Aiden Ng

Forza Horizon 5 seems like a wonderful game at first glance. It features a beautiful map with jungles, canyons, deserts, and beaches, as well as a car list full of supercars, off-roaders, and even a few quirky vehicles like the Peel P50 and the Hot Wheels 2JetZ. But the aspect where this game falls short is progression. When you start the game, you're allowed to choose from three really good cars - a Ford Bronco, a Toyota GR Supra, and a Chevrolet Corvette. Once you finish a few races, the game just keeps handing you cars. There's no real sense of working your way up as a novice racer to become the champion of Mexico. And finally, once you reach the Hall of Fame, there isn't anything to do anymore. By this point, you've probably visited every corner of the map and raced at all the different events. You've probably already completed all the Horizon Stories, which to be honest, are not that fun (Don't even get me started on the Vocho story). After making it into the Hall of Fame, I only play this game so I can get the weekly Festival Playlist rewards (and half of them are cars that they bring back from previous games and market them as "new content." Edit: The Hot Wheels expansion just came out, and I'm absolutely loving it. It features a beautiful map that lives up to the reputation of FH3's Hot Wheels expansion, and it actually has a proper progression system. Unlike the base game, which just hands you cars left and right, you actually start up in a slow car (a lifted Hot Wheels Bone Shaker) and work your way up to faster cars. You can't even drive your supercars until you complete championships/accolades! Definitely worth it, and I hope Expansion 2 and FH6 will implement a similar progression system. I'm raising my review from 3 to 4 stars just because of how amazing this expansion is.

Good selection of planes and absolutely stunning graphics.

I saw this game on Game Pass and thought to myself, "A power washing simulator? What's next? A goat simulator? A grass touching simulator?" But when I actually tried it out, I found it to be one of my favorite games simply because of one fact - it's so satisfying. Seriously, it's super pleasing to see dirt fall of disgustingly dirty cars, houses, public bathrooms, and even a mini golf course! The game has a pretty good progression system too - you start off with a basic power washer and some basic nozzles and work your way up to better and better power washers. It doesn't seem like much at first glance, but I highly recommend this game.

Forza Horizon 4 has stunning graphics and a massive car list consisting of JDM legends, European classics, modern supercars, and everything in between. It even features quirky ones such as the Peel P50, Top Gear Tractor, and even the Quadra from Cyberpunk! But that's about all the pros I can find for this game. Progression and storyline are practically non-existent, the game is full of bugs, online is boring, the map is basically just fields and hills and lacks variety, and the game feels old after a few races. There's no atmosphere in the game, and the map just feels dead. EXPANSIONS: Expansion 1, the Fortune Island expansion, is better than the base game. There's a rudimentary progression system where you have to complete challenges to find treasure, and the map features high cliffs, a castle, and thrilling roads. If you get FH4, you have to get this expansion along with it. I guarantee you'll be spending more time at Fortune Island than on the main map. Expansion 2, the Lego Speed Champions expansion, is a waste of time and money. DO NOT GET IT.

Stellaris is a wonderful grand-strategy game where you get to lead a space-faring civilization to glory. The early game is filled with discovery, exploration, and exciting anomalies, and the endgame crisis can be a thrilling fight for survival. However, there's one main flaw: the mid-game. The mid-game, which is basically the time where you've explored every system and you're just waiting for the crisis to appear, is extremely boring. Sure, you can go on a crusade and conquer the galaxy while you wait, but wars are not that exciting in Stellaris. You basically just watch your fleets shoot guns at another fleet. Ultimately, Stellaris could have been a masterpiece, but unfortunately, the bland mid-game kind of ruins the experience.

Forza Horizon 3 is, in my opinion, the best racing game ever released. It features an extremely diverse map with jungles, small towns, a bustling metropolis, and a beautiful hidden canyon in the north of the map. The car list features something for everything - it has small hatchbacks, massive trucks, fast hypercars, and even some unique vehicles like the Terradyne Gurkha and the Quartz Regalia. Although progression could be better, the storyline feels a lot more immersive than that of FH4 and FH5, and the fact that there are multiple Festivals around the map creates a vibe that makes you feel the map is truly alive. Even after you finish the storyline, the game never gets tiring - the map still manages to feel fresh, and the race events still manage to feel rewarding. And that's only on the main map! The expansions for this game are wonderful, but you HAVE to get the Hot Wheels expansion. The only flaws I can find with Forza Horizon 3 are that Bonus Boards are way too easy to find and that it costs 10,000 credits to change your car. But if you're looking for a racing game that provides an immersive experience, vibrant atmosphere, and endless fun, FH3 is definitely for you.

Dirt 5 is a lot of fun in the beginning. The weather physics are phenomenal, and the races are thrilling. However, as you progress further into the game, it starts to get a little boring. The races start to repeat themselves pretty quickly, and the low difficulty level of races in the game makes it feel like even more of a grind. A lot of the cars feel pretty similar as well, and despite the fact that Dirt 5 features some unique vehicles like the Audi AI:TRAIL, none of them feel different enough to be satisfying. Ultimately, gameplay is a lot of fun in the beginning, but it quickly gets boring, and after all these months, I've never had the motivation to pick up the controller and finish the main storyline, let alone the DLC storylines.