The PlayStation Answer to Xbox‘s Forza Horizon – Gran Turismo 7
As an avid gamer and racing enthusiast, one question I see pop up all the time is: "What‘s the closest game on PlayStation 5 to match the Forza Horizon experience on Xbox?"
It‘s a great question. Xbox owners have been able enjoy the vibrant open worlds and thrilling arcade racing action of Playground Games‘ Horizon series for over a decade now. Meanwhile PlayStation fans have been waiting for a true rival to arise on their console of choice.
Well after analyzing the latest racing titles available on PS5 in 2024, the answer is clear: Polyphony Digital‘s Gran Turismo 7.
While long-running GT series has traditionally skewed toward realism and accurate simulation, Gran Turismo 7 expertly balances that serious car culture vibe with the sheer fun factor and excitement that‘s made Forza Horizon so popular.
Let‘s take a deeper look:
Gran Turismo 7 Has Stunning Visuals to Rival Forza Horizon 5
Make no mistake – Forza Horizon 5 set a new visual benchmark when it launched in late 2021 on Xbox Series X/S. Playground nailed the vibrant colors of Mexico and delivered staggering detail in its open world environments. Truly next generation graphics.
But Gran Turismo 7 is equally stunning in its visual presentation thanks to PS5 hardware. We‘re talking photorealistic car models with accurately recreated interiors. Dynamic time/weather that brings tracks to life. Impressively detailed environments like the roaring grandstands of the Circuit de La Sarthe:
Looking at Gran Turismo 7 in motion on a 4K screen, no racing game fan could complain about a visual downgrade from Xbox‘s offering. This latest GT beautifully showcases the PS5‘s graphical capabilities and matches Forza Horizon 5 in pure eye-candy.
Visual Verdict: Gran Turismo 7 = Forza Horizon 5. Both racing juggernauts set new standards in detail, environments, car models, and lifelike graphics. PS5 handles GT7 as impressively as the Xbox Series X/S does FH5.
Gran Turismo Adds Open World Freedom with GT Cafe Menus
The Gran Turismo name is synonymous with the culture of cars. And that reverence for automotive history remains at the heart of Gran Turismo 7 through its GT Cafe single player campaign. This introduces a guiding narrative where legendary cars are gradually unlocked via Menu Books that provide varied racing objectives.
While not as openly freeform as the Horizon Festival‘s freedom, this campaign structure incentivizes players to continually unlock new events and cars. You‘re motivated to build collector‘s garages of historic vehicles while tackling unique challenges like multiline races, drift trials, 1-on-1 showdowns, and endurance tests.
This provides a lot more gameplay variety than previous GT games – bringing the series closer to Forza Horizon‘s mix of racing disciplines. And post-campaign, GT7‘s map opens up icons that give guidance toward new events without restrictive pathways. You‘re free to focus on multiplayer, tuning, livery customization, and completing your car collections at your own pace. That level of open ended motivation works beautifully.
Freedom Verdict: Gran Turismo 7 isn‘t fully open world, but its new Cafe framework guides players to meaningful unlocks while encouraging further engagement through multiplayer and customization long after those Menu Books are complete.
Gran Turismo Finally Embraces Customization & Rewards
The career mode structure isn‘t the only evolution with GT7. Longtime fans may remember that Gran Turismo has trailed Forza (and other racers) significantly when it comes to car customization and reward loops. Very often those older GT games felt like all simulation with none of the usual video game bells & whistles we expect today.
Thankfully GT7 rights a lot of those wrongs. There‘s now a livery editor for adding wild decals or recreations of iconic designs found in motorsports. Wide body kits and wheels offer ample parts to fine tune performance or looks. The revamped tuning menu also provides granular control over gear ratios, differential behavior, etc catering to gearheads.
Plus that Cafe structure means constantly working toward new unlocks – whether that‘s winning a hot hatch to dominate a certain racing discipline or finally adding your dream supercar to the collection. Even with microtransactions off the table, there‘s a satisfying drip feed of cars and events that echoes the Horizon model of compelling rewards that keep you playing.
Customization Verdict: Gran Turismo 7 finally embraces what fans love about modern racers. The livery editor, tuning options, improved progression, and rewards structure bring back a fun factor previous GT games lacked.
The Physics and Handling Still Skew Toward Simulation
However, before anyone worries Polyphony has thrown the driving simulation baby out with the bathwater – that‘s anything but the case.
At its core, Gran Turismo 7 still provides best-in-class driving physics, tire modeling, and general handling. Developer Polyphony Digital worked closely with manufacturers to capture 1000+ individual car behaviors. So vehicles react distinctly from slender F1 machines to burly muscle cars.
Plus tracks offer dynamic surfaces where the ideal line evolves lap to lap. Racing necessitates proper braking points, accelerating out of corners, and smart fuel mapping rather than Floor It Always approaches. Assists help ease newcomers into the challenge but GT7 never compromises its pedigree as a premier racing sim.
This physics accuracy paired with the Dualsense controller‘s remarkable haptic triggers/feedback result in some of the most intuitively believable driving experiences I‘ve enjoyed. When compared directly to Forza Horizon 5‘s more simplified physics and arcade handling, veterans will likely prefer and appreciate GT7‘s remarkable simulation.
Physics Verdict: Gran Turismo 7 retains its crown as racing platform that just feels right while driving. Forza Horizon 5 simplifies things comparatively. GT7 strikes a better balance catering to gearheads and arcade fans.
That said, GT7 isn‘t perfect…
Gran Turismo 7‘s Always Online Approach Disappoints
Sadly Polyphony chose some anti-consumer approaches that are worth calling out. The requirement of always online connectivity severely limits accessibility for many GT fans. Single player progression straight up halts if internet is interrupted.
Add the aggressive monetization focus with caps on race payouts, and Gran Turismo 7 entered dangerous territory at launch. Subsequent updates have helped ease the grind without spending real money, but PS5 owners should rightfully expect unrestricted offline access and progression. This sadly remains a black mark against an otherwise fantastic racing package.
Online Verdict: Forza Horizon 5 respects players time far more with seamless online/offline integration. GT7‘s excessive restrictions are consumer-unfriendly missteps, though Polyphony continues working to improve the new Gran Turismo.
This section will be expanded more to 2300+ word goal discussing various other open world options on PS5 like Need for Speed, additional simcade alternatives, the customization/online focused The Crew 2 etc.
