Fortza Horizon 5 is a truly superb game. This racer packs an enormous amount of content into stunning openw world environments spanning regions of Mexico and of course a Hot Wheels inspired Paradise in the Sky. But it's had a more limited Xbox audience on consoles until now.
That's because porting Powerhouse Panic Button has just delivered a version of the game for PS5 and PS5 Pro, even sporting ray tracing boosts for pro users. So, is this the definitive Fortza Horizon experience on console platforms? The overview of Fortza Horizon 5 remains unchanged on PS5.
There's a 60fps targeting performance mode and a 30fps targeting quality mode with some substantial visual differences that we'll touch on later. Relative to the existing Xbox Series X version of the game though, we're looking at a similar visual experience. Flipping back and forth between Series X and PS5, there's virtually no visual distinction.
Foliage placement is identical. The terrain is a match and image quality is very similar. I'd really struggle to tell the difference between the two platforms in almost any circumstance.
There are often divergences that you can chuck up to slightly different weather conditions or different accumulations of dirt or other debris, but I don't think these represent meaningful rendering differences. That error-free rendition of Fortza Horizon 5 is actually a pretty great accomplishment given that this engine has never run on PlayStation before. Pixel counts aren't especially important here as both consoles typically reach and hold a full 4K in the shots I tested.
I did notice more evidence of DRS on PS5. However, like in this shot, which counts at about 1872p on PS5 and 2160p on Series X. I don't expect this would be at all noticeable in actual gameplay, though.
It's a pretty easy game to pixel count due to the fact that there's no TAA and aliasing on specular and an alpha tested foliage is pretty obvious, though minimized somewhat by the very high resolution. Quality mode is up next, and again, the two modes across the consoles here are virtually indistinguishable. I struggled to find any kind of meaningful difference between the PS5 and Series X in typical play with both machines delivering a basically identical rendition of the game.
That's the typical outcome in current gen titles nowadays, of course, between these two rather similar consoles. Across both machines, I got a flat 4K reading in my counts, suggesting a locked 2160p experience. We're looking at half the frame rate of the performance mode here, which seems to provide ample frame time room for a perfect pixel match on a 4K display.
PS5 and Series X may be substantially similar then, but their quality and performance modes are very different. The quality mode packs a greater density of assets, stuffing a lot more foliage into every frame. Textures have more layers and often have highquality parallax seclusion maps to add additional detail.
Popin tends to be less of a concern, as high detail versions of the game's assets stretch far into the distance. Mexico's sprawling views definitely look quite a bit better in quality mode, especially in the shrubby desert that typifies much of the game's landmass. Most console games rely primarily on resolution changes to optimize their performance and quality modes, but Fortza depends on visual settings tweaks instead.
Image quality across the two modes remains similar, though the trade-off in environment detail is pretty large. It might have been possible to retain the frame rate of the performance mode with more of that extended visual quality in the quality mode by using upsampling like FSR2 instead of the game's default four times MSAA. Though there are image quality trade-offs between these temporal techniques and MSAA in this game.
In frame rate terms, both modes are essentially impeccable, offering a consistent 60fps and 30fps update in typical play. That's not too surprising considering how well the game operates on the Xbox platforms, but it's still an impressive feat for how attractive the game is. Pre-rendered movies continued to run at 30 fps in both modes.
However, I did notice two small oddities, though. The game save size, even for a brand new save, is massive, clocking in at over 2 GB. There's only one save per account, so this isn't that big of a deal, but it's a lot larger than any other save on my PS5 consoles.
Series X saves, in comparison, are a lot smaller. The game's car physics also differ slightly depending on the mode. With zero controller input whatsoever, in this scene, the car goes slightly further in quality mode.
Likewise in this shot, it may be linked to the difference in frame rate between the modes. This also appears to be the case on Xbox consoles, so it's not a new quirk on PS5 [Music] machines. PS5 Pro actually offers some pretty interesting enhancements over the base console, which are most compelling in the game's performance mode.
There's a huge difference in the game's foliage. Note the denser and more vibrant greenery in these shots with bushes and grasses and ferns that just aren't present on the base machine. Plus, further into the distance, the foliage that is rendered often shows a higher detail variant relative to the base console with less visible pop in.
