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Forza Horizon 3 is a 2016 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. It is the ninth instalment in the Forza series and the third instalment in its spinoff Forza Horizon. The game is set in a fictionalised Australia, where the player is the leader of the titular Horizon car festival and has to expand the festival by completing events to earn fans. Like previous Horizon games, it features an open world environment where players can freely roam the map.

Forza Horizon 3 was conceived in 2014, initially after the release of its predecessor. Turn 10 Studios assisted with the game's development, as they did with other Forza Horizon games. Over the course of development, Playground Games tested different technological concepts for the game, while also trying to improve and reiterate more features over the previous title. The Australian setting was chosen for its variety of regions, and a team was sent to Australia to conduct research for the game.

The game was released in September 2016. Upon release, it received critical acclaim from reviewers. Critics praised Horizon 3 for its map design, graphics, and amount of content, while most criticism was directed towards races. It was purchased over 2.5 million times in 2017 and won two awards. Additional downloadable content had been released periodically, including two expansion packs. The game was followed by Forza Horizon 4, released in 2018.

Reception
Forza Horizon 3 received "universal acclaim" from critics for the Xbox One version, while the PC version of the game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

The choice of an Australian setting was well received by critics. Colin Campbell of Polygon admired the realistic portrayal of Australia and enjoyed exploring the various locales, particularly noting the Outback, where he felt was the most enjoyable region. Miguel Concepcion of GameSpot thought that Australia was a good fit for the Forza Horizon series and further remarked that off-road activities were more prominent as a result of the location. Luke Reilly of IGN praised the game for its attention to detail towards specific aspects such as street signs and road markings, and for its variety of landscapes, calling it an improvement from Horizon 2, where he felt the terrain felt largely the same. Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb agreed and also thought the world was better to drive through than its predecessor. Nicholas Tan of GameRevolution was fond of the details of the landmarks and visuals of the gameplay world, calling it a "sight to behold."

The races received mixed reviews. Concepcion felt that the races were thrilling and stated that they are "never bereft of split-second moments of gratification." Jaz Rignall from USgamer praised the game for its variety of races set across different types of terrain, and concluded that they were a "step up" from its predecessor. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer appreciated the race course layouts and thought that most races felt intense and were "awesome adrenaline rushes," but criticised head-to-head races against Drivatars, stating that they are rarely enjoyable and sometimes have imbalance problems between vehicles. Towell also criticised head-to-head races for being too easy to win. Towell further remarked that generally, races were tedious, and in contrast to Reiner, felt that track layouts were uninteresting. Gerstmann thought that completing races felt repetitive, and felt that the Championship game mode was "overly redundant." Phil Savage of PC Gamer liked the Drivatar opponents in the game, calling the AI system "broadly effective." He also enjoyed that players that he knows sometimes appear in races, as Drivatars are usually people on a player's friend list or game club. Concepcion agreed, and considered them a good alternative to "traditional catch-up or rubber-band AI." The Horizon Blueprint feature, a new race customisation feature, was better received. Rignall appreciated the feature, and liked how the feature allowed him to race any type of vehicle against similar types, letting him choose the vehicles he wants to race with. Reilly praised the feature for the amount of creativity it provides for players, stating that races can be recreated in "dozens and dozens of different ways." Reiner liked the feature for letting play events in the way they want and called the Horizon Blueprint a "smart move" to be added by Playground Games.

Critics praised the game for its variety of content and freedom of choice for the player. Concepcion acclaimed Horizon 3 for the amount of content available in the game's campaign, comparing it to Burnout Paradise. Campbell appreciated the variety of activities that he could partake in, and felt that exploring the world and participating in other activities were more enjoyable than completing races. Both Tan and Brett Makedonski of Destructoid liked the fact that they had the choice to engage in various activities or drive around the gameplay world without repercussions. However, Tan criticised the game for having little incentive to explore the gameplay world. Rignall was impressed by the large array of different types of vehicles the player was able to use, further stating that they offer "an exceptionally broad spectrum of driving experiences." Reilly applauded the game for having a large range of car customisation options.

The game's graphics were positively received by critics. Towell praised the game for its realistic day and night cycles and rainy weather. Rignall was impressed by the graphics of cars and landscapes, stating that Horizon 3 is one of the "best-looking" games on the Xbox One. Concepcion appreciated that the graphics of the game were able to be customised on the Windows version to a large extent. Reilly praised Horizon 3's global illumination system, and acknowledged that the system's lighting made the world feel more unique and realistic.

Later
The amount of activities to do recieved praise from critics. game informer more shit The freedom and individuality recieved praise from critics.

horizon blueprint

The graphics recived praise from critics.

Miguel Concepcion from GameSpot also gave the game a 9/10, stating, "Turn 10 and Playground Games affirm the series' status as the driving game for everyone. The new emphasis on off-road options isn't at the expense of traditional races, thanks to the sheer volume of activities." Colin Campbell of Polygon gave the game an 8.5/10 saying that "Through a superbly realized version of Australia as well as a wide variety of terrain, cars and challenges, this free-roaming car simulation offers a valuable playbox. But it also managed to muster "cor blimey" moments that made me feel a whooping rush of speed and liberation." While criticizing the game's scoring system as being too easy to cheat, GamesRadar+ liked the music selection, saying that "Not only is the included licensed tracklist superb, there’s also a station dedicated to – and a free trial for – Groove Music, so you can set up playlists of anything on there". Game Informer enjoyed how unique each car felt to drive, specifically singling out the off-road racing as "some of the best I’ve experienced in a game".

Destructoid praised the arcade-style racing in compariosn to the main series, writing, "Horizon scratches a completely different itch than the more serious and simulation-focused main Forza line of games. This is a lighthearted affair where it kind of matters if you win, but it maybe matters more that you do cool stuff along the way". IGN felt the detailed world helped bring the new setting to life, "The attention to detail, for example, is magnificent... The road markings, the street signs, even the garbage bins with their multi-coloured lids. It’s eerie, really". The Guardian felt the game catered to higher level player with simulation settings, "The difference between the default mode for the steering and ‘simulation’ may not seem significant at first, but it does become apparent after extended driving – and certainly when you’re trying to stop a Koenigsegg Regera from swapping ends on the loose Australian Outback dust".