As we've all come to expect, the team over at Digital Foundry has already had plenty of hands-on time with Forza Motorsport ahead of its upcoming launch - and that hands-on time has resulted in the above tech review that goes over lots of nitty gritty Forza-flavoured details.
The full video is certainly worth watching, but we want to focus on the outlet's comparisons to 2017's Forza Motorsport 7 here. This head-to-head takes up a big chunk of the above analysis, and it's a fascinating look at how Turn 10 is successfully pushing forward into the current generation.

Their review dubs Forza Motorsport "a pleasing upgrade" over the Xbox One's Forza 7, and we must admit, there are some pretty big upgrades that we didn't even notice during our hands-on time with the Xbox Series X|S racer. Here's a quick quote about some of the game's standout upgrades - including reworked foliage and lighting:
"Turn 10 puts the fictional nature of the Maple Valley track to good use too, by placing lots of overhanging trees alongside the track edge, creating a more dynamic-looking track that highlights the reworked foliage. The game's lighting in general also gets a big boost. Forza Motorsport 7 tends to have a flat appearance which looked unnatural in shaded areas. Its sequel typically has a richer lighting presentation, which is especially noticeable in complex areas like trackside stands.
A lot of this stems from the game's ray-traced ambient occlusion (RTAO), which is present on the Series X version of Forza Motorsport in its performance RT and visuals modes. Global illumination also seems considerably enhanced, with the track and environment taking on a more natural hue through a range of lighting conditions. At times, these improvements produce a very striking image, with a dynamic lighting presentation relative to the earlier title."
If you're playing on Xbox Series X it looks like you're getting a big upgrade then, which is great to hear coming from Digital Foundry themselves! If you want to see how we got on when comparing the new game across Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, check out Pure Xbox's Forza Motorsport comparison down below.
Are you surprised at how much different the new title looks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 7
So it's better looking than an Xbox One game released in 2017.
You know what I would think of as a pleasing upgrade? Being able to enjoy a game offline. Oh wait, Forza 7 did that.
@JayJ
Did not know about always online just read up on it, to save progression etc in campaign mode etc.
God knows why that is required, probably so that they can say 5 million players have logged the game etc etc rubbish.
I didn't play 7 so the comparison is lost on me. I'm looking forward to this one though. It's nice to hear the performance nerds rave about the game.
In theory, some of the upgrades should also be in the way the cars 'feel' and/or 'respond'. So a 'meaningful' Visual upgrade too with 'RT' at 60fps is quite an upgrade.
Things like tyre wear and fuel loads weren't really part of a Forza game so I didn't really expect a 'massive' leap up in Graphical presentation - after all, these games can almost look Photo-realistic at times and then the 'next gen' version comes out with improved lighting/textures etc its 'more' photo-realistic when you really start to scrutinise it...
I just want to know if those things feel 'improved' to the point youu can 'feel' the difference as tyres wear? better feedback and more accurate response from all the new physics?
But as expected from Turn 10, they have released yet another Rock Solid Racing Game on Console - a locked 60fps (or 30fps if you want), and a step up graphically from its 'predecessor' - which was built for the One X and a 4k/60 game - with a 6TF GPU.
The Sim Racing 'nerds' will probably notice far more than I or most who will play, but I'll be interested to see how much of an upgrade they think the AI and Physics are...
@OldGamer999 Yeah I'm sure you will hear a lot more about it as the user feedback starts to roll in. It was a similar deal with GT7, most critics and gaming sites were very quiet about the live service online requirements and microtransactions, but the user feedback was very vocal about it.
@BAMozzy another excellent dissertation by our local xbox ambassador 🫡
@BBB Yeah I just know how quickly things can change. There wasn't really any microtransactions when GT7 launched either. I just don't have any trust in these games anymore, especially when online services become a big aspect.
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