Xbox’s signature racing franchise might be taking a break this year as it gears up for next-gen, but last year’s Forza Horizon 4 still had one more expansion to reveal and release, and fans were lucky enough to have both happen in the same week. Forza Horizon 3’s second DLC pack was the orange-tinted and loop-filled Hot Wheels DLC, leaving many to wonder if 4 would follow a similar design choice for its second expansion. During Microsoft’s press conference, Playground Games revealed that the second expansion would be called LEGO Speed Champions, bringing out a life-sized car built entirely out of LEGOs to properly debut the DLC.
LEGO has been fully involved to make sure the Speed Champions DLC authentically represented the mega-popular toy brand. Specifically, the developers worked closely with regards to the scale and color options of the bricks, and the hard work shows, as the world of LEGO Valley is a stunning and joyous place to traverse through at breakneck speeds. While destruction was always present in the core Forza Horizon series, the opportunity to see LEGO bricks separate and fly across the screen as your car smashes through plants, fences and other obstacles has yet to get old.
The presence of LEGO at the Horizon Festival is fully contextualized within the world, with the festival organizers building the environments and vehicles in the game from scratch using these plastic bricks. The trailer and brief race offered some quick glimpses of the locations that make up LEGO Valley, from traditional cities and deserts to pirate ships and UFO crash sites. Meanwhile, the cars added to the game are LEGO-based versions of the in-game cars, with the team having to compensate for the new aerodynamics and drag that these unusually-shaped cars presented to make sure that the precise driving that the Forza games are known for is still present.
With precision-based racing matched with a joyful aesthetic, the team at Playground Games is hoping to offer a DLC experience that will encourage current owners to return and new fans to give the game a shot. Fortunately, this latest LEGO experience is nearly available, as LEGO Speed Champions is available to play tomorrow for Forza Horizon 4 on Xbox One and PC.
