From entry to entry, the biannual Forza Motorsport series doesn't change a whole lot at its core. But this latest entry strips back some of the bloat, fixes some missteps of past games and pushes the envelope further than ever before when it comes to graphical proficiency.

Striking a balance between being a hardcore simulation for the speed nerds and an accessible racer for lovers of automotive culture, Forza is always filled with authentic cars and iconic locations. This is a purely on-track experience, with none of the off-road shenanigans of the Horizon spin-off series, but between racing through the various themed championships and filling your garage with bought cars, there's plenty to keep you busy.

In a series known for its graphical fidelity, this latest entry blows all previous console racing games out of the water with beautiful countrysides, gorgeous skies and a frankly outrageous level of car detail both internal and external. One of the biggest changes compared to Forza 6 is how exciting the weather conditions are. Rather than having the option to play each course with a selection of preset modifiers, weather is now totally dynamic and makes for some magical lighting and rain effects. Wet weather, of course, will also greatly affect your driving.

Racing in Forza feels as good as it looks, thanks to its incredibly nuanced systems that give the player a lot of control over how cars perform. The default settings will be a bit too conservative for most, with the game helping you steer and brake with a heavy hand while also illustrating the optimal speed for taking each turn with on-track driving lines.

Some amount of fiddling is required to find your preferred style, but even with most assists off the game is much more generous than a hardcore simulation like Project Cars. Careful throttle control will yield you some epic turns and drifts that probably wouldn't be possible in a real world scenario, but it loks and feels oh so good. The optional rewind function, which lets you turn back time to scrub a spin-out or full-on crash from existence, is handy here, as it lets you tackle the same turn over and over to learn the ropes.

The opponent AI has come along in leaps and bounds, although they still generally drive like jerks. You can adjust their aggression so they merely nudge you when you're in the way rather than outright trying to kill you, but making it through a race with no collisions is nigh on impossible. This of course is another aspect of the game where fun takes precedence over realism. I also found cars group together a lot more than they did last time, which keeps things interesting.

Forza 7 offers something for every type of revhead, from supercars to utes, and from vintage convertibles and futuristic concept cars. Toyota and a few others have pulled out this year for whatever reason, but Porsche is (finally) in and the mix is great overall.

I found the progression system a touch frustrating, as you'll need to pour in a huge number of hours to see every car and have access to all the Forza Cup content, but the game strikes a nice balance by opening up slowly but always giving you a few options to choose from.

Meanwhile, an overall shift in the tone of the game is very welcome. This is still a celebration of cars and driving, but there's much less pretentious car worship and more of a focus on the player's own driver avatar and personal collection. I was bracing myself for more whispered talk of faraway countries and RPMs while doors slid open and closed and the camera lingered on leather accents every time I bought a car, so I'm glad that's gone.

Less welcome are a few changes to the metagame, including a loot box system that asks you to trade in your hard-earned credits for a mere chance at exotic cars and upgrades. I found the game much more enjoyable when I kept my credits to spend on exactly the stuff I wanted, and thankfully I found that pretty easy to do, but buying boxes promises fun and interesting modifiers that switch up your racing conditions and offer and chance at more credits, which is a kind of gambling I just don't feel gels well with the rest of the game.

Overall, this is the slickest Forza Motorsport yet and the most enjoyable pure racer on consoles. I'm hanging out to see how this already gorgeous and fast experience performs with the promised update to 4K HDR alongside the Xbox One X console next month.

Forza Motorsport 7 is out now on Xbox One (reviewed) and PC.