Forza Horizon 4 PC Performance Review

Graphical Comparison – Lowest to Maximum  

Playground Games has created Forza Horizon 4 to be extremely scalable on PC, so much so that we’d argue that the game is almost not worth playing under its lowest preset, where vehicle geometry is compromised, and the lack of in-game shadows creates a world that is full of contrast. 

In motion, some vehicles appear much worse than others, with the Bugatti Senna below acting as a prime example, where super low polygon structures are revealed under the vehicle’s rear bodywork. This is hidden by shadow at low settings and makes the game appear much more passable, but PC gamers should aim for higher levels of graphical fidelity when playing Forza Horizon 4, as it would be a shame to miss out on the supreme level of detail that Playground delivers in this game.  

(Lowest VS Low)
  

Moving from Low to Medium delivers another significant uptick in graphical quality, presenting higher quality vehicles with more geometric edges. The first three cars in these screenshots see a notable uptick in graphical detail, with textures near the game’s viewport appearing with more detail (See the Horizon banner at the bottom left).

Increased levels of shadow detail are also apparent, especially in the shadow of the Bugatti Senna. Higher resolution reflections are also visible on the rear windscreen of the Senna, something which looks fantastic when driving across the English countryside.    

When jumping to Forza Horizon 4’s Medium preset, MSAA 2X is activated, reducing the Aliasing/Jaggies on the rendered image. This change makes the game appear much clearer than before, with reduced stair-stepping effect around geometric edges.  

(Low VS Medium)
  

Cranking Forza up to the game’s high preset is where we start to see some major graphical enhancements, with improved textures in more distant details (look at the banners at the side of the track) and increased population density for both crowds and vegetation. Now the Horizon Festival appears to be full of life and not a mostly empty venue. 

Reflection detail also sees a notable uplift, though you will need to click on the link below to see a full-size version of this comparison slider to notice the difference. 

(Medium VS High)
  

Jumping up to Ultra will see shadow resolutions continue to increase while more detail is drawn in at a distance. Once again we see an increase in reflection quality, with details appearing much sharper than before. 

In the distance, we can see an increase in geometric detail on vehicles, with cars like the far-off BMW gaining significantly more quality (The car now has wing mirrors!). This adjustment will allow Forza Horizon 4 to present less detail pop-in, especially when drivers quickly catch up to distant vehicles.  

(High VS Ultra)
  

 
Moving beyond Ultra will offer PC players two distinct graphical advantages with 8X MSAA providing reduced stair-stepping/Aliasing along geometric edges, boosted crowd counts and further increases in detail shadow detail. These options are designed for users of high-end PC hardware, as they require a lot of VRAM and compute performance to utilise with high framerates.  

(Ultra VS Maximum)