GT7 seems so dour and boring. I would like to see someone who has GT7 and Forza Horizon 5 and compare/contrast the two. GT7 seems more sim but FH5 more arcadey.
I’ve got both (well FH5 is on GP) and you’re right GT7 is more sim and FH5 is arcadey. They don’t really bear comparison as a result - this only comes up in the context of console warring as far as I can tell but if they were both on the same platform this wouldn’t be a thing.
But beyond that it’s the presentation in FH5 I dislike. It’s trying too hard to be cool with its DJ festival vibe, fake radio host hype and facile social media stuff, but to me that is all just so cringey and doesn’t suit a car game of any type. I did like the open world road driving for a while to explore - but the world is dead so that was a short lived thing. The rest was the usual car/race events, Ubisoft style icons all over the map and a grind to do “something” for reasons I didn’t care about...
So FH5 puts a lot gimmicks around its arcade style racing but for me neither the gimmicks nor gameplay was interesting enough to persist with.
GT7 doesn’t overshadow the gameplay with gimmicks. I don’t necessarily think GT7 revolutionises the genre, but it has refined the GT concept - which is basically unique - and shown that a “sim” can be addictive and enjoyable even with the dualsense.
Ultimately though it depends what kind of gaming you like. For car/auto sport enthusiasts who want a competitive experience, GT7 is a must have - if you’re a GP sub who’s not really into cars and just wants some automotive chaos for a few hours, then FH5 is fine.