We get to Winter of Series 25 in the Forza Horizon 5 Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges and once again a number of new events pop up, requiring some of the fastest cars and best tunes in order for us racers to be able to complete them. And that’s where we come in, details all the events, all the cars and all the tunes you need to prove successful.
So what’s in store in this Mexican winter?.There should be a variety of things to have a go at, so let’s dive headlong in and see what is what.
Do you want to build a snowman?
Part 1: Weekly Car Challenge – Reporting for Duty
The weekly challenge car this week is a flipping huge pickup truck, the Ford Super Duty F-450 DRW.
I’ve never got the whole pickup truck thing, as I grew up on the mean streets of Manchester, and driving around with your shopping on full display would be a good way to lose it! Still, they seem reasonably popular in America, so I’ll let it slide.
If you don’t have one in your garage, it will cost you a mere 70,000 credits from the Autoshow.
Chapter 1 – Big Reveal
Get in your new truck, take it for a spin. Step one complete!
Chapter 2 – Going Platinum
The next step is pretty simple, just take a photo. That easy!
Chapter 3 – Not So Small Torque
Next step is to earn a Wrecking Ball skill in the truck.
This is defined as “perform multiple wreckage skills in quick succession”. Find some stuff and smash it!!
Chapter 4 – Two by Two
Now we just need to win a Cross Country Race to complete the playlist. Choose your best one and go crazy! I kept the truck stock to make this frugal.
And with that, the weekly car challenge is complete, and we are another five points nearer to the reward cars on offer in Series 25.
Part 2: Weekly Challenges, Championships and PR Stunts
With that out of the way, let’s have a look at what new delights await us on the playlist this week. Luckily, the Eventlab has wound its neck in slightly, with only two to have a go at this week. There’s a bit more racing to enjoy instead. Sounds ideal, no?
Let’s have a peep at what is in store.
The Trial – Muscle In
As the more pun savvy of you may have guessed, the theme for the Trial this week is Muscle Cars, Classic Vs Modern to be exact, and a tuning limit of A Class 800.
I went for something on the modern end of the spectrum, and chose a Shelby GT500 from 2013 with share code : 402868577.
Should we manage to win two out of three races, a lovely Ford GT is ours.
Eventlab 1 – GT DENY Presents – Village Rally
So what has Winter brought out of the old Eventlab closet?
We need an B Class 700 offroad car to compete in this week’s event, and I chose a Ford Ranger T6 Rally raid, with share code : 166960440.
I really didn’t get on with this track – a combination of too sharp bends, no visibility (bushes coming through the floor ruin the sight lines) and no flow made me hate this one. Sorry!
The prize for completing this race is a BMW M5.
Eventlab 2 – ESV GREEN PresentsOnyx Bridge Circuit
For this Eventlab, we need to use a Track Toy class vehicle, tuned up to S1 CLass 900. I went with a Nissan GT-R Nismo, in stock trim. No need to spend big, right?
An incredibly technical track with the meanest placement of checkpoints I have ever seen make this one a real challenge.…
But there’s a prize on offer for completion – a Super Wheelspin.
PR Stunt 1 – Drift Zone – Reservoir
This week the tuning limit for these events is A Class 800, and the car has to be a Mazda RX-7 Spirit R. I’m still not sure about these events needing a single vehicle type to be honest…
It’s time to slide and just like in Initial D, an RX-7 should do us proud. I went with a share name Spirit in conjunction with my GT, Red620Ti. One day I’ll be able to get you a share code as I tune these things…
We need to drift to over 260,000 points, which is also known as “ a lot!” We get a Super Wheelspin in return though. It’ll do.
PR Stunt 2 – Drift Zone – Arbolada
The target this time is 130,000 points, and the choice of car is still restricted – so I used the car from above.
Another Super Wheelspin awaits.
PR Stunt 3 – Drift Zone – Hillside
Another slide fest to go at, and this time we need to score over 140,000 points.
Yet another Super Wheelspin to add to the pile. How many of these are we having?
Seasonal Championship 1 – Going on Tour
GT and Super GT are the cars this week, and the tuning limit is A Class 800. Quite a bit of choice here, but I went with my old favourite, the Bentley Continental GT, with share code : 102502146.
For winning outright solo, or best two out of three in a convoy, we can take home a Dodge Viper.
Seasonal Championship 2 – A Minor Inconvenience
The class and car this time is an odd one – Minis or Morris, and only tuned to C Class 600. Lets go slowly, shall we?
I went with a Mini Cooper S from 1965 with share code : 176823547.
