Forza Horizon 5 is the latest entry in the Forza Horizon series, transporting players from the English coast in the previous game to its rendition of Mexico for the titular music and car festival. Car customization, specifically, can take place at any of the game’s garages using vehicles players have unlocked along with customizing their in-game avatars. Players can tune cars to their liking for performance, swap out parts, and give cars and avatars a fresh look before getting back out on the road.
Reddit user CiaoTime took full advantage of the cosmetic customization to give their in-game GMC van a fresh look and promote “Birds Aren’t Real.” They kept the van’s overall color a flat white while several messages are posted all across the van. These include the aforementioned line and several other messages associated with it, such as birds are actually surveillance cameras and their batteries are regularly recharged on power lines.
As simple the design appears, CiaoTime’s van highlights the freedom Playground Games gives players with Forza Horizon’s car customization. The studio has expanded customization with every game in the Horizon series with additions like design-sharing where players can post their car designs online for other players to download. Given this option, players shouldn’t be surpised if more cars pop up in-game bearing this design.
CiaoTime’s van is also another example of how the online movement has taken off over the last three years, though not in the way the creator of “Birds Aren’t Real” seems to have intended. The movement was born in 2018 by a then 20-year-old college student who said birds were actually drones built by the CIA after taking out a multi-billion dollar loan.
While the creator stands by his message, “Birds Aren’t Real” became co-opted by online meme culture which uses it to mock the spread of conspiracy theories over the last several years. This coincides with the rise of groups like QAnon, a right-wing conspiracy group, which gained traction over the last several years thanks to mainstream news coverage and far-right elected officials in the U.S. government.
Forza Horizon 5 is currently available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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