Forza Motorsport 7 review: fifth gear style, first gear substance

By Steve Boxer

For the most part, driving games have fallen into two broad camps: simulators and arcade-style racers. But Microsoft’s flagship racing franchise, Forza Motorsport, has always sought to appeal to gamers on both sides of that divide.

That’s particularly true of Forza Motorsport 7, which boasts many of the world’s finest circuits and plenty of proper racing machinery: in it, you can participate in Nascar and Formula E races, or mess around on the Top Gear test track. Forza 7 certainly craves credibility among those who take motorsports seriously.

But, equally, it’s also a big-budget game that needs to sell well and so must be accessible to all. Forza Motorsport 7, accordingly, doesn’t skimp on the hand-holding.

Starting with the stabilizers

After a brief intro in which you participate in three one-lap events, it propels you into the Forza Driver’s Cup – the game’s career mode – with a veritable arsenal of driver aids switched on. Those include steering and brake assistance, stability control, ABS and driving line indicator. Damage is set to cosmetic-only as standard, which has a considerable impact on the gameplay. And in true arcade style, you can hit a rewind button to erase your more egregious driving errors.