The Ghost drivers in Forza Horizon 5 are not only extremely clever, but also give a player a particularly poignant experience.
Games are not only known to be the greatest hobby in the world, they also provide stories that get under your skin and are beautiful and sad at the same time. And just such a story has come to light thanks to a Reddit user who shared a gameplay video from Forza Horizon 5 with the community.
Multiplayer race against deceased friend moves to tears
If one were to hide the text of the user Lilidank and only watch his one-minute video, one would probably never get the idea from what is shown that touching scenes are taking place in the multiplayer duel. The fact is: the two opponents should not actually be able to compete against each other.
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This is what’s behind it: In 2019, when Forza Horizon 5 was still in the middle of development, Lilidank’s friend passed away. So they were never able to hit the track together and compete in races like they had planned.
But the Ghost AI of Forza Horizon 5 made it possible – in a different way. It accesses all kinds of information that many Forza players have accumulated over the years. This concerns not only the name of the person, but also their driving style, which is analysed on the basis of recorded races.
This makes it possible to compete against the ghost of another player who, in the best case, acts almost as if the real person were sitting behind the virtual wheel. This is exactly what happened with Lilidank. He was able to compete against his sorely missed friend – two years after his death.
Not an isolated case: Incidentally, this is not the first time that quite touching stories have taken place on Reddit. In 2019, for example, a seriously ill player posted his wish to play Borderlands 3 before he died. The developers of the co-op shooter then even immortalised him personally in the game.
Emotional reactions from the community
This story not only makes us gulp more than once, but also meets (in the comments) with great sympathy under the Reddit post. Especially the fact that Lilidank only finished the race in second place on purpose caused many to be moved.
Many users also contributed their own experiences of personal loss to the thread, which was very much characterised by sympathy and positivity. As it turns out, other Forza Horizon 5 players have also had a similar experience.
The many responses have done good: completely overwhelmed by this feedback, Lilidank has also spoken up again herself in the comments to thank everyone:
Hey everyone, I want to say thank you for all your sympathy! I am feeling much better now and will always carry him in my heart. I’m thankful to be able to ride with my friend again, and I wouldn’t care at all to always come second. […] You are all so wonderful and great. I don’t know what to say, but thank you so much for your love. I wish this community only the best.
