Forza Horizon 4 vs Need for Speed Heat
Forza Horizon 4 is an open-world racing game from Playground Games (2021) while Need for Speed Heat is an open-world racing game from EA Gothenburg (2019).
What each one is
Steam files Forza Horizon 4 under Open-World and Racing. In contrast, it files Need for Speed Heat under Open-World and Racing.
Dynamic seasons change everything at the world’s greatest automotive festival. Go it alone or team up with others to explore beautiful and historic Britain in a shared open world.
Hustle by day and risk it all at night in Need for Speed™ Heat Deluxe Edition, a white-knuckle street racer, where the lines of the law fade as the sun starts to set.
At a glance
| Forza Horizon 4 | Need for Speed Heat | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.4/10 | 7.4/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (91%, 303,167) | Very Positive (84%, 153,208) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 72/100 |
| Price | Not listed | $69.99 |
| Install size | 80 GB | 50 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2021 | 2019 |
| Developer | Playground Games | EA Gothenburg |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Forza Horizon 4 vs Need for Speed Heat, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Forza Horizon 4Open-world racing gameNeed for Speed HeatOpen-world racing gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Forza Horizon 4Racing, Open World, DrivingNeed for Speed HeatRacing, Open World, DrivingThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Forza Horizon 4 ✓Score 8.4 · 91% on SteamNeed for Speed HeatScore 7.4 · 84% on Steam · 72 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Forza Horizon 4303,167 reviews · 80 GBNeed for Speed Heat153,208 reviews · 2 add-ons · 50 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Forza Horizon 4Not listedNeed for Speed Heat$69.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Forza Horizon 4PlayableNeed for Speed HeatPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Forza Horizon 4 takes 1 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueForza Horizon 4 and Need for Speed Heat on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Forza Horizon 4 (GamingPickz Score 8.4)
- Lighter on storage: Need for Speed Heat (50 GB)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
RacingOpen WorldDrivingMultiplayerOnline Co-OpSingleplayerControllerPvP
Where they differ
Automobile SimRealisticSimulationExplorationGreat SoundtrackFunny
Co-opCombat RacingThird PersonCharacter CustomizationDestructionSplit Screen
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Forza Horizon 4 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Need for Speed Heat is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Forza Horizon 4 | Need for Speed Heat | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | NVidia 650TI | AMD: Radeon 7970/Radeon R9 280x |
| Minimum CPU | Intel i3-4170 @ 3.7Ghz | FX-6350 |
| Minimum RAM | 8 GB | 8 GB |
| Install size | 80 GB | 50 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Forza Horizon 4 · Need for Speed Heat.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Forza Horizon 4 and 1 for Need for Speed Heat. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Forza Horizon 4 and Need for Speed Heat in scope?
Forza Horizon 4 has drawn 303,167 Steam reviews and installs in 80 GB. Need for Speed Heat has drawn 153,208 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 50 GB.
Is Forza Horizon 4 or Need for Speed Heat better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Forza Horizon 4 rates higher (8.4 to 7.4). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Forza Horizon 4 or Need for Speed Heat?
One or both do not have a current listed price, so a straight comparison is not possible. See the table above.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.