Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC
If you’ve played a Forza Horizon entry in the last decade, you’ve already put the pedal to the metal in some of the coolest cars while zooming around the world’s most picturesque locales. But developer Playground Games has somehow outdone themselves with Forza Horizon 6, a superb sequel that not only further refines and polishes the series’ genre-defining formula, but crams even more enhancements and content beneath its hood.
As expected, this latest entry retains the franchise’s rewarding behind-the-wheel gameplay, nailing the sweet spot between accessible arcade-style racing and deeper, simulation-like mechanics. Of course, a massive selection of optional assists and customisation options also allow players of all stripes to lean further in either direction, tailoring the experience to their skill level and preferred playstyle.
Expansive, diverse, dense, and incredibly detailed, the game’s richly realized Japan setting is as fun to experience as a camera-toting tourist as it is for a speed limit-obliterating adrenaline junkie.
But whether you buckle-up as a returning racer or you’re revving your engine for the first time, you can expect to tear up the blacktop around the series’ biggest, most beautiful open-world yet.
Expansive, diverse, dense, and incredibly detailed, the game’s richly realized Japan setting is as fun to experience as a camera-toting tourist as it is for a speed limit-obliterating adrenaline junkie. And that’s before you account for the immersion-ratcheting variety fuelled by changing seasons, weather patterns, and a day/night cycle that seems to frame every location — from Tokyo’s neon-soaked streets to the postcard-perfect Japanese Alps — in the absolute best light.
Whether you want to casually take in the sights — or take tight turns at insane speeds while white-knuckling the wheel — there’s never any shortage of things to do in Horizon 6. If it’s competition you crave, there are countless courses, contests, events, and challenges, all tied to the campaign’s Horizon Festival, allowing you to rise through ranks, collect hundreds of cars, and even chase a towering mech through Tokyo.
Equally layered and deep are the game’s “Discover Japan” activities, which are less about crossing the finish line first, and more about exploring and appreciating the vast island nation’s landmarks, culture, and personality. That’s not to say this side of the game isn’t packed with its own unique thrills and skill-testing tasks. While this more exploratory side of the experience will have you completing fun food-delivery challenges, it also hosts Touge Battles: incredibly intense one-on-one races on some of the map’s most perilous mountain roads.
Tying everything together is Forza Horizon 6‘s pair of rewarding progression systems. Whatever you choