Welcome Forza Horizon 5, Series 9 and Autumn in Mexico. Looking out of the window here the weather looks decidedly autumnal, so I guess this is quite appropriate.
But why are we here? Well, it’s for the latest set of Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges of course, as Series 9 – Autumn delivers up much for us to get involved with. There’s a good mix of things to have a crack at too, all brought to us by the clever folk over at Playground Games, so without further ado, let’s dive on into the Storm Season and see what cars and tunes the wind blows our way.
Part 1 – Weekly Challenge – Mud Stud
First up is the now traditional weekly car challenge – take a car of the developer’s choice, do stuff in it, and win lots of tasty points towards the weekly and seasonal objectives. The subject of this week’s challenge is the 2021 Ford Bronco, which surely we all have in our garage by now, right?
If not, stumping up 55,000 credits at the Autoshow will fill that void.
Chapter 1: Nostalgia
Take said Bronco out for a spin, and the first of this week’s steps will be complete.
Chapter 2: Built Wild
The second step is oddly specific this week, as we have to win the Baja California Trail in our trusty steed. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the first time we’ve been tasked with winning a specific race in one of these events?
Luckily the car is pretty good off road in stock trim, so that shouldn’t be any hardship.
Chapter 3: G.O.A.T.
No, no – not the furry beast that goes around licking things, but another racing challenge.
Fortunately, this is back to the loose standards we know and love, and we just have to win a Cross Country event in the Bronco. Pick your poison and go for it, just remember that if you are struggling, there is no shame in lowering the driverbot difficulty.
It’s not like we’re short of credits by now is it?
Chapter 4: Conqueror
Finally this week we need to earn three stars on any Trailblazer. Pick your favourite course and let her rip.
Once this is done, the weekly challenge is done and we’re on our way to a shiny new car.
Part 2 – Weekly Challenges
Drift Zones, Trail Blazers, Speed Zones, The Trial, Seasonal Championship and the Eventlab. What more could you want? Apart from maybe ditching those horrid Eventlab events…
Eventlab – ARKRA1DERS Presents Ark Skypark Hot Wheels Tribute
Yay, another Eventlab; my favourite.
This time we need to use a Track Toy car, tricked up to S1 Class 900, and so I used the one that we used last week, the Porsche 911 GT RS from 2012. The share code is: 129256081, and this blitzed the course for me.
This is another stupid course in the sky that is almost impossible to drive if you use the front bumper view, like I do, so good luck out there.
The prize for completing this event? How does a Corvette Z06 from 2015 grab you?
The Trial – Oldies But Goodies
The weekly “harder than everything” event, and this needs us to get lucky with the rest of the team, plucked from the internet.
This week the theme seems to be old cars and slow cars, with the maximum tuning being D Class 500, and the cars restricted to those from the 1970’s.
Now, year of manufacture isn’t a field you can search on, sadly, so I chose a Datsun 510 and fiddled with it a bit, giving a share code of : 161701898.
Winning (both the event and internet team roulette) will net you a tasty Lamborghini, the Countach .It’s like the 80’s all over again!
Seasonal Championship – Street Tunerz
Modern Sports cars tuned to a B Class 700 is the score this week. And in keeping with my Japanese theme, I went for a Subaru BRZ, a car that we cannot actually buy in real life in the UK.
A little light tuning made a share code of: 139235813.
The prize for winning the championship here is another car (no stupid hoodies this week) – a Corvette from 1967. I’m noticing a Corvette shaped pattern this week…
Seasonal Championship – Orange and Blue
We need a Classic Muscle car, tuned to a maximum of B Class 700. Sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it?
Luckily, help was at hand in the shape of a Camaro Super Sports Coupe, which I fettled into this – 144142144. With just under 500BHP, this thing isn’t shy.
The prize here isn’t a Corvette, luckily, but an Aston Martin Vantage S. Fancy being James Bond?
Seasonal Playground Games – Flag Rush
Do you want to play a game? I hope so, as this week the Playground Games makes a “welcome” return.
