Forza Horizon 5 has launched to pretty much universal acclaim - it's currently sat at a whopping 92 Metacritic rating - and quite rightly so as Playground Games' latest open world odyssey is one of the very best arcade racers on the market.
However, some players have taken to Reddit in order to voice their annoyance at some of the in-game NPCs and radio station announcers. Yes, from smug, back-slappy banter bros to cheesy DJs and Mexican locals who slip into Spanglish mode for no reason, it seems some of the dialogue and characters in the game have been rubbing a vocal minority the wrong way.
We'll admit that we have found some of the NPC characters a little overbearing ourselves, with a few too many reminders and "helpful" nudges to where you should be going or what you should be doing, and the game's habit of reminding you that you are the supreme superstar and legendary driver that everyone at the Mexican festival is excited to see can get a little tiresome at times.
A small and very nit-picky complaint considering everything this enormous game gets right, no doubt, but it's definitely something that people seem to be united in mild annoyance at. We can only hope none of them are ever exposed to the chatter in Ubisoft's equally excellent Riders Republic, as it's infinitely worse!
Have you been playing Forza Horizon 5 and getting a little wound up by the cheesy banter? Let us know in the comments!
Comments 31
I must be the only one who doesn't mind the cheesy characters in the game 😁 I am, however, bothered by how weak the soundtrack is compared to FH4 (Shooting Star, Odesza, Now, Now, Deadly Valentine.. Horizon Pulse in general). I often switch the radio off just because I find the songs uninteresting.
@gollumb82 I keep forgetting I can mute the radio and run Spotify in the background
As a Mexican I can confirm, no one who speaks fluent English locally just inserts Spanish words randomly like it is used in the game, unless a proper name or event that doesn’t have an English translation.
Listening at the dialogue at some adventures like the Vocho was cringeworthy because of that.
The worst part is in the stories, like the Vocho story for instance. They. Just. Take. So. Long.
There's another weird thing with the stories by the way; in half of the challenges, you can just take a totally random route and get there on time minutes ahead of the target.
@KonstantTrouble
And it works without a hitch? I'll try that, then. Thanks for the tip 😉
@gollumb82 And yes, this too. I've already heard all the songs on all different radio stations too many times!
@Medic_Alert Yes! Well, and add some extra lines then. The Bass Arena dude eating his food he ordered during the Skill Song... over and over again.
@SplooshDmg Definitely agree with this. I just brought all my volumes up and the voice volume is about 60%. I got in a huge argument with my best friend yesterday over the halo season progression. He jumped on the reddit hive mind and I've been playing 3-4 hours a day. He hasn't even played but was complaining about the slow progression. It all baffles me. It's an open world racing game. People are playing this for the dialogue?
Simple. Turn the dialog off
Cheesy dialogue has always been a problem in Forza Horizon. I think it's not as bad as FH4, but yeah, I'd rather not have people calling me superstar every 10 minutes.
It’s the same as 4, awful. Maybe it’s because I’m older but who is this meant to appeal to, the whole cast are annoying hipsters with cringey dialog, who wouldn’t look out of place on a campus doing gender studies.
I usually skip cut-scene dialogue whenever possible during gaming... however, I can't say the FH5 stuff has bothered me that much... It all feels fun.
However... my wife (who is Mexican) was less than impressed with the Spanglish though!
Compared to the dialogue in Riders Republic it’s Shakespeare!
@Fenbops Have you tried Riders Republic yet? It's wince-inducing.
Considering the locale and the festival-like atmosphere, I'm fine with it. To each, their own, etc.
Honestly the dialogs doesn't bother me at all, I even like those NPCs and the radio people, it is how I imagine an event like this would be in real life.
@Clankylad Me too. So relaxing cruising around to some classical music.
There is no dubbing, so I can't read the subtitles while driving.
@gollumb82
I upvoted your comment as I agree about the soundtrack.
However it’s a minor gripe and the games fantastic
I like Alex cause he's a Scot
and Rami because he's like the Mexican father i never had
The rest are pretty grating
@PJOReilly I have not and don’t intend to thankfully. I don’t wanna even imagine.
Hi there fellow gamers.
Maybe it´s because I haven´t played the game that much, but the dialogue, although not exactely great, doesn´t bother me that much. I should also say it´s my first FH game, so there is that.
But from what I could tell, it´s like these characters live in a world without any kind of bad and terrible things.
They live in a fantasy world. It´s not realistic in that regard, but I wouldn´t mind living there for awhile to get way from all the negativity in the real world.
Hey! I kinda can. Every time I play it. So I´ll do just that.
And I feel you @SplooshDmg. I used to call myself realistic, then discovered I was more of a pessimist. No more and no longer. Positive thoughts and good energy all the way.
Cheers, stay safe everyone and happy gaming to us all
The biggest offense is simply that the dialogue, the characters, even the whole Horizon Festival "storyline" itself amount to interruptions that intrude on what you're playing the game for (at least speaking for myself here): exploring the map and driving/ unlocking cars. They're all tacked-on, superfluous, uninteresting fluff.
I have not played the game, so can’t judge, but as a Puerto Rican in the mainland with mostly English speaking friends, I’m telling you: Spanglish is my life! Don’t use it here because my Spanglish is rarely PG-13.
The banter, the radio station DJ's and all the other cheery nonsense is BLOODY BRILLIANT. They not only finally decided to bring back the festival schtick from FH1 but they improved it as well. I for one love it.
I find it entertaining but I don't only listen to the in-game stations. Spotify is great with this game and you don't even need premium.
I’ve almost done all 21 story missions (including all the story submissions like vocho) and I don’t mind the dialogue. Something I even smile at how cheesy and wholesome it is.
Really enjoying Forza 5, did play a little of 4 in September but didn't want to burn myself out on it so put it to the the side until 5 launched, only been playing in short bursts so dialogue hasn't really bothered me tbh, the gameplay is really solid fair play, definitely one of the best racers available just great fun. Did the colossal race earlier man it was great took a good 10min or so to do. I think it would be better without the rewind option in the game makes you drive more carefully lol. But I guess you can also use it to see how much you can push certain parts without the punishment.
Honestly, I don't mind them that much. Maybe it's because I grew up in California being surrounded by latino culture, but they are pretty far from being the most obnoxious characters I have heard. Not that latinos should sound like that, it's kinda cartoony in this game to be honest. I would say Rider's Republic takes the cake for having the most obnoxious dialogue, I had to turn it all the way down pretty early on with that game. In Forza 5, I'll probably just mute them when I'm done with all the main progression.
Love the game, love the world, love the driving...but not loving the chatter and radio DJs. Feels very sanitised and...'right on'. Why have I travelled to Mexico for the most insane and wide ranging motorsport festival in the world - just to listen to a slightly more youth orientated Heart FM...meh.
Not bothered by it at all, it's a real positive vibe I get, so nope, fine by me... but level 20+ or so , didn't have that much time to play it yet, work and life got in the way, hopefully this weekend some more playtime.... but there are too many games lol.... not in the least complaining about gta san andreas being in the state that is is, completed that one years ago.... Next Space Rebels I'm intrigued by so propably give that some time.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...