Forza Horizon 5 is swapping the rainy shores of Britain for the sun, sand and generally terrifying extreme weather systems of Mexico later this year, and it's diverse geography and weather is something that I'm pretty curious to learn more about.

In fact, we got our first taste this week as the official Forza Twitter account shared the full map for the next instalment in the series, giving us a full top-down perspective of what to expect. I'd say in terms of size, the map looks comparable to both Forza Horizon 3 and 4, although that huge Volcano up in the top left sure does look rather intimidating. It's a monster.

In fact, it seems to take up almost 1/6th of the entire map, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be visible from almost everywhere on the map. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out gameplay-wise, I can already see one road leading up to the top of there, and you can be sure that there's going to be plenty of off-road fun to be had.

Where we driving? pic.twitter.com/25SwmHH6v2

— Forza Horizon (@ForzaHorizon) August 9, 2021

To the left of the volcano is a big beach area, with plenty of sand dunes and courses, which is great as the beach buggy sections in both 3 and the Fortune Island DLC for 4 were some of the best fun to be had in the series. I'm looking forward to checking that area out for sure.

The map does feel a little lighter on urban environments though, even compared to the last few games. There's one built-up area just to the right of the volcano, but other than that it's looking pretty sparse. I mean, that's not a bad thing the environments look like they'll be spectacular, but if you're a fan of the street racing events, it might be a little light this year.

On the whole, about the size and makeup, we'd expect from the series now though, which has certainly found a grove. Playground has said this will be the "biggest" Forza Horizon to date, but by what measuring stick, we aren't sure. I'd say this map isn't a huge upgrade in terms of size, but hopefully, the new dynamic seasons and weather, and the roster of cars, are where this promise will be delivered.