Reviewers praised the game's visuals and artificial intelligence, but were critical of the lack of content in relation to its predecessor, Forza Motorsport 4.

The team hired Skywalker Sound to create an action movie soundscape based on a lap of the Bernese Alps track in Forza Motorsport 4, and as a result tailored the game audio for player engagement versus passive movie watching.

In contrast to its predecessors, there are no licensed songs from popular artists that play while racing, instead substituting them for the original score by Lance and John.

Shaun McInnis of GameSpot said the game was "built on the romantic thrill of motorsport in all its forms, and that love for its subject matter is all but impossible to resist.

"[20] Luke Reilly of IGN called it "an essential destination for the automobile obsessed" and "a very hard game for a revhead like myself not to love.

"[23] In his review for Polygon, Arthur Gies praised the game's "aggressive, convincing AI", saying it made "every offline race feel like a multiplayer competition".

[25] Gies went on to say that "Turn 10 has charted a course for the future of the series — and created the Xbox One's first must-own game".

[25] However, a number of critics complained about the relative lack of content versus its predecessor, Forza Motorsport 4.

[17] Writing for EGM, Ray Carsillo said that while the game "maintains the tradition of providing great control along with some stunningly realistic graphics", ultimately it was "a surprising step backward for the Forza franchise".