The evening of June 25 was particularly sad for all fans of arcade racing video games. Microsoft announced that all editions of Forza Horizon 4 will be removed from digital stores on December 15, 2024. And if that weren't enough, the company twisted the knife in our side a little further and confirmed that the DLCs would no longer be available (separately) with immediate effect.
I felt my heart break a little while reading the news on the official Microsoft blog. One of my favorite DLCs in all of history passed away and my sadness knew no limits when thinking about those who will not be able to enjoy it as much as I did for dozens of hours. It hurt for the veterans who overlooked it and I felt truly sorry for the new generations.
- Important clarification: Forza Horizon 4 Exceptional Edition will be available until December and includes the DLC. Although its normal price is 99 euros in the Store, Microsoft announced that there will be discounts. On the other hand, on Steam it is 19.99 euros at the time of writing this publication.
LEGO Speed Champions: everything was amazing
In my Top of favorite DLCs/expansions/updates are Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Ancient Hunters from Bloodborne, Sam's Story and The Two Colonels from Metro Exodus, Valhalla from God of War: Ragnarök and finally LEGO Speed Champions Forza Horizon 4.
It hurts my soul to think that future players will not have the opportunity to marvel at LEGO Speed Champions. No other driving video game has seen such a beautiful, fun and good-natured expansion. In my opinion, there is nothing better in terms of plugins. It's the cherry on top for an absurdly good video game.
![Forza Horizon 4 2](https://i.blogs.es/a585eb/forza-horizon-4-2-/450_1000.webp)
LEGO Speed Champions It was released on June 13, 2019 and achieved very good scores: 77 on Metacritic and Very Positive on Steam. Playground Games represented happiness itself in the form of a map. Forza Horizon 4 took us to a new location made entirely of LEGO, where we could race with our normal cars (with their realistic style) or with the new LEGO-style cars, among which the McLaren Senna or the Ferrari F40 stand out.
I remember that at the time I didn't have much money. I squandered my meager savings to buy an Xbox One and the Forza Horizon 4, so LEGO expansion was a distant wish. I had to enjoy it as a viewer on a good friend's Twitch channel. I watched the trailer on loop. I was able to buy it on August 28 of that same year.
![Forza Horizon 4](https://i.blogs.es/ac3acd/forza-horizon-4/450_1000.webp)
![Forza Horizon 4](https://i.blogs.es/ac3acd/forza-horizon-4/450_1000.webp)
I only have good and beautiful words for LEGO Speed Champions. It does a lot of things well, from offering a fun map to adding a good amount of content in the form of cars, activities, customization, challenges and races, obviously. However, my happiest memories focus on small details that made me really enjoy them.
I found it especially satisfying how the car, whether normal or LEGO, reacted when its wheels passed over the different surfaces of the world created by pieces. The shock absorbers went crazy when passing through the areas with small knobs where other parts get caught. I don't know the technical name, if there is one, and I apologize to LEGO lovers.
Another detail that had me totally in love was the sound. The star song of the DLC, “Everything Is AWESOME!!!”, was in turn the soundtrack of The LEGO Movie. I spent weeks listening to it non-stop and, if I remember correctly, there was an option to listen to it on a loop in the video game… And holy hell, I heard it while jumping around the open world! What a wild way to be happy!
Beyond the little song, the sound of LEGO Speed Champions It was wonderful to the point of exhaustion for pleasure. The world was made of LEGO bricks, so everything sounded like that when you collided. There were a lot of types depending on the piece you took. It may seem silly to you, but I swear it became addictive to my mind.
The sound also applied to LEGO cars. When you hit something with a good bomb, the sound was very similar to when you throw a LEGO car against a wall. I know this because I did the test with my Ferrari F40 Speed Champions in real life. A piece of advice if you are going to do the test: don't give it too much speed when throwing it.
![lego forza](https://i.blogs.es/558a29/forza-lego/450_1000.webp)
![lego forza](https://i.blogs.es/558a29/forza-lego/450_1000.webp)
I plan to return to Forza Horizon 4 to enjoy LEGO Speed Champions once again, so I don't rule out talking about the expansion again soon. Microsoft has said that it will maintain the servers and access to those who bought it, but that does not free it from the funeral. It's a slightly slower death. The absence of new players will eventually be noticeable.
At the risk of sounding repetitive, I feel very sad for all the new players who won't be able to enjoy this experience. It's not fair and I admit I'm a little angry. It's absurd that gamers lose access to such relevant games like this one: Best Sports/Driving Game and Best Sound Design nominee in 2018, and we all know why it wasn't nominated for Game of the Year. I'd almost rather they never know what they're missing. You know what they say: “Out of sight, out of mind…”
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