Early adopters get bonuses.
Advisory: The game featured in this article relies on microtransactions that can exceed $10.
Microsoft have dropped Forza Street, originally released this time last year for Windows 10, on iOS and Android devices.
As an attempt to entice early adopters, all players who join the game from launch through June 5 will be awarded with in-game credits, gold, and the 2017 Ford GT, pictured above.
Microsoft is also tempting Android owners away from the Google Play store (where it was available earlier in some parts of the world), offering exclusive perks to those who use the Samsung Store, including the 2015 Ford Mustang GT, and, for Galaxy S20 owners, a 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 with an appropriately gauche exterior.
Forza is often something of a luxury game not at all unlike Animal Crossing: New Horizons; I’ve spent countless hours fine tuning vehicles in console releases, and then driving simply to see the countryside., ignoring much of the other trappings.
Street level intrigue will be at the heart of Forza Street, Microsoft says, with an ongoing narrative and themed events to be part of their regular offering. Weekly “Rivals” matchups will allow for a competitive, albeit asynchronous, style of play. It’s all very Fast and the Furious.
The app is a whopping 1.9 GB with an immediate 1.03 MB patch though install is fast. Early on, it drains battery rapidly, with a 20% drop on our iPhone X with about 20 minutes of play.
You’re given but a quick tutorial–maybe 30 seconds long–and immediately thrown into a race the game hails as “challenging”, offering you a choice between the 2015 Ford Mustang GT, 1991 BMW M3, or 1969 Nissan Fairlady Z 432. Rev your engine, keep it revved up, and you’re literally off to the races.
Forza Street’s earliest moments reveal a game more interested in glorified quick-time style events on the pedals than the tinkering of console installments, but the fast races are instantly appealing and the rewards come early and often at this stage.
This is one to watch in the days and weeks ahead.