Its greatest strength is probably the sheer variety of landscapes, though. Everything from the gently sloshing waves by the Twelve Apostles to the wake created by your wheels as you putter across shallow streams is top notch. (The latter are at their most superb as you wind through the thick rainforest sections as the sun tries to pierce through the tall trees.) Water plays a big part, too, and not just because the entire place looks even better slick from rain.

The lighting is astonishing, too, with the amazingly authentic sky bathing the whole environment in uncannily realistic sunlight and casting crisper shadows. The road markings, the street signs, even the garbage bins with their multi-coloured lids. The attention to detail, for example, is magnificent, and as an Australian it’s certainly something I can wholly vouch for. “There isn’t any one reason, but many that add up. Combined with dazzling landscapes and lighting effects, outstanding sound design, and well-honed driving dynamics, the results are absolutely fantastic. The big difference here is that with its new level of car customisation and personalisation, an incredibly malleable career experience that can be played solo or co-op with friends, and even baked-in support for a soundtrack of your own choosing, Horizon 3 can be bent to your desires like never before in the series. That’s okay too, because the Forza franchise is famous for its wonderfully eclectic approach to car curation and Forza Horizon 3 is no exception it’s still the best in the business. You may prefer classic American muscle, or perhaps you’re more partial to Japanese tuners from the turn of the century, or maybe you haven’t got time for anything but European hypercars. This is Forza Horizon 3 for me an experience that could only get more Australian if it was delivered inside a giant jar of Vegemite by Paul Hogan crashing into your living room riding an actual crocodile. ‘Thunderstruck’ is banging on my stereo and the tacho needle is banging on the redline. I’m talking high-powered spotlights, a CB antenna sticking proudly up into the air, and a giant, mesh-filled roo bar that looks like it’s fallen off the front of a Kenworth. The term we use in Australia for what Americans call doing doughnuts is “circle work.” Right now I’m doing some spectacular circle work around an outback airstrip in a custom V8 ute with all the trimmings.

Forza horizon 3