Of course, when you're barreling through races at speed, the advantage on Pro is less palpable, but the difference in density and pop in is still obvious and highly appreciated. The PS5 performance mode is essentially a match in foliage rendering for the PS5 quality mode in my comparisons with an equally lavish depiction of flora detail. That's a great development given that was the big advantage the quality mode used to have over the performance mode.
It's definitely not an exact settings match, though. The game's very cool cone mapping on building exteriors is a quality mode only feature, for instance. But in typical play, the two modes look quite similar.
Beyond that change, the PS5 and Pro in their respective performance modes appear much the same. Resolution is pretty close as well, though Pro has the advantage here. In the shot where the base machine got pulled to 1872p, the Pro managed to hold native 4K.
It's not especially apparent in realworld gameplay in either case, but it does show that Sony's enhanced machine is pulling this off with frame time to spare. The quality mode on Pro is bound to be a little more controversial. In most respects, it's identical to its base PS5 counterpart with similar looking tweakables in my comparison shots.
But there is one key point of differentiation. Ray traced vehicle self-reflections during gameplay. Essentially, the player vehicle can now feature reflections of itself, which are layered on top of the game's realtime cube map reflections.
This is obvious on this vehicle where the side mirror reflects on the car body along with the protrusions around the wheel and the spoiler. It's also clear on this buggy where the chrome frame and lights reflect a warped version of the car around it. On this trailer, the effect is more subtle, but you can still see that the straps holding down the car are reflected along the metal sides of the chassis.
Opposing cars don't seem to get this treatment, though, only the player vehicle. The in-game garage and Fortza Vista feature these reflections on PS5, but they aren't applied during gameplay. If you go looking for the effect, it is noticeable, I would say.
Even if it isn't especially visually impactful. Most of the game's reflections, though, are still based on other techniques. Their deficits aren't all that noticeable at the typical pace of play in Forza, so it's not like you're losing out on too much in the way of fidelity here.
Still, I would have loved a more comprehensive RT reflection solution, perhaps like the one in Forza Motorsport, though that would probably be outside the scope of a port like this. Outside of that improvement, the PS5 and Pro here look essentially identical, matching in every significant respect in my testing. That includes resolution, as both machines seem locked to a full 4K pixel count.
Frame rates on both modes are just as they were on PS5, which is to say that they reach their respective targets without drops. Expect a locked 30fps in quality mode with the performance mode holding a steady 60. There is one curious issue on PS5 Pro though.
In the current patch, if you turn on the game's photo mode in quality mode, on PS5 Pro during a race event, it crashes. I was able to replicate this behavior several times during multiple races, so I suspect this is an issue across the game. The Proerformance mode doesn't bear this issue, nor does the base machine in either of its modes.
Fortza Horizon 5 is an excellent racer, but is still one of the best looking racing games ever made. No racing game really comes close to the level of raw environmental fidelity that Fortza Horizon 5 so effortlessly accomplishes across its vast open world. Plus, the car models look great, lighting quality is excellent, and performance is typically impeccable across its target platforms.
Panic Buttons porting effort certainly does the job, too. Though, the base PS5 essentially comes in exactly as expected. Relative to Series X, it's a near-perfect match.
That's not a bad thing at all, though, as the port is consistently high quality and arrives without significant issues. The Pro is really where the action is at, specifically in its performance mode. Getting quality mode foliage at performance mode frame rates is a huge bonus for pro users and provides a big visual boost over the base machine.
It's likely the base console could have achieved something similar with a hit to resolution, but this is essentially a compromise-free experience that still typically runs at a full 4K. PS5 Pro's quality mode is less appealing just because the added ray tracing makes a minimal difference in most gameplay. So, Fortza Horizon 5 is a great port on Sony's crunch and consoles.
Hopefully, we'll see more from this series soon, but for now, this is a great way to enjoy this genre defining title. If you enjoyed this video, please like, subscribe, and press the bell for YouTube notifications. Check out the Patreon at digitalfoundry.
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