While Horizon 3 is very much its own thing, its indebted to a decades worth of arcade racers. Ive mentioned Burnout Paradise, but you will taste notes of Split/Second, Blur, MotorStorm, and of course, Need for Speed, the racing equivalent of Madden. Despite their excellence, most of those franchises have been abandoned, their studios shutdown or assigned to more traditional fare. Forza Horizon 3 is racing on a track without competition. It would have been easy to coast to the finish line, but Playground Studios has taken the opportunity to take a joyride. With no rush to reach the finish line, and thus no obligation to take the best route, theyre seeing what new paths they can discover. How fortunate theyve invited us to ride along.