We can walk away with another prize for winning, a Cadillac CTS-V
Seasonal Playground Games – King for a Day
It is time to play a game, as the little guy from SAW once said. Hopefully it won’t end up the same way!
We need to use a B Class 700 Pickup and 4X4 vehicle, and so I chose a Chevy ZR2, share code : 153915151. Play a few games of Team King, try to keep the crown, and profit!
Profit to the tune of a Forzalink phrase “I want to play a game” in fact.
Part 3: Other Challenges
There’s always more to get involved in than just the racing, and that is the case again this week.
There’s the Photo Challenge, Treasure hunt and some collectibles.
Photo Challenge – #Avantgardens
Another pun? We’re being spoiled this week. We need to take an Audi Avant (an estate, basically) to the gardens of the Hotel Castillo player house and take a photo to complete this week’s challenge.
I’ll post the location and my artistic effort below. Let me know what you think. You STILL love the dinosaur suit, right?
The reward? A new Painter Hoodie. No dinosaur, no sale.
Treasure Hunt – Horizon Baja Treasure Stunt
This week, the clue reads “Head west from the Horizon Baja Festival Site and look to the coast, to find the hidden Treasure Stunt course!”.
Of course, following instructions is pretty easy, and the course that we have to complete is exactly where the instructions say it is. And just to make things better, we have to complete the course to get the treasure chest, as it is on the last ramp. And this course is a lot trickier than last weeks! Top Tip – don’t take a massive pickup truck up the course. It. Will. Go. Badly.
The location of the chest is shown below. (And by extension the location of the stunt course).
The chest contains 100,000 credits.
Collectibles – Boiling Point
Now, it is time for the monthly challenge to smash stuff, and this time it is twenty of the Eventlab Flasks smashed. They are scattered around the top of La Gran Caldera, and I will post you a picture of what you are looking for below.
Completing this will get a new Forzalink phrase, “Gotta Smash Them All!”.
Horizon Open – Driving Miatas
For the weekly Horizon Open challenge, we simply need to complete an online race in any Mazxda MX-5. As I don’t know what the class is going to be, I can’t recommend a tune, so just do your best.
Completing this will get you another Mazda, an RX-8 this time.
Part 4: Hot Wheels Events
If you have the Hot Wheels expansion and are an Elite Level player, then you get to enjoy a couple of extra events.
Seasonal PR Stunt – Speed Trap – Hammers Shadow
This week, we are limited to an Audi R8 V10 Plus, and a limit of S1 Class 900. I made the following in an attempt to do this – share code : 191248189.
We have to hit over 200 mph through the camera to come out on top.
A Super Wheelspin is your reward.
Seasonal Championship – Saleen Machine
Guess what car we need to use here! Yes, it’s a Saleen, and the tuning limit is again S1 Class 900. I went with a stock Saleen S7, and surprisingly it won pretty easily!
Completing the championship will get us a BMW Z3, assuming we win of course.
Part 5: Rally Adventure Events
The Rally Adventure expansion brings even more events to the roster and provided you are already a Horizon Badlands champion, you’ll get access to…
Seasonal PR Stunt – Speed Trap – Orogrande
Same car, same limit, same event – Use the same car as above and the target is 145 mph. Approaching from the north is a bit straighter.
The prize is another Super Wheelspin.
Seasonal Championship – Rally Around
This time we need a B Class 700 UTV for this series, and of the choice on offer, you’ll not be shocked to hear, I went with a Can-Am Maverick. Yes, the choice is very small.
For winning out, we can take away a Volvo 242. Boxy!
With Series 25 moving along nicely, you can start saving up for the monthly cars – this Series they are a BMW 850CSi for 80 points, a new car to the game. For 160 pts it is a Porsche 911C2 GW, a hard to find set of wheels.
If you need a few extra points to get you over the line, the monthly Rivals challenges are here; two featuring EVs and two featuring good old internal combustion. These are, for EV’s – Baja California Trail and Herencia Cross Country Circuit. For those cars with proper engines, they are – Lookout Circuit and Ruta Norte. 4 points are on offer if you return clean laps for each one, so worth having a go at!
Grab enough points and Series 25 Winter will also see you gifted with the exclusive BMW M2 ‘23 for 20 points. Additionally, for 40 points we can get a BMW M3 GTS.
To enjoy these events in the Festival Playlist Weekly Challenges, you’ll need a copy of Forza Horizon 5. It’s available on Game Pass, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC and on the cloud via mobile. The Xbox Store will sort you out with a download.
Let us know in the comments if I have helped, hindered or missed the mark with these tunes, and good luck in Series 25! It’ll be Series 26 before we know it…
