Forza Horizon 3 – the mission to create the world's most beautiful racing game

The driving series hits Australia, bringing 350 new cars to a map twice the size of Forza Horizon 2. But to understand its technical ambition, you've got to look up

At the E3 games conference two years ago, the creative director of Forza Horizon, Ralph Fulton, was trying to communicate the visual beauty of the game's sequel. During a demo session for journalists, he explained how road surfaces in the game would gather rain water after a storm, and that the resulting puddle would be truly reflective, mirroring the chassis of passing cars, and reflecting sunlight.

It was a teeny detail but it spoke volumes about developer Playground Games and the studio's obsession with sleek aesthetics. For the third title, which takes the open-world driving festival to Australia, they've rather outdone that boast, which now seems rather quaint in comparison.