Before creating a character, or buying cars, or even seeing the map, the very first thing you do in "Forza Horizon 4" is race.
The game opens — as it has for the past several iterations — with a freewheeling race that has you leaping from vehicle to vehicle. The instructions are simple: Right trigger to accelerate, left trigger to brake, and left thumbstick to steer.
The race is intentionally simplistic and bombastic — a bluster-filled intro to the anything goes mentality of the "Horizon" series. It continues to be a strong way to onboard new players. "Here!" it screams. "Jump in! Go!"
And go, you must.
That introduction transitions to the real game soon after, and the game's controls remain set in the default, easy-to-use setting. The game doesn't urge you to amp up the difficulty, or even tell you where the settings are to change said difficulty.
If you want to turn on manual transmissions, or turn off steering assists — or whatever else — you have to go find that stuff. The options are there in spades, but the game puts no pressure on the average player to ramp up the difficulty.