During the Xbox livestream at the Tokyo Game Show, after years of silence, Playground Games finally revealed the long awaited next entry in the Forza Horizon franchise.
After over a decade of fans begging, Playground finally gave us a Forza Horizon game set in Japan, instantly making it one of the most popular trailers of the entire Xbox showcase.
Forza Horizon 6 launched with record breaking numbers, accumulating over 300,000 active players during Steam Early Access alone and selling more than 6 million copies within its first month.
Where Scale, Detail, and Performance Finally Align
The game is visually stunning. From the snow covered mountains to the bright neon streets of Tokyo, every part of the map looks incredible.
In a world where 90% of games launch poorly optimized, Playground Games and Microsoft somehow managed to create a smooth, photorealistic experience that runs well on almost all hardware. Even mid to high-end PCs can play the game at maximum settings with ray tracing enabled while experiencing little to no performance issues.
Forza Horizon 6 offers the biggest map the series has ever seen. It can take hours to fully explore, and you can tell the developers put genuine care into every detail, making the world feel as authentic as possible while also addressing many of the complaints players had about Forza Horizon 5's map.
A Car Lover's Paradise
Forza Horizon 6 launches with over 600 cars, featuring everything from '90s JDMS to family vans to hypercars and even the classic Peel P50. The game has almost every type of car you could think of (except Bugatti), allowing you to build just about any race, drift, or meme car you want.
When it comes to collecting cars, Playground Games has introduced several new features. Alongside the return of the fan favorite Barn Finds, they've added Aftermarket Cars and Treasure Cars.
Aftermarket Cars can be discovered while randomly driving around the world. They come with pre-installed upgrades and can be purchased at a discounted price.
Treasure Cars work similarly to Barn Finds, but instead of appearing on your map, you're only given a single photo. You'll need to use your map knowledge to locate the car yourself.
One of the coolest new additions is the ability to customize both the décor and display of your garage. You can build your dream 2, 3, or 4 car garage and even make it public so friends and other players can visit and admire your collection.
A Great Racer Held Back by Familiarity
In Forza Horizon 6, progression takes a more structured form through a wristband system that's just like the original 2012 game. Players advance through tiers Yellow, Green, Blue, Pink, Orange, Purple, and ultimately Gold each one marking a new achievement. To move forward, you must complete races, PR stunts, or story events to unlock a featured “festival” challenge tied to your current wristband. Winning that event rewards you with the next wristband, gradually add more content across the map: more races, more stunts, more stories, and hidden barn finds waiting to be discovered.
Reaching the Gold wristband unlocks access to Legend Island a fully separate, previously inaccessible area that expands the map and introduces a new horizon festive for dedicated players.
The gameplay feels just like any other Forza Horizon title, offering a great balance between arcade and simulation racing. This makes it easy for newcomers to jump into the series.
However, veterans with hundreds of hours may find themselves a little bored. The game doesn't introduce many new gameplay mechanics, and with so many returning cars from previous entries, Forza Horizon 6 can sometimes feel more like a large expansion than a brand new game.
Like many recent entries in the franchise, this installment continues to struggle with a sense of rushed progression. From the moment you begin, the game is eager to hand you supercars, whether it’s through preorder bonuses, rewards for playing previous Forza titles, or optional paid content like the $10 Time Attack Car Pack, which instantly grants access to some of the most competitive road racing cars in the game.
Earning money, meanwhile, rarely feels like a meaningful challenge. Credits flow in at such a generous rate that even “rare” or “high end” vehicles lose their sense of prestige. The excitement of finally affording a dream car is dulled when that milestone arrives far sooner and easier than expected. That sense of imbalance only grows when VIP perks are applied.
That said, it's still incredibly fun. Whether I'm racing online, chasing a new personal best in a drift zone, or climbing the leaderboards in a Time Attack, I often lose track of time while playing.
For those reasons i strongly recommend this game for the people who love cars and the fundamentals of a racing game but if you're jumping into this game for a challenge and rewarding gameplay this one isn't for you
Final Verdict
Forza Horizon 6 is easily one of the strongest entries in the series, delivering a breathtaking recreation of Japan, an enormous open world, and one of the best car rosters the franchise has ever offered. While the new progression system and exploration features are welcome additions, the gameplay remains very familiar, and its overly generous progression makes earning cars and credits feel less rewarding.
Pros:
- Breathtaking recreation of Japan.
- Enormous open world.
- One of the best car rosters in the series.
- New progression system is a welcome addition.
Cons:
- Gameplay feels very familiar and doesn't evolve much from previous games.
- Progression is overly generous.
- Earning cars feels less rewarding because they're handed out too easily.
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