You will need a Volkswagen car of a maximum B Class 700 to take part, so I went with my old faithful Golf GTI from 1983. The share code is: 199093111.
Winning (or losing, because let’s face it, we’re all winners in life when we play video games, aren’t we?) will get you the #34 VW Beetle.
Speed Zone – Festival Speed Zone
Retro Supercars in an A Class 800 are the order of the day here, and in order to succeed, an average speed of 100 mph is required. I went with a Lamborghini Countach, the epitome of retro supercars to me, and the share code is: 797737461.
The approach from the right seems easier, but the second corner is a killer, so beware.
Fancy a Super Wheelspin? Well, lucky you!
Drift Zone – Farmland Trail
We need a Chevrolet to a maximum of B Class 700 for this event, and so with a recipe of big power and rear wheel drive, what could be better than a Corvette ZR-1 from 1995? Well, a poke in the eye for one thing, but beggars can’t be choosers.
We need to attain 170,000 drift points on a run, 40,000 more than the old three star score, so just keep sliding with 190323461.
This one is hard, I’m not going to lie. Keep slaloming on the straights to keep the score climbing is my top tip.
Yet another Super Wheelspin will be yours for sliding about a bit.
Trail Blazer – Canyon Run
We need a Rally Monster car this time, and a tune up to S1 Class 900. I had to go with my old faithful Hoonigan Escort, and its share code is: 264985022.
In order to win, we need to finish with more than 24 seconds on the clock, which is a stretch, but doable in this car.
Learn the route is the only advice I can give you here, especially in the tunnel.
Just for a change, the prize here is a Super Wheelspin. A shock, I know!
Part 3 – Other Challenges
Series 9 – Autumn picks up a bit from the Summer challenges, with more bits to enjoy outside of the racing. In fact, this week whilst we have the usual Photo Challenge and Treasure Hunt, we see a return for The Eliminator.
Photo Challenge – #SWAMPBEAST
Another week, another challenge to take a photo of a car. This week it can be any Rally Monster, and it needs to be photographed at the Gran Pantano.
I’ll include my snap and the location below. I went for an action shot this week, just to mix things up a bit.
Complete this challenge and the prize will be a “Jump on it” emote.
Treasure Hunt – Dragstrip Demons
I do like these Treasure Hunts – they get the old grey matter moving. The clue this week reads “Challenger has the last laugh at the Dragstrip, dodging the competition”.
So, clearly, Dodge Challenger, the Demon as it is called, and I guess we need to win a drag race? I raced the Airfield drag strip, in the following tune: 627939703.
The location for the Treasure chest will be revealed below.
The Eliminator – Battle Royale
Another chance to play the Eliminator appears this week (obviously, since I suck at it, the only time I play it is when I am challenged to), and as per usual with these challenges, we need to just survive into the top 30.
I don’t have many top tips, sadly, as my usual course of action is to find a bush and hide in it away from everyone, but stick it out and your prize will be a set of Farid Rueda Lion classic shades. Well worth the effort if you ask me.
As Series 9 continues through Autumn, the two Monthly Rivals challenges stay in place. There’s a chance you completed these last week, but go clean around the Chihuahua Circuit or in the Forza EV challenge, across the Horizon Mexico Circuit and you’ll immediately net 4pts (for each) into your Series bag.
As always, points make car prizes and Series 9 has Hot Wheels Twin Mill and Ferrari Dino ready to add to your garage. For Autumn, it’s the 20pts for the Barracuda and the 40pts for the NIO EP9 you should be concentrating on.
Winter and Spring seasons will be up next and four more cars will be up for grabs – the Dodge Super Bee, Zenvo ST1, Hot Wheels Metro and the Peel Trident. Stay tuned for our guides on how to earn those.
If you want to get involved in some fun with Forza Horizon 5 and the gather up some new cars ready for the new Hot Wheels content, then you’ll find the game playable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC. You’ll need to visit the Xbox Store to download it, but seeing as it’s free through Game Pass, there’s no excuse.
The comments are below – we’d love to know if our tunes have helped you out.