Map Features in Forza Horizon 5
Environment
Forza Horizon 5 takes places in Mexico, featuring 11 distinct biomes. Each area of the landscape cycles through weekly seasons, from Wet season (Summer) to Storm season (Autumn), to Dry season (Winter), to Hot season (Spring). Plants will display a growth cycle, and water levels will change from season to season, drying up beds or forming ice at high elevations in winter. Players will also encounter various animals, including chickens, burros, and flamingos. Enjoy a 30-minute video of nature sounds in Forza Horizon Mexico here.
Biomes descriptions
Canyon
The canyon is filled with rock formations patterned with unique striations, many of which erode into hoodoos that are only found in the canyon. Each of the biomes have unique audio and the canyon has more echoes than any of the others.
Tropical Coast
This might be what you think of when you imagine a tropical Mexican vacation. Filled with palm trees, seagulls, white sand beaches and calm waters, it feels a lot like a postcard come to life. At least that’s the case until you reach storm season, which completely changes how you need to navigate it. Watch out for flying palm trees!
Farmland
Unlike the flatter or drier farmland found in some of the previous Forza Horizon games, these rolling hills are filled with lush vegetation, fruit-bearing trees, and wide, shallow rivers. You’ll have plenty of fences to smash through and picturesque homesteads to explore while you’re cruising through here.
Arid Hills
As you might suspect given the name, this biome is full of dry grasses on rolling hills and plains, providing plenty of open spaces to drive across if you feel like off-roading. One of the coolest features in this biome is a lake that actually dries up in the winter season, opening up shortcuts via fast passages and secret areas.
Jungle
Filled with lush, dense vegetation and towering trees that let beautiful rays of sun through the canopy, this biome also sports some impressive waterfalls and winding rivers. There are also a number of hidden temples in this area, all of which are based on real locations in Mexico.
Living Desert
In a first for the Forza Horizon series*, Forza Horizon 5* features a cactus desert that’s full of towering saguaros. There are also a number of rock formations and rock piles that are unique to the area. As the name implies, it’s full of life and features plenty of flowers and wildlife.
Rocky Coast
While the tropical coast features lots of trees and vegetation, this one has a completely different vibe. Since there aren’t many trees, you’ll get a full view of the ocean and some excellent views of the sun setting at the end of the day. As a bonus to all you golfers out there, you can even take a spin around (read: through) a golf course.
Sand Desert
Full of towering sand dunes, this biome is perfect for cruising around in a buggy and carving into the sand. If you don’t feel like getting sand between your toes, many of the roads in this area feature long straightaways so there are plenty of opportunities to see how fast your favorite ride really goes.
Swamp
Although a swamp might not sound like the best place for a race, this biome’s shallow waters are a great place for it. The swamp also features a lot of mangrove trees that sport very thick, interconnected roots. You can actually smash through these during races, changing the route depending on whether or not your car can handle it.
Urban City of Guanajuato
Like a number of cities in Mexico, there’s a good deal of amazing architecture and vibrant colors everywhere you look. Unlike a lot of cities, however, it features a lot of rolling hills and tunnels, making for some really fun race routes. As with the Canyon, you’ll hear plenty of echoes bouncing around the city’s tight roadways.
Volcano
In another first for the Forza Horizon series, this massive mountain is situated right next to the Living Desert. It’s a very high-altitude volcano, so driving to the top is a unique experience that rewards players by seeing way off into the horizon. This is also the only place in the game that you’ll encounter snow, so be sure to pack an extra jacket.
Maps
From the free roam pause men’s Campaign tab, select the World Map, and Change Filter. In addition to event locations, the filters will also show Bonus Boards, Landmarks, and Houses. These features will be added to the map through discovery as the player drives near them, and roads will be highlighted. Smashing Bonus Boards will reduce the cost of Fast Travel to any road segment on the map. Festival Sites and Houses offer additional menus to customize your car or character. Adding the Hot Wheels and/or Rally Adventure expansion DLC will add menus to travel to them separately.
