Forza Horizon 4's Battle Royale Mode a Nice Change of Pace

Playground Games has decided to jump into the battle royale mix with Forza Horizon 4’s latest addition, The Eliminator. The free-for-all mode pits (up to) 72 players against each other in a last man standing scenario.

Eliminator mode plays out exactly like other BR modes that you are familiar with in some respects, just minus the weapons. Each opponent begins the round in a massive map with an exterior wall that continues to close in on all opponents until ultimately there is a single opponent left and is declared the winner. You can select your general “drop” point and you will need to search for loot equivalents and other people to destroy.

What separates FH4 Eliminator mode from other BR games is the fact that while still inside the circle any opponent can challenge another to a head-to-head race where the loser is, you got it, eliminated. The winner of the race also gets the option to upgrade their own vehicle or steal their opponent’s ride. This provides quite a bit of risk-reward proposition, but you can’t turn down a challenge either way. If someone honks a horn at you from a close enough distance, you have to race no matter what.

While participating in this mode, you will see multiple strategies deployed, much like you would in other BR modes. Some prefer the intense head-to-head racing to force eliminations and upgrade their car, while others choose to lay low in the shadows on the sprawling British landscape. While every opponent starts off in the 1965 Mini Cooper, the game provides designated drop areas that contain vehicle upgrades as well. Of course, the same worries about going to those drops exist in this game as they would in other BR modes. In other words, you might run into someone else who ends up challenging you to a race while you were just trying to sneak in to upgrade your ride.

Once these drop spots go active on the map, to the winner goes the spoils. The first person to reach the designated flare area will get access to the car provided in the drop but can still upgrade again throughout that same match. The type of vehicle you are driving as the number of players is eliminated can be the difference between a win or just another middling finish, so take these drops seriously. Again, you want to get geared up for the final race and final circle. So hiding the whole time might mean you last a long time, but it will also mean you just get destroyed in a race unless the other person royally screws up.

Eliminator mode will take a bit of time before you feel comfortable with it, and the matches can be longer than a lot of other BR modes, but once settled in the mode provides a unique take on the crowded landscape of battle royale games. Overall, the BR mode works in the more arcade-friendly Horizon 4 than it would in a more simulation racer, and it’s a really good change of pace for the series.

For owners of the game, Forza Horizon 4 Eliminator mode is available now for free on Xbox and PC and can be accessed on the in-game map system.