screech, every brush against trees is felt through a booming soundtrack.

If you are playing on the Xbox Series X, there are two video modes to choose from, depending whether you want to go for quality or performance — quality comes via 4K@30fps while performance via 4K @60fps. On the gaming rig you can enjoy stunning graphics and greater draw distances. Personally, I went with the Windows version, which is equally enjoyable if you have a good monitor on your table.

The controls are simple and for those coming from Forza Horizon 4 there are no big changes, making the switch seamless. It’s a game which didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. There is so much depth that Playground Games really didn’t need to start from scratch. What you get is extremely good graphics and deeper AI integration, besides an outstanding map that will keep you busy for weeks and months.

Being the best in its category by miles, the developers had enough scope to put forward improved tools, better handling of cars and granular-level improvements when it comes to performance. There is a significant amount of multiplayer gaming involved. And there are plenty of challenges and seasonal races that will keep beckoning you. Perhaps that’s one area where things could have been better had there been options where you could simply drive through without distractions, enjoying the scenery and doing nothing much.

There are slot-machine-style wheel spins, currencies, trading cards and reward points to get excited by but at the same time, you can simply go from place to place, driving a wide selection of cars and buying houses. I like collecting new cars and only a few hours into the game, the garage looks amazing.

On Forza Horizon 5 you drop in on a “festival” that spans a vast recreated real-world setting and makes one interested in Mexico. After playing this game, I can well imagine what it feels like travelling in Mexico with someone like Dua Lipa blaring from the speakers. Who knows, the game may even generate travel-related interest in the country.

Don’t go into this game expecting a massive shift from Forza Horizon 4. It’s just incredible settings and gameplay here. Forza Horizon 5 is truly an ode to road-tripping.

Some of the top cars on Forza Horizon 5

BMW X5 M: It has the largest front brakes BMW has ever fitted to any of their vehicles.

Bugatti Divo: Boasts an impressive 8.0L quad-turbocharged W16 engine.

Koenigsegg Jesko: Best for speed/jump challenges.

Hoonigan Ford RS200 Evolution: Has great maneuverability on corners and is easy to control while drifting.

Aston Martin Valhalla Concept Car: Comes with a carbon fibre monocoque chassis and fitted with a 3.0L twin-turbocharged V6 engine.