Can you believe it has been ten years since Forza Horizon first zoomed onto our Xbox 360’s? It barely seems like yesterday that I was downloading the demo to see what this “Horizon” fuss was about. Fast forward a decade and here we are in Series 13 of Forza Horizon 5’s Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges; four games and two generations of consoles later, still hooning about the countryside doing fun stuff in cars. So, without further ado, let’s have a look to see what we have to look forward to in the new series, shall we?
Well, the news appears to be good as with Series 13 and the season opener in Summer there is a whole new intro to play, a new story to follow that harks back to some of the iconic moments of the series, and new Midnight Battles where you can win the opponents car to have a crack at. But on with this week’s challenges!
Part 1: #Forzathon Weekly Challenge – Welcome to Colorado
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it is a good motto to have, and so it proves with our first port of call this week. Now, do you remember back in the mists of time, on the first Forza Horizon game box, the hero car was a Dodge Viper, a fetching yellow one if I remember rightly. Well, the star of this week’s weekly car challenge is the very same Viper, the 2013 SRT GTS no less!
Luckily, the challenge to smash stuff this week “Dax Delivery” will see you win this car if you don’t have it, and if you’d prefer to buy it, it is a mere 95,000 credits at the Autoshow.
Chapter 1 – Happy Anniversary
However you get your mitts on the car, simply get in it and go for a drive to complete stage 1. Simples!
Chapter 2 – Never Neutral
For this step, we have to take the beast out to win a Road Racing event. Stock trim should be fine for this, but just be careful that the 640bhp from the truly ridiculous 8.4 litre V10 engine doesn’t put you through a hedge, upside down and on fire!
Chapter 3 – Time Travel
Again, to prove how fast this thing is, we now have to score nine stars at speed traps. Pick one on a straightish bit of paved road would be my advice!
I did tune my version up a tad to give it even more silly performance, and the share code is: 971569469.
I left it at S1 Class 900 on purpose in order to utilise this beastie later on. I don’t just throw this article together, you know.
Chapter 4 – Dodge Different
Simply earn an Ultimate Skill chain in the Viper to complete this week’s challenge. Given that it is sometimes harder to drive in a straight line than it is to drift, maybe hitting a roundabout sideways could be one way to do it?
Part 2 – Weekly Challenges
Lots to do this week, as per usual, with The Trial, some PR Stunts to attempt, and the usual sinking feeling as we see that the Eventlab is back. With two events this time too, much to my deep joy. Still, at least we can win some tasty prizes, right? The PR stunts this week are a little different from the norm, with specific manufacturers being used for each one, and they are all Speed Traps. Still, a change is as good as a rest, as they say.
The Trial – Stock Showdown : 2013 Shelby GT500
The Trial is back, and this week it means I don’t have to tune anything, as the only allowable state of tune is bone stock.
Grab a Shelby GT500, try to keep it pointing in roughly the right direction (easier said than done in a car with the same basic suspension setup as a covered wagon) and beat those driverbots. Grab a group of like minded drivers from the darkest depths of the interweb and forge them into a team. Or at least let’s not all crash into each other at the first corner, eh?
Winning the championship, best two out of three races, will get you a lovely Hennessey Venom to take home.
Eventlab #1 – SVEIXIRT Present :The Backroads // Street Race.
First round of Eventlab this week calls for a B Class 700 car, of any flavour, to attempt this course with. Given that it is rainy and dark, I went with the security of AWD, and an Audi RS4 Avant from 2001, share code: 172973840.
I’m not a fan of the layout, I have to say, there being altogether too many “stop you dead” obstacles on the track, but it is a bit better than the previous weeks.
Winning this event (because hey, we are all winners when we play community created content, aren’t we?) will get us a “Take Off” emote.
Eventlab #2 – GT DENT Presents: Coastal Town Circuit Pro
Second bout of Eventlab nonsense sees us needing to utilise a VW Corrado, tuned to a maximum of C Class 600. Not going to be a high speed event, is it? Still, I put my best foot forward and used a bone stock Corrado, and as there is only us on the track, it’s hard to lose.
This is a course that outstays its welcome, with each lap being about 50% too long, but it isn’t too painful.
Winning this event is even more exciting than the last, as we get a Star 27 sundress! Totally worth the effort.
Speed Trap – East Resort
The speed trap this week needs to be beaten in a Chevrolet, tuned to a maximum of S1 Class 900. With a speed target of 185 mph to beat, it’s going to have to be a quick one.
Of course, there’s only one beast for the job, and that’s a Corvette. But which one? Well, I went with a Corvette Stingray from 2020, and the share code is: 846887118. Approaching from the right saw me beat the speed easily.
A Super Wheelspin will be yours for hitting the target.
Speed Trap – Horizon Baja
This time around we need to use a Jeep vehicle, tuned to A Class 800, to fly past an off road speed trap at over 120 mph. Of course, there’s only one car it can possibly be, the trusty Jeep Trailcat, and my share code is: 118411445.
