Australia is huge. Like, mind-bogglingly massive. But when Playground Games sat down to design the map Forza Horizon 3 would eventually call home, they didn't try to recreate the whole continent. Instead, they built a sort of "Greatest Hits" version of the Land Down Under that, honestly, still holds up better than the massive, sprawling maps we’ve seen in more recent sequels.
It’s weird to think about. We’re talking about a game from 2016. Usually, in the world of racing sims and open-world sandboxes, newer is always better, right? Bigger must be superior. But there is a specific magic in the way the Byron Bay to Surfers Paradise stretch was laid out that modern titles sometimes miss.
The Biome Diversity Nobody Expected
Most people think of Australia and just see red dirt. Dust. Maybe a kangaroo or two. But the map Forza Horizon 3 offered was surprisingly lush. You had the Twelve Apostles—those iconic limestone stacks—standing tall against a crashing ocean. Then, just a few miles inland, you were suddenly swallowed by the Yarra Valley’s rainforests.
It felt dense.
The transition from the high-rise urban jungle of Surfers Paradise to the literal jungle of the rainforest wasn't just a change in scenery; it changed how the cars handled. You’d be screaming along the asphalt in a Lamborghini Centenario, hitting nearly 250 mph, only to have to shed all that speed because the road turned into a muddy, narrow track slick with tropical rain. It forced you to actually care about your tire compounds.
👉 See also: The Last of Us Remastered PS4: Why Most People Still Get This Game Wrong
Ralph Fulton, the Creative Director at Playground Games at the time, talked a lot about "horizon moments." These were those specific points where the lighting and the geography combined to make you just stop and stare. In the Australian setting, they achieved this by using a custom-built 12K HDR camera rig to literally film the Australian sky for months. That’s why the clouds look real. They are real.
The Outback is more than just empty space
When you head west on the map, you hit the Redbridge and the vast, open Outback. This is where the game really lets you breathe.
It’s easy to mess up an open desert in a video game. If there’s nothing to hit, it’s boring. But the developers scattered enough elevation changes and "drift zones" throughout the dusty plains to keep it engaging. You weren't just driving in a straight line; you were managing weight transfer over crests that could send an improperly tuned truck flipping into the scrubland.
I remember the first time I took a Trophy Truck out there. The suspension travel was the only thing keeping me from a total wreck. The way the red dust kicked up and lingered in the air—obscuring the view of the person behind you—was a tactical advantage in online races. It felt gritty. It felt hot.
Why the Map Forza Horizon 3 Featured Beats Horizon 5
Look, Mexico in Horizon 5 is objectively bigger. It’s technically more advanced. But size isn't everything.
✨ Don't miss: Why Your Back Hurts: Finding a Gaming Recliner Chair for Adults That Actually Works
The problem with massive maps is that they often feel "stretched." You get long stretches of... nothing. In the map Forza Horizon 3 gave us, everything felt curated. The distance between the festival hubs felt intentional. You never felt like you were just grinding through miles of filler to get to the next race.
Also, can we talk about the cities? Surfers Paradise is arguably the best urban environment the series has ever seen. It’s got those tight 90-degree turns and long seaside straights that make for incredible street racing. Compared to the quaint, winding streets of Guanajuato or the somewhat sterile Edinburgh from Horizon 4, Surfers Paradise had a vibe. It felt like a vacation destination that someone had let a bunch of petrolheads take over.
The verticality of Blizzard Mountain and Hot Wheels
We can't talk about the geography without mentioning the expansions. They weren't just add-ons; they were radical reconstructions of what the game's engine could do.
- Blizzard Mountain: This introduced actual snow physics that felt heavy. It wasn't just "white grass." Your car would sink. You needed winter tires or you were basically driving an ice skate.
- Hot Wheels: This was a fever dream. Giant orange tracks suspended thousands of feet above the Australian coast. It took the base map and turned it into a vertical playground.
The fact that the base engine could support both a realistic simulation of the Australian bush and a loop-de-looping toy track fantasy says a lot about the foundation Playground Games built.
Navigating the Landmarks
If you’re hopping back into the game today—which, by the way, is getting harder to do since it was delisted from digital stores years ago—there are a few spots you absolutely have to visit.
The Pink Lakes (Lake Hillier) are a standout. Driving a high-performance off-roader through bright pink water sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but it’s a real geographical feature of Australia. Then there's the Ormiston Gorge. The rock formations there are jagged and unforgiving. If you miss a line in a Cross Country event, you aren't just hitting a fence; you're hitting a wall of ancient stone.
The density of these landmarks meant that the "Beauty Spots" actually felt like rewards. You’d find a hidden waterfall or a quiet coastal lookout and it felt like a genuine discovery.
Actionable Tips for Mastering the Australian Terrain
If you are looking to maximize your time on this specific map, stop treating every car like a pavement queen. Australia demands versatility.
🔗 Read more: Pacific Avenue Monopoly Card: Why the Green Properties Are a Mathematical Trap
- Build a "Mid-Travel" Tune: Most players either go full race-spec or full off-road. For the Horizon 3 map, you want something in the middle. A car with slightly softened springs and a bit more ride height will handle the transitions between the paved roads of the Yarra Valley and the dirt tracks much better.
- Focus on the Bucket List: Don't just race. The Bucket List challenges are specifically designed to show off the map's most dangerous or beautiful sections. They force you to use cars you might otherwise ignore.
- Watch the Water: The coastal areas have deep standing water in places. Unlike later games where you can almost skip over it, in Horizon 3, hitting deep water at high speed acts like a massive brake. It’ll jerk your steering wheel and kill your momentum instantly.
- Go Hunting for Barn Finds: The map layout hides these exceptionally well. Look for clusters of trees in the middle of open fields or small clearings in the densest parts of the rainforest.
The map Forza Horizon 3 provided wasn't just a place to drive; it was a character in itself. It was loud, colorful, and occasionally very dangerous. While the newer games have more pixels and more square mileage, the soul of the Horizon festival arguably peaked in the virtual version of Australia. It’s a snapshot of a time when the series felt less like a massive corporate checklist and more like a wild, slightly disorganized road trip with your loudest friends.
To get the most out of your return to the Outback, prioritize high-ground-clearance vehicles even for street-heavy builds. The curbs in Surfers Paradise are notoriously "bitey" and can easily settle your car into a spin if you clip them with a low-slung supercar. Adjust your bump stiffness to around 2.5 to 3.0 on most "S1" class builds to compensate for the uneven road joins found near the construction sites and docks. Australia isn't a flat track; it’s a living, breathing obstacle course. High-speed stability is your best friend when the asphalt ends and the red dust begins.