u/DerPanzerjager

I wasn't planning on writing this rant but it's really been bugging me and I just need to vent about it somewhere.

For some context: I've played every Horizon game since FH2 and logged a hefty number of hours in each. Needless to say, I really like these games. But they're not perfect. No game is. There are plenty of valid reasons to criticise them.

The problem is, genuine constructive criticism is pretty rare on social media regarding these games; instead, the most banal, inconsequential, and frankly childish complaints get liked to high heaven. This is a problem I see less of on Reddit, but is ESPECIALLY bad on any YouTube or Instagram comment section about Horizon 6.

By far the complaint I find the most infuriating is "(new Horizon) is just (old Horizon) with a different map".

This is technically true, but only on an absolute surface level.

The thing is, Horizon games are OPEN WORLD. The location of the game is one of the KEY DEFINING FEATURES which sets each game apart. Different locations fundamentally change the entire way the game looks & feels, and its overall vibe and presentation. Having played all entries except 1, I can say with confidence that each game feels distinct. Really, the only thing they share is the core gameplay of driving cars around an open world.

And that's the thing. Horizon games are ITERATIVE, not TRANSFORMATIVE. And that's not a bad thing, especially not when you have a core gameplay loop as good as Horizon does. In fact, it's SO good, that despite FH5's many, many flaws, it's STILL among my favourite racing games.

Horizon sticks with their amazing core gameplay, and changes the bits and pieces surrounding it with each title. Sometimes the changes are for the better, sometimes for worse, but they are changes nonetheless. Hence, saying "same game different map" is not only not constructive in any way, but, if actually taken seriously by PG, would be utterly detrimental to the franchise as a whole. The formula works for a reason. Want something completely different? Go play a different game.

Another thing which really irritates me is when people completely ignore good changes simply because what THEY SPECIFICALLY WANTED wasn't added into the game, which then leads into "new game just old game".

From what we've seen, FH6 has added a lot of really good changes. Obviously the map looks far superior to anything that's come before it thus far (ESPECIALLY FH5's). It's bigger, more vertical, and has the biggest urban area in any game to date. On top of that, there are a lot of cool new features such as garage customisation, time attack circuits, touge battles, just to name a few. Old features which were beloved are also returning; car clubs, wristbands, and the old Forzathon Live system. It even looks like they're going to cut down on FOMO this time around, which is genuinely awesome.

Of course, not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Like many others, I was pretty disappointed to see that the customisation hasn't really evolved from previous titles. The new aero and paints do look nice, but I was honestly hoping for more. I also wish they'd update more models. They already have updated some, which is good, but I would like to see more of it.

Despite these criticisms, I can acknowledge the good changes they've made as well.

To some absolute lobotomites, however, because what THEY WANTED hasn't been added, the game is basically DOA and could've just been a DLC for FH5, yadda yadda developers lazy.

And what they want are some of the most inane demands I've seen yet. Turn signals? You're going to hate this game because it doesn't have turn signals?

Roads too wide? You do realise they have to cater to all skill levels, right? (Oh, yeah, and there are some decently narrow roads in the game as well as the wider ones, so this complaint actually doesn't hold any water at all!)

Honestly, I could keep going with a laundry list of niche demands which wouldn't actually fundamentally improve the game in any meaningful way.

My biggest problem with this is that it ACTIVELY HARMS people who want to provide genuine constructive criticism for the sake of improving the game.

I've seen a few posts on Reddit saying we should be grateful to the devs for what they've provided, and not criticise the game.

I disagree. Criticism drives improvement, and we're already starting to see the results of that in FH6. It's basically just like saying "shut up, be happy".

But seeing the absolute slop that passes for "criticism" online these days, the mindless vitriol and immaturity plaguing social media, I don't blame people for wanting to course correct at all.

There's a few more stupid complaints that are prevalent online; "it doesn't feel like Japan" (said by people who have never seen or visited the real country), "it looks the same as FH5" (pretty tough to improve on graphical perfection, eh?) and "old game good new game bad" (people have legit been saying this since the FH3 days), but the two major complaints I outlined are the ones I believe harming online discourse and discussion the most.

TL;DR: People loudly complain about non-issues and their own desires not being catered to, instead of stuff which actually matters, and in the process do serious harm to discourse and bury genuine criticism of the game, to the point where any criticism at all is seen as "hating".