Those interested in browsing the list of Steam Early Access games will not easily speak of a celebration of recognition. They are mainly unknown titles from small developers that do not easily rise above ground level. An exception to this, of course, was PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, which emerged from early access status in December last year. In the meantime, this game has also been released for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and for Android and iOS and is therefore still very popular.
Forza Horizon 4
The in-game map of the playing field in Forza Horizon 4 is quickly filled with the various races and activities that you as a driver can participate in with one of the many available cars. At one point, a symbol with the name ‘Fortune Island’ appears. Once there, this turns out to be neither a new race nor a shortcut to a nearby island. Or well, the latter actually, but then 20 euros must first be paid. Then the ‘virtual bridge’ opens to this island, where ten new cars and 63 new roads are waiting for the player. You can go for the lol smurf accounts and come up with the greater choices.
- Like the base game, this downloadable content is rated quite positively, if only because the expansion continues the positive line of Forza Horizon 4 in a new environment, including the still dazzling graphics and the introduction of the Northern Lights. Nevertheless, you may wonder if ten extra cars and five dozen extra roads are worth it. After all, it is not a huge new folder. The base game already has over 450 different cars and 531 different roads to explore; you might think that a handful of additions from Fortune Island could have been added to that.
- Fortune Island is nowhere near the only DLC available. Collecting enough points to collect the 450 cars is not done for a while. Even though you get 4 points in Forza Horizon for just about everything, even driving down trees or tearing past an oncoming car; it is not easy to collect a lot of cars in a short time. Microsoft has of course also noticed that and offers a helping hand: pay 30 euros and you get the Car Pass, which gives you access to a total of 42 special racing monsters.
However, for 20 euros you can also treat yourself to the VIP DLC, which gives access to all kinds of special items and doubles the points achieved during races; handy to get close to those 450 collectible cars someday. And there are many more dlc, for example a few euro treasure map or special carpacks with James Bond cars or rear-wheel drive cars that are ideally suited for drifting. This type of DLC is also often included in extended Deluxe versions of the base game, which are of course more expensive than the standard price when purchased.
Conclusion
This model is similar to that of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, offering paid DLC or microtransactions that capitalize on the progression system, whether intentionally slowed or not. But apart from that, Forza Horizon 4 with its multitude of dlc is not in itself. A critical question that is quickly asked by gamers is whether at least certain DLC shouldn’t have been in the base game.
