Take Forza Horizon 4 for a scenic British test drive with this free demo
I'd ask you not to scratch the paint, but...
I'm not much of a car person, but even I can appreciate Forza Horizon 4's open-world ambitions. Set across a large chunk of Britain's twisting roads and scenic hedgerows, players explore and compete in events both static and scheduled in a wide variety of (mostly) expensive-looking cars. You can give it a spin today, as a free demo just popped up on the Microsoft Store.
You can find the demo here, although do note that as with most Microsoft Studios games, it's a Windows 10 exclusive and a hefty 28gb download.
While Forza Horizon may look quite serious in screenshots, it's a far more accessible game than it first appears. Positively unrealistic in some cases - developers Playground Games have been showcasing it recently with a Halo-themed crossover event. Even with more traditional driving controls, Halo's iconic Warthog off-roader is a slippery, bouncy thing. While most cars in the game won't be quite as geared towards massive floaty leaps over gaps, there's a range of off-road vehicles (and even some hovercraft) to drive as well as more sporty road and track models.
While I've not seen any Warthogs in the demo yet, the events available in this free taster are almost equally fanciful. It's not just racing - sometimes you're a stunt driver in an action movie, trying to land dramatic jumps while jet planes buzz you. The demo doesn't include online multiplayer, sadly, but gives you an impressively large chunk of land to explore and multiple events to drive in. There's a comprehensive photo mode, too. It's all absolutely stunning looking, although you'll need a beefy machine to do it justice.
The Forza Horizon 4 demo is available now on the Microsoft Store for Xbox One and Windows 10. The full game is out on October 2nd and can be found here. The base game will also be included in the Xbox Game Pass subscription along with the likes of Sea Of Thieves and State Of Decay 2.