Review for Forza Horizon 4. Game for PC and Xbox One, the video game was released on 02/10/2018
The one between Lego and video games is a pairing that has been working for many years now. It has lost count of all the film series that have seen a videogame tie-in in the form of bricks colored and some also stood out for good quality levels. We are therefore used to these field invasions, so much so that sometimes the opposite has happened as well, that is that a videogame IP, Overwatch, has broken down the virtual barrier to become a LEGO set in all respects. Therefore, the new collaboration between LEGO and the Microsoft Forza brand should not surprise us: Forza Horizon 4 LEGO Speed Champions is the new expansion of the incredible racing game of Turn 10 Studios and is here to give us an avalanche of plastic and colorful fun.
The painstaking work done by the development team for Forza Horizon 4 LEGO Speed Champions can be seen from the moment you set foot in LEGO Valley. The new region was built entirely with virtual LEGO bricks, thus making the game world more stylized but not without variety. In fact, there are numerous thematic areas in which to whiz with your racing cars, including the pirate bay or the dinosaur cemetery. Much of what we see on the screen, then, is destructible and will break down into many pieces in full LEGO tradition. The attention to detail has therefore been borrowed from the main title to the point that even in this expansion there are Forzathon Live events and the alternation of seasons. Technically, the result achieved is excellent: the game engine easily manages what happens on the screen and nothing has been lost in terms of visual cleanliness and special effects.
However, venturing into a LEGO production also means a general change of tone, which always turns towards light and sometimes comic atmospheres. Forza Horizon really didn't have to put a lot of effort into it: The series has always focused on fun thanks to its bright colors, a great playlist and crazy racing challenges. The move to LEGO Valley is almost painless as Danish bricks have found a perfect home in Forza Horizon 4. Here, but sorry that as for new music, only "Everything is AWESOME !!!" has been included: why not include other well-known songs from the two “The LEGO Movie”?
If the game world has been entirely converted to LEGO, the same cannot be said of the gameplay of this expansion. The development team has opted to borrow in an almost integral way physics and driving model from the main game, thus not replicating what was done with the Hot Wheels expansion of Forza Horizon 3. "Team that wins does not change" you say, and in effects in this expansion you really play with realistic driving; at the same time, however, we would have hoped for some peculiar mechanics linked to the LEGO theme as had already been done in the past. Continuing with the line of criticism, the LEGO cars added with this expansion are unfortunately only four and honestly we would have hoped for at least double the racing cars, considering the selling price. Fortunately, there is no shortage of races to participate in and offer a balanced degree of challenge. There are also in-game collectibles, which will give you the opportunity to build a shelter using pieces from the most disparate existing LEGO sets.
The work done by the development team is undoubtedly admirable: creating an entire region of the LEGO-themed game that is also freely explorable is certainly not easy, let alone make it alive and pulsating like the main map of Forza Horizon 4. The result is obtained from this Forza Horizon 4 LEGO Speed Champions is therefore absolutely positive also because at the base there is a proven and successful game system. When it comes to expansions, however, the Forza Horizon brand has set the bar very high in the past and we admit that something more could be done in terms of gameplay and available LEGO cars. A LEGO-themed racing game so enjoyable to play has never been seen before, however, and if you are a fan of Danish bricks this expansion is an almost mandatory purchase. All the others, on the other hand, must be very careful: playing Forza Horizon 4 LEGO Speed Champions could unleash in you an irrepressible desire to buy building sets with attached bleeding of your poor wallet!
► Forza Horizon 4 is a racing type game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios for PC and Xbox One, the video game was released on 02/10/2018