Approaching over open ground from the north saw me right.
Another Super Wheelspin? Yes please!
Speed Trap – Pantano Pass
This time we need to use a Ford, and a Ford tuned to S1 Class 900. Given that the course is on road, and the speed required is in excess of 168 mph, I went with a Shelby GT500 from 2020, and the share code is: 335181307. Approaching from the north seemed to be an easier run.
Yet another Super Wheelspin will be yours. Maybe a nice pair of slingbacks to go with the dress we won earlier?
Seasonal Championship – USA Rocks
Given the first Horizon game was set in Colorado, it makes sense that all the events so far have had a distinctly American feel. Well, that continues here, as the only restriction on the car is that it has to be American, and it has to be a maximum of A Class 800. I went for a Jeep Trailcat, as before, because it is an offroad race, and the same share code applies, 119411445.
Winning the championship, or best two races out of three in a convoy, will get you a song. Yes, really! Porter Robinson – Language will be yours. I assume this is some modern music that is designed to confuse old folk like me…
Seasonal Championship – Dodge Brawl
No prizes for guessing which manufacturer we have to use this time. Yes, its a Dodge, and it can only be tuned to S1 Class 900. I say only, but I imagine it should be quick enough to ruin your whole hair. I went with the Hero car from the first game, the Viper GTS from 2013, and used the same tune as earlier. The share code again is : 971569469
Winning the championship, or best two races out of three in a convoy, will get you a VW Corrado, famous for not being American. There’s logic here somewhere…
Seasonal Championship – Muscle Mash
This time around, as you may have figured out from the title, we need a Retro Muscle class car, tuned up to C Class 600. Well, there’s no replacement for displacement, as they say, so I went with the exceedingly not shy Chevrolet Monte Carlo Super Sport, with a share code of: 135938220.
Winning this championship will get us a Mustang from 2013.
Part 3 – Other Challenges
Three things to have a crack at here, so the fun doesn’t end with the racing championships. You can take a photo, race online, and drive about and smash things. Who could ask for more?
Photo Challenge – #HorizonAnniversary
Do you remember that Dodge Viper we used for the Weekly Challenge? Take it up to the Horizon 1 Festival Site in Copper Canyon, and take a photo. Extra points will be awarded for artistic merit.* I will share my image and the location below.
For doing this, there will be a car horn awarded, the “Colorado Cover Car”.
*Points have no value and are entirely imaginary.
Collectible Challenge – Dax Delivery
While driving around the countryside, smash 10 Colorado Bonus Boards. Pretty straightforward, yeah? I’ll include a little picture of what they look like to help out.
The reward for this wanton vandalism is a Dodge Viper GTS from 2013.
Horizon Open – Made for the Road
The weekly inducement to sample the online world is here, and this time we simply need to take part in, and complete a Horizon Open Custom Road Race.
I can’t really help with a tune for this event, as the class can be anything you choose, but simply completing an event will see you right.
A Countdown Timer horn will be yours for racing, win or lose.
Part 4 – Hot Wheels Events
Another week, another collection of Hot Wheels stuff to do. Bear in mind that you need to have attained the Elite rank in the Hot Wheels expansion to make these events accessible.
Speed Trap – Forest Edge
For this Speed Trap, we have to hit 260 mph in an S2 Class 998 car of any flavour. Regular readers will know that when I see S2 Class car, I only have one go to vehicle, and that is the Koenigsegg Agera, and my share code is: 109282883. Approach from the south and it will do that speed.
Hitting the speed target will get us another Super Wheelspin.
Seasonal Championship – Here Be Dragons
Despite the somewhat scary title, this is simply another collection of races. The class this week is S1 Class 900, and the only other restriction is that it has to be an American car. Well, we’ve already had one championship with an S1 Class American car, so I’ll choose the same Dodge Viper again. No point in spending money unnecessarily, as I told my son when I sent him to put a jumper on this morning. The share code again is: 971569469.
Winning this championship will get us a Jeep Wrangler to take home, so not all bad.
Is there anything else to get involved in? Well, as per the norm there are a couple of Monthly Rivals challenges to complete. All you need to do is drop a clean lap around the Lookout Circuit plus the EV version around the Arch of Mulege. Of course, with this being the throwback to the Horizon Origins, there’s that whole new Story to take in too.
When you’re done, go and grab your free cars. Series 13 as a whole has the Wuling Sunshine sitting behind 80pts and the 650S Spider behind 160pts. You’ll need to come back in future weeks to earn enough for those, but through Summer, by following our guide, you’ll have more than enough to take the Ferrari 599XX for 20pts and the Barracuda for 40pts.
If you don’t yet have a copy of Forza Horizon 5 then it is playable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC via the Xbox Store. It’s on Game Pass too whilst the Hot Wheels expansion costs real money.
Please remember to head into the comments if you like this guide. Or if there are things we can change that will make it easier for you, give us a shout. We’re on the usual socials too.
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