Streamline
  • Home
  • Spotlight
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Strategy
    • RPGs
  • Most Hardcore
    • Devices
    • Gifts
    • Gadgets
  • About Us
Hardcore Droid
Hardcore Droid
  • Home
  • News
    • News
    • Spotlight
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Action
    • Adventure
    • Strategy
    • RPG
    • MMOs
    • Racing
    • Indie
    • Top 5
  • Best Of
    • Top 10 Games
    • Best RPGs
    • Best Action
    • Best Puzzlers
    • Best Strategy
    • Best Indie Strat
    • Best Indie RPGs
    • Most Hardcore
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Game Jobs
    • Archives
    • Attributions
    • Opportunities
  • Action
  • Racing

Forza Street Review

  • May 22, 2020
  • Carver Fisher
Spread the love

Hit Play

Forza Street is Turn 10’s first foray into mobile development. They’ve been developing Forza games for almost two decades, and the series lives (and dies) at their hands. Through ups and downs, the Forza name has become synonymous with high-quality racing games. The mobile market is also an ever-expanding thing, and big developers on both console and PC are looking to take their IPs to mobile platforms. That said, indie mobile developers are still releasing great games; there’s no lack of competition on the platform. So, with Forza seeing it’s first mobile release, does it live up to the high bar set by prior games? Well… it’s safe to say this a low point for the series.

Android_Forza_Street_01

Hit the Streets

Forza Street makes a stellar first impression. Well-done original character art accompanied by the option to choose between one of three beautifully modeled starter cars is the way I want to get thrown into a racing game. Upon getting into the first race, it’s clear the environments received as much attention to detail as the cars did. The high detail of the environments is accompanied by engaging particle effects and stellar lighting. Fireworks go off when taking perfect turns, bright flames burst from the back of vehicles when nitro is engaged. Forza Street has a strong visual identity. It’s a shame this visual splendor is attached to a hollow, repetitive gameplay experience.

Android_Forza_Street_02

Hit the Brakes

The tutorial was an omen I didn’t expect. Forza Street explains the somewhat rhythmic core gameplay of letting go of the gas pedal and hitting the gas when coming out of the turn to maintain speed. Then, nitro gets introduced as a mechanic that gives a speed boost at critical points. As it turns out, that’s the whole game. Those two mechanics are all the input the player has. I was some variety to be gradually introduced, but it slowly sunk in that the entire game was already in front of me. There was no point while playing Forza Street that I was able to turn my vehicle. Seriously.

The key to making a good game is replayability. Creating rewards for the player’s progress is a good step toward this goal, but a solid foundation in the form of gameplay is required to make a game worth sticking with. There’s a lot of game here, but the process of playing is flat-out boring. Forza Street’s foundation is inherently flawed. How can a team put so much time into a game’s presentation, only for the gameplay itself to be insufferably bland and boring after minutes? To add insult to injury, all of the tracks, despite differences in layout, play exactly the same due to the simplistic nature of the limited mechanics. While the visuals make a good impression, seeing the same thing over and over again gets old fast. Gameplay feels more like a rhythm game than a racing game, but Forza Street only knows how to play one chord.

Hit Uninstall

One feature that’s a hallmark of the Forza series is notably omitted in Forza Street: customization. Yes, there’s a wide variety of vehicles that the player will get access to over the course of the game. However, none of those vehicles can be customized, not even the paint color. Visual customization and performance tuning are a huge part of the Forza formula, and their replacement in the form of meager stat boosts is unwelcome at best. “Tuning Kits” replace actual tuning, and just give a boost to the one stat that differentiates cars, rather than the methodical trade off of, for example, getting more speed in exchange for worse handling. Personalization is nonexistent here, and it makes this game Forza in name only.

There are a good many limitations when trying to put a game on mobile. However, that isn’t an excuse that Forza Street can hide behind. It just feels lazy. All style, no substance. I can outline this fact with one sentence: I can’t turn in a racing game. The game isn’t bad, per se; it’s just painfully mediocre. When there’s Microsoft money and franchise hype behind a game, it’s honestly staggering that Forza Street is such a failure. Seeing a Forza game settle for mediocrity rather than strive for excellence is a sobering reminder that name-brand recognition means nothing.

 

Is it Hardcore?
1.5

Hardly.

Forza Street is a game that takes Microsoft’s flagship racing franchise and drags it through the mud. It does the bare minimum rather than pushing itself to be something more than a repetitive, uninspired slog.

Related Topics
  • Android Racing Games
  • Free Android Games
Carver Fisher

Carver Fisher has spent years refining his writing style, and even longer playing games. His journalistic pursuits are a break from screenwriting, and also from being that 0-10 ADC who's screaming at their support. If your game has a gorgeous art style, it's on his wishlist already.

Previous Article
Towerlands
  • Tower Defense

Towerlands Review

  • May 22, 2020
  • Macy Pingree
View Post
Next Article
Mayday-Memory-00
  • Simulation

Mayday Memory Review

  • May 23, 2020
  • Allison Van Oirschot
View Post
You May Also Like
Shootem-All-Android-00
View Post
  • Action
  • Reviews

Shoot’em All Review

  • Tyler Zelenko
  • January 15, 2021
Wild-West-Heroes-00
View Post
  • Action
  • RPG

Wild West Heroes Review

  • Allison Van Oirschot
  • January 15, 2021
Critical Strike 0
View Post
  • Action
  • FPS

Critical Strike Review

  • Mario Tantillo
  • January 13, 2021
Android-WWE-Undefeated-00
View Post
  • Action
  • Strategy

WWE Undefeated Review

  • James Williamson
  • January 11, 2021
Sea Invaders Android 0
View Post
  • Action
  • Indie

Sea Invaders Review

  • David Eber
  • January 8, 2021
Bloodstained-Ritual-Of-The-Night-00
View Post
  • Action
  • RPG

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Review

  • Jack Brassell
  • January 4, 2021
Moon Raider Android Review 00
View Post
  • Action
  • Platformer

Moon Raider Review

  • Daniel DeAngelo
  • December 31, 2020
Marvel Realm of Champions 00
View Post
  • Action
  • Free Games

MARVEL Realm of Champions Review

  • Zach Guida
  • December 30, 2020

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

The Latest
  • Mystery Hotel Review
  • iHorse: The Horse Racing Arcade Game Gallops Onto Google Play
  • Shoot’em All Review
  • Bio Inc. Redemption: Plague vs. Doctor Simulator Review
  • Merge Raid.io Review
  • Wild West Heroes Review
  • Critical Strike Review
  • Figment Launches Soon on Google Play
  • Mist Forest Drops on Google Play
  • Magic: The Gathering Arena Early Access Launches This Month
    Meta
    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.org
    Hardcore Droid
    • Reviews
    • Spotlight
    • Hardcore
    Core Gaming on the Android OS

    Input your search keywords and press Enter.