Well, Summer is here at last in Forza Horizon 5 and Series 18 of the Weekly Challenges, but forget any plans concerning ice creams and beach wear – it is the wet season in Mexico, and what is more, Horizon Wilds is taking over!
You know what this means? A life of mud, dirt and off road racing, and also a little bit of a tribute to a man who lived his life on the edge – the late, the great, Mr Ken Block.
Let’s hope that the Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges for Series 18 and those found in Summer can live up to his memory, eh? Well, without further ado, it is time to dive into the series and see what is on offer, so buckle up for a bumpy ride because we’ve got some fast cars and super cool tunes, all of which will help you complete the latest set of challenges in Forza Horizon 5.
Part 1: #Forzathon Weekly Challenge – Ready to Hoon
The subject of the weekly series for Series 18 Summer is one that Ken Block famously drove around the streets of LA in Gymkhana 10 – the 1991 Hoonigan Gymkhana 10 Ford Escort Cosworth Group A.
If you don’t already own one, they can be picked up from the Autoshow for a mere 500,000 credits, or even better, it is the prize for doing the first Eventlab this week, Utopia Gardens.
Chapter 1 – One Who Hoons
Get in your lovely new Escort and pin the throttle. Step one complete!
Chapter 2 – Automotive Aeronautics
As well as spending many hours going sideways, Mr Block was also a fan of an aerial stunt – Celebrate this facet of his life by earning ten Ultimate Air Skills.
The easiest place I have found to do this is the Dunas Blancas area of the map: simply drive over the dunes and you’ll be soaring in no time.
Chapter 3 – Rally Champion
As well as being a YouTube star, Ken had a day job as a rally driver, and the Cossie had a day job as a rally car, back in the ‘90s. So, let’s go out there and win a race for him – a Dirt Race, naturally.
The car in stock trim should be more than capable of winning a race, so save the pennies and get out there.
Chapter 4 – Be Creative
To complete this final step, we need to earn a grand total of five Burn Out skills. You can do these easily by stopping, holding the brake and throttle together, then letting the brake out suddenly.
Hey presto, one Burnout!
And with that, 5 points are yours towards the weekly cars.
Part 2: Challenges
Sadly, from my perspective, the Wilds Takeover seems to be continuing with the practice of having two Eventlabs, and only two races. Still, maybe this Series we will get some good ones, eh? We can live in hope…
The Trial – That Don’t Impreza Me Much
I can hear Shania Twain spinning in her grave, this time, and she ain’t even dead!
Awful pun aside, what we have here is the Trial, the weekly attempt to beat some unbeatable driverbots, with the “assistance” of other racers from the internet. If you can get a decent team together, it shouldn’t be too bad, or so I tell myself every week!
The restriction this week is “Evo vs Impreza”, and the tuning limit is B Class 700. So, step forward my favourite Evo.
An Evo VIII MR, to be exact, with share code: 141172186.
Our reward for winning the best two out of three races is a Honda Civic from 2018.
EventLab 1 – Don Joewon Song Presents Utopia Gardens
The car restriction for this event is a Rally Monster class car, tuned to a maximum of S1 Class 900. Step forward the mighty Ford Racing Puma, in the Forza Edition flavour no less, and the share code is : 146677047.
This is actually a nice course to drive, but one of the jumps doesn’t quite line up, so be careful.
For completing the course, a Hoonigan Escort Cosworth Group A is up for grabs; the very car we need for the weekly challenge. Maybe do this bit first, eh?
EventLab 2 – TYPEHARDFARK Presents Castillo Scramble
Another track, another opportunity to wonder what goes through these creators minds as they sit tweaking every little thing…
Still, this time the limitation is a Hoonigan car, and a class limit of S1 900. I used the Hoonigan Ford Escort RS1800, and my share code is: 264985022. This is a fun, fast course with many handbrakes and much sideways action, so a thumbs up from me! Twice in a week, blimey…
Our prize for winning? A Super Wheelspin, of course.
PR Stunt – Danger Sign -Valle
This Danger Sign is quite tricky, as the approach is off-road as is fitting for a Wilds takeover. We need to jump more than 300 metres, which is some going seeing as the normal 3 star effort is considerably less than that.
Still, we are limited to any S2 Class 998 car, and so I brought out the BMW X5M Forza Edition to jump about a bit. The share code for this monster is: 519084427.
Another Super Wheelspin will be yours if you jump far enough.
PR Stunt – Speed Zone – Orilla Del Rio
Same restrictions on the car – the need to have a car that is good off road, and the sheer tyre bursting speed of the thing means there is only one choice – yep, it’s that same BMW X5M FE from before.
We need to hit an average speed of 120 mph through the zone, and while it is challenging, the Beemer can cope.
Another Super Wheelspin will be ours for zooming about fast enough.
PR Stunt – Trailblazer – Cascadas
This course is a bit of a nightmare, for obvious reason, and the restriction actually is the same as previously, an S2 Class 998 car, any S2 Class 998 car, and so going for it’s hattrick, we welcome that same BMW.
We need to hit the finish line with more than 27 seconds on the clock, which again may be challenging, but depending on the route you take, should be doable.
