Horizon Chase Turbo - Senna Forever Review

Screenshot of the start of a race on the Suzuka circuit in Japan in Horizon Chase Turbo - Senna Forever
Senna Forever now gives you the opportunity to drive F1 cars in Horizon Chase Turbo


Quick Info
Reviewed by: Mark Goninon
Developer: AQUIRIS
Publisher: AQUIRIS
Release Date: 20 Oct 2021
Time played: 3 hours

Newer, Pricier DLC

Horizon Chase Turbo is currently my favourite arcade racing game. It received a 9/10 here at Choicest Games since it manages to distill the essence of classic arcade racers of yesteryear so well, and its soundtrack by Barry Leitch is just icing on the nostalgia cake. When you really get into a game, you start looking for expansion packs and DLCs, which is why when Summer Vibes, the first DLC pack for Horizon Chase, was announced, I made sure to wishlist it. Come Christmas time in 2021, my brother generously gifted it and while I did enjoy the extra content, it wasn't anything groundbreaking. 2021 also saw the release of Senna Forever, a new, pricier DLC that changed the usual line-up of cars into Formula One racing cars. As the name implies, this DLC focuses on legendary Brazilian F1 racing driver Ayrton Senna and has a single-player Career Mode split into five chapters spanning his early days in 1984 right up to his third and final World Championship win in 1991. The game also features a World Championship mode that you're able to play with up to four players.

Screenshot of 1991 summary of Ayrton Senna's career in Horizon Chase Turbo - Senna Forever
Playing the single player campaign will give you snippets of information about Ayrton Senna's career

Be Transported Back to F1 of the 1980s

Unlike Summer Vibes which doesn't even have an hour's worth of content, Senna Forever will take you a few hours to complete the single-player campaign and you'll also learn a bit about Ayrton Senna's rise to fame, if you're not already aware. While the game still very much plays like Horizon Chase, all the vehicles are now Formula One cars with liveries reminiscent of teams back in the 1980s and 1990s. You'll be able to experience Horizon Chase recreations of famous tracks from that era and you can even switch to first person view, something you can't do in the base game (although it's arguable why you would even want to do this, considering you get a much better view of what's up ahead in the standard third-person view).

In Career Mode, you're also given three extra challenges to complete in each race and completing them rewards you with "Senna's Marks". This means the game has some extra replay value if you're willing to attempt the tracks again in order to achieve full marks.

Screenshot of Senna's Marks in Horizon Chase Turbo - Senna Forever
Complete extra challenges on each track and you'll be rewarded with "Senna's Marks"

Is there a Market for a Casual F1 Arcade Racer?

Senna Forever sits in this limbo state between trying to appeal to F1 fans and arcade racing fans at the same time. So it's never going to be that realistic or simulation-heavy, since you'd alienate the people who play Horizon Chase in the first place: people who want a simple arcade racer. But by doing so, some will feel like AQUIRIS hasn't gone far enough, as it's just Horizon Chase cars with different skins. The gameplay hasn't really evolved much and the game felt samey after a while. Towards the end of my playthrough, despite learning a bit more about Ayrton Senna which was genuinely interesting, I was getting a bit bored with other aspects and it all started to feel like grind, despite racing on different courses around the world.

Screenshot of cockpit view in Horizon Chase Turbo - Senna Forever
In Senna Forever, you can race in cockpit view

7

While Senna Forever is a considerable improvement over the Summer Vibes DLC, it's more of the same with Formula One cars. I genuinely enjoyed learning more about the highlights of Ayrton Senna's career while playing the single-player campaign and there's a decent amount of content, but they're definitely targeting a niche here: those who like video games and are Formula One fans, but want something more casual than a simulation game.


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