Imagining A Better Racing Game

Sometimes you just want to go really, really fast. Fortunately, there are cars—and, for those who can’t afford a vehicle or detest their impacts on the environment and society, there are many video games about cars. But as the recently released Forza Horizon 6 demonstrates, those games are often about tiresome tire-fuls of things that are not cars, as well. What’s the solution? On the latest Aftermath Hours, we attempt to find a happy middle ground.

This time around, we’re joined by Jordan Hoffstetter of the incredibly-named Tran Girlismo podcast, a show about car culture and living during the decline of empire. We use Forza Horizon 6 as a jumping off point to discuss Forza, Gran Turismo, Japan, irritating story elements in racing games, how we approach BDS’ boycott of Microsoft, and how Jordan, a non-games journalist, goes about doing so.

Then we move on to some sobering news: Destiny 2 is ceasing operations as a live-service game and being put on life support. It’s the end of an era in multiple senses. Finally, Luke tells us about his still-ongoing 20-year battle with the final boss of Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, and we discover the magic of Applerankings.com.

You can find this week's episode below and on Spotify, Apple, or wherever else you prefer to listen to podcasts. If you like what you hear, make sure to leave a review so that I can buy 100 bushels of the top-ranked apple (SweeTango, which I’ve never tried before).

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Here’s an excerpt from our conversation (edited for length and clarity):

Jordan: Driving games—especially open-world driving games—are relaxing in their best executions. The level of zen I get from driving at speed in a completely safe digital environment, it’s hard to feel that when—in the corner of your eye when you flash a new event marker—it’s flashing something half the size of the screen every 30 seconds as you go through the world.

Luke: There is none of that zen [in Forza Horizon 6] because they’re constantly putting other racers in the game world with their gamertag on top of their car. And they’re driving ridiculously or veering off the road into a field or smashing into a railing or something. There is no peace. Even outside of the city—they’ve got a little tiny simulacrum of Tokyo in the corner of the map—there is no peace because you’re constantly getting these huge map displays, and the radio’s blaring with these awful DJs, and you’re seeing other players in the race world. I said “give me some peace” in my post because that’s all I want from this game, and it’s unwilling to give that to you.

Gran Turismo exists because these guys love cars. Forza Horizon’s use of cars and the way they’ve got so many licensed cars in the game feels like they’re just coopting the cars in service of the commercial product that Forza Horizon is offering. I get no sense of respect or acknowledgement of how expensive and aspirational these vehicles are in Forza.

Coming from where I come from and what I love about cars, I play Forza Horizon 6, and I don’t get that sense of satisfaction or respect for it that I do in Gran Turismo. I’ll go back and play Gran Turismo 7 like “This is what I want.” But it’s not, because what I really want is the rally feel and the sensation of speed in Forza Horizon 6 with the culture and the presentation of Gran Turismo 7.

I just wish sometimes that Gran Turismo was more exciting. The simulation experience it’s going for by virtue of it being a simulation can be very sterile. They’re more interested in accurately representing the handling of a car by the numbers than the gut feel of what it feels like to drive a car fast. It sounds like both of our frustrations come from “I wish I could have the fun I have in Forza without all the bullshit.” Just give me the menu screens and the shop and let me drive like this, without all this other bullshit there.

Jordan: I used to think Gran Turismo 7 starting with a very ornate and long video intro of the entire history of the automobile was quite silly, and I have immediately wrapped back around to, “No, that is the level of self-importance and reverence I want from this.” Yeah, the dream of something that feels like Forza but has the love of it all of Gran Turismo.