World Map with Landmark labels, without event icons:
Hot Wheels Park:
Hot Wheels info
Hot Wheels DLC
Hot Wheels Park is a structure hovering above Horizon Mexico where players can take their cars and drive on the iconic orange track scaled to match the full size cars. Other track types include Ice track, Water Flumes, bumpy Rumble, and Magnet tracks, which attach cars to the surface no matter the driving angle. Speed Boosts and Air Tracks give you consistent speed through time, allowing you to progressively get faster and faster before reaching the highest possible speeds. Its three biomes, feature rock formations, ice and lava, and forest. In total, there’s 212 km – just over 131 miles – of Hot Wheels tracks for you to race on, and you can even drive off the beaten path to explore our biomes in more detail.
Rally Adventure:
Rally Adventure info
Rally Adventure DLC
Sierra Nueva introduces several new biomes to explore including the town of Pueblo Artza, a huge Abandoned Quarry perfect for some Gymkhana action, epic deformable Sand Dunes, the tight and twisting Desert Gorge, rolling Green Hills, and an entirely smashable Palm Forest. You’ll even find the remote village of Cráteres Secos nestled into a breathtaking crater! These biomes will change every week as seasonal rotations occur and bring new weather changes, just like on Mexico.
As deformable surfaces are driven over repeatedly, they accrue multiple tire tracks and trails. Tire tread is visible in these deformed tracks while the deformation-width is adjusted based on the car’s speed, tire size and steering angle. Meanwhile, sand trails kicked up by vehicles can be seen in the far distance, so you can spot the work of other drivers that are miles away! It also persists for longer with shadows and camera-lens accumulation as you drive through it. These dust plumes are physics-driven and result in the most complex weather effect in a Forza Horizon game.
With a great mix of asphalt and off-road tracks, Sierra Nueva features a drivable area of 6.25 miles squared – that’s 16.2km squared – with 38 miles (61km) of roads full of unpredictable adverse-camber turns, blind crests and thrilling asphalt jumps.
Locations
Player Houses
Players can unlock 7 Player Houses with credits. Buying a house may include rewards of Wheelspins, Outfits, ForzaLINK Phrases, cars, or unlock a permanent feature.
| House | Reward | Unlock |
|---|---|---|
| Buena Esperanza | Super Wheelspin, Porsche #195 959, Chicken Suit | |
| Buenas Vistas | Fast Travel | |
| Casa Bella | Skill Songs | |
| Hotel Castillo | Super Wheelspins | Daily Wheelspins |
| La Cabana | Super Wheelspin, Barn Find Rumor | |
| La Casa Solariega | Green Crown, Super Wheelspins | Double Forzathon Points |
| Lugar Tranquilo | “Take a Picture!” ForzaLINK Phrase, Super Wheelspin | Horizon Promo |
Landmarks
Discovering landmarks will add their labels to the map.
56 Landmarks
AerĂłdromo en La Selva
Arch of Mulegé
Atlantes de Tula
BahĂa de Plano
Baja California
Caldera
Cascada de Agua Azul
Cascadas De Pantano
CIX’s Mural
Club de Opalo de Fuego
Colinas Aridas
Copper Canyon
Copper Canyon Lookout
Cordillera
Costa Rocosa
De Otro Mundo crop circles
Descansar Dorado
Dunas Blancas
Ek’ Balam
El Arco de Cabo San Lucas
El Estadio Horizon
Estadio Jose Aguilar
Farid Rueda’s Bear Mural
Farid Rueda’s Lion Mural
Gran Puente
Gran Telescopio
Granjas de Tapalpa Farmland
Guanajuato
Hotel Castillo Santa Cecilia
Hotel Mirador Balderrama
La Gran Caldera
La Selva
Lago Blanco
Los Jardines
Mision Santa Rosilia de Mulegé
Mulegé
Palacio Azul del Océano
Pantano de La Selva
Playa Azul
Playa Tranquila
Raul Urias’s Mural
Rio de La Selva Waterfall
Riviera Maya
San Juan
San Sebastian
Senkoe’s Mural in Playa Azul
Sierra Verde Dam
Spaik’s Mural
Star 27’s Mural
Temple of Quechula
Teotihuacan
Tierra Pròspera Farmlands
Tulum
Universidad de Guanajuato
Uxmal
Valle De Las Ranas
Murals
Playground Games teamed up with real life Mexican street artists to feature their works in game, including Farid Rueda, Star 27, Cix, Raul Urias, Senkoe, amd Spaik. These murals are featured in some weekly Festival Playlist Photo Challenges - their locations aren’t highlighted on the map so you’ll have to scout around to locate them.
