Forza Horizon 5 Apex, Wilds or Baja choice: Which Horizon Adventure Chapter should you play first?
All three are exciting options - and you can play them all eventually.
Choosing between Apex, Wilds or Baja is one of the first choices you make in Forza Horizon 5.
As part of the story, when you earn enough Accolades, you choose which Horizon Adventure Chapter to play next.
The first is between a set of three areas, each with their own locations and race types which will then unlock across the map.
The good news is, whichever you choose, the others will be waiting for you whenever you collect enough Accolades - so it's a case of which sounds most interesting up front.
Forza Horizon 5 Apex, Wilds or Baja choice: Which Horizon Adventure Chapter should you play first?
When you earn enough Accolades in the first hour or so of the game, you will unlock your first Horizon Adventure Chapter, with three available - Apex, Wilds and Baja.
Once you select one of the three, you will complete the respective story mission - Expeditions set either in an active volcano, Tulum or jungle airport. Once completed, a Festival Outpost will be situated at that point of the map.
From there, a series of races attached to that event type - road racing, dirt racing or cross-country racing - will unlock across the map.
The choices, and their respective race types and story missions, are as follows:
| Chapter | Expedition location | Race type unlocked | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon Apex | Tulum | 
| Road Racing |
| Horizon Wilds | Jungle Airport | 
| Dirt Racing |
| Horizon Baja | Volcano | 
| Cross-country Racing |
All three are strong options, as the story missions assigned to them are short but sweet, and each have a number of quick optional objectives for easy accolades. You can see more on these in the links from the above table.
Our favourite was Baja's active volcano - but since that's the site of the very start of the game, you might understandably want to opt for something different. If you are after a challenge with the side objectives, then Wilds's jungle airport crates had us the most stumped.
Welcome to the festival! Check out our Hot Wheels car list, Hammer Mountain location, and how to complete the Park Tour challenge pages if you're enjoying the Hot Wheels DLC. If you're after new vehicles, we have barn find locations and a list of the best cars in Forza Horizon 5. If you're just starting, we can help with the early Apex, Wilds or Baja choice, with covers the Jungle, Volcano and Tulum, as well as how to change seasons.
In which case, you should go which race types are unlocked you might want to play first. After all, the more you enjoy the opening hours of the game, the more you are likely to keep playing.
Another minor consideration is that all three of these Expeditions will unlock a specific Barn Find location. These are as follows - so if you want to get one of these as soon as possible, then consider that mission first:
- Jaguar Sport XJR-15 (Wilds)
- GMC Jimmy (Apex)
- Ford Racing Escort (Baja)
Again, ultimately, the choice doesn't put you down a particular path - all three of these missions can be unlocked later when you have enough Accolades, so it's a case of which jumps out to you.
Finally additional note - once you have made your first Horizon Adventure choice, seasons will then become active.