Forza Horizon 4 axes Carlton and Floss dances, adds cab-driving and Mitsubishis
Ignore the drum & bass - no dancing at Forza Festival
Forza Horizon 4's latest update giveth and taketh away. While generous in how much Playground Games are adding free to their driving sandbox, the party is over for the Carlton and Floss dances, which have been patched out. Not surprising, given that they're the subjects of two separate legal battles with Fortnite developer Epic Games. Still, it's not all bad - update five adds seven Mitsubishi cars free, a new free-for-all adventure playlist and a ten mission cab-driving story featuring some iconic taxis. Below, an hour-long developer stream showing off the new stuff.
Given the enormity of today's update, I can't be too upset about the missing dances. The free Mitsubishi pack adds four Lancer Evo models, the Galant VR4, Eclipse GSX and the 1997 GTO. There's also 12 new seasonal events, 4 new trial events and 4 new PR stunt challenges, further cluttering up the game's already busy map. There's four new exclusive cars to be unlocked, the car shop has been restocked and there's another eight new cars for season pass people. Interestingly, they've also retired the 'anything goes' adventure playlist. The new free-for-all playlist has everyone out for themselves - no team games.
The new story missions are about taking people from point A to B very quickly in a variety of fancy cabs. Finishing all ten of them earns you the Austin FX4, the iconic black London cab. While you could previously earn it in-game through random Wheelspin drops, it was rare. Now it's within everyone's reach, although you'll have to settle for bombing around Edinburgh at wildly unsafe speeds instead of London. As the devs show in the stream above, you might be able to shave a little off your travel time by going 'as the crow flies' - a trick that should not be attempted in real life.
As for the missing dances, everything hinges on how Epic's legal fights pan out. If the courts rule in Epic's favour, there's a slim chance of the dances returning. If the judges decide that it's uncool to copy someone's moves (no matter how short or comedic they may be), I could see a lot more dances being cut from both Forza and other games. Just yesterday, one more Fortnite dance became the subject of a legal battle, this time the 'Random' dance, as reported here by Forbes, and more seem likely to follow.
Update five is live now for Forza Horizon 4. See the abridged patch notes with fancy infographics here, or the more dry and technical breakdown here. Still on the fence? Stirling Matheson's Forza Horizon 4 review may get you in gear.