Another Super Wheelspin? Well, if you insist…
Seasonal Championship – Instant Classic
A series of races, featuring Classic Rally cars that are tuned to only C Class 600? What could be more fun?
Well, a lot of things, to be honest, but we have what we have.
I decided to use a Mini Cooper S from 1965, and the share code is : 176823547. What could be better than pretending to be Paddy Hopkirk?
Winning two out of three races in a convoy, or the championship in its entirety solo, will get us a Ford Racing Puma, a nice little motor. And a nice TXH livery is available for it too!
Seasonal Championship – #43
As I’m sure we all know, #43 was Ken Block’s racing number, and as a final tribute, we have a race series limited to Hoonigan cars, and S1 Class 900.
Of course, with this being offroad, I went for a nice little rally car, the Hoonigan Ford Escort Rs1800, the same one I recommended in the EventLab above. Share code hasn’t changed, it is still : 264985022.
Coming out on top in this championship will get us the Hoonigan Focus, a car that is seemingly pretty rare.
Part 3: Other Challenges
We are spoiled for choice this week, with a Treasure hunt, a photo and more to go at.
Photo Challenge -#WildHorizons
Take any Modern Rally car to the Horizon Wilds outpost, and snap a photo.
As challenges go, it isn’t one of the trickier ones and I’ll share my artistic effort below, as well as a snap of the location in case you get lost.
Our reward is a song, A Moment Apart by Odesza. Nope, never heard of them.
Treasure Hunt – Retro Skills to Pay the Bills
The clue reads “Banking 25k requires serious skills in the 80’s. Do you rally think you can do it?”.
So, pretty obviously, I’m guessing we have to bank 25K skill score in a rally car from the 80’s.
The picture shows a photo of a #65 Racing 911, the Desert Flyer , so that is what I used. Luckily, 25K isn’t a lot, and if a Skill song happens to be playing too…
I tuned mine up a tad to make it easier, and the share code is : 340010857.
Our reward is a treasure chest, which I will share the location of below. The chest contains 100 FP, which is always welcome.
Horizon Open – Go Fast
For this challenge, we need to simply complete a Horizon Open race in a Hoonigan car. You will have to get fairly lucky with the class restriction, as most Hoonigans are quite highly tuned, but the Twerkstallion is an A Class 800, and the Chevy Bel Air they made is a C Class out of the box, so you have options.
For completing the race, you will pick up a Hoonigan Bel Air.
Horizon Arcade Mini Games
We have to do any of the five types of Horizon Mini Games, be it Drift, Air, Chaos, Wreckage or Speed, and complete all three rounds. Pick you favourite discipline and get out there! I have a soft spot for a drift event…
You’ll get three points towards that tasty weekly car prize for doing this.
Part 4: Hot Wheels Events
Are you an elite level Hot Wheels player? If so, we have a couple of tasty extra challenges for you.
PR Stunt – Speed Trap – Forest Edge
A Speed trap, a restriction of any S2 Class 998 car, and so there is only one car for the job – the Koenigsegg Agera, with share code: 109282883.
The target for this speed trap is over 260 mph, which counts as pretty fast, but this car is up to the challenge. Approaching from the south saw me do this no problem.
A Super Wheelspin will be winging its way to you if you manage this feat.
Seasonal Championship – Shadow Realm
The restriction this week is pretty narrow – a Super GT car, tuned to S1 Class 900. Of the cars on offer, my eye was drawn to the Ferrari 812 Superfast – What could be better than a car with Fast in the name? The share code is : 261040765.
For coming out on top, either solo or in a convoy, our prize is a Mosler MT900S. Which is pretty fast too.
You should know by now that there are a couple of Monthly Events that kick around alongside these races and jumps, helping build your Forza Points some more. This time out we need to nail a clean, fast, lap around both La Selva Scramble and the River Scramble. Entering the events through the tiles on the Festival Playlist tab is your best bet, as it’ll throw you straight into the car and event you need.
Those points can be put towards a number of new cars this series, with the overall Series 18 offerings coming in the form of the Subaru Brat for 80pts and the Sierra 700R for 160pts. You’ll need to complete a good few week’s worth of challenges in order to have enough points for those.
For now, it’s all about the Summer rewards and this week we see the #2 Audi S1 and BMW X6 M available for 20 and 40pts. Following our guide will see you good for both cars.
Series 18 continues with Autumn next week – expect to earn points towards the Honda Trophy ‘15 and Velostar N, whilst Winter follows with the Polaris RZR Pro and No.42 Extreme E up for grabs. The Series will conclude in Spring with the Nissan Safari and MINI X-Raid being your rewards. From there, Series 19 will kick in and it runs with the theme of ‘Midnights at Horizon’ – we’re being promised new cars, an extended night time period, neon decorations and more collectibles. It’s a good while off, but we cannot wait.
If you’re new around here, then in order to be able to complete the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges for Series 18 – Summer, you’ll need a copy of Forza Horizon 5 in your digital library. Sitting pretty on Game Pass or behind a cash outlay, it is available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S or PC, all via the Xbox Store.
The comments section is below. We’d love to know if any of the cars or tunes listed have helped you out this week.
