There were plenty of issues with Horizon 5 when it launched. To claim that ‘FH5 had a good launch’ and someone else chiming in with ‘FH5 was great at launch’ is frankly absurd.
Was it better than Motorsport’s? Yes, upon reflection, it probably was, but the dismal state of this games launch doesn’t magically elevate H5s to being good, let alone great.
Here’s just a taste of what we were discussing around that time, courtesy of @anonyyymouse (although rumour has it he goes by a different name these days 
). I noticed @Clutch2009 rated it as poorly as I did, along with numerous other long-time Forza players voicing their dissatisfaction.
Many more examples from that time if you care to look. And what’s written here is mild compared to the roasting it received on other platforms - Reddit and Twitter, etc.
Playground Games and Turn10 are two cheeks of the same arse, as far as I’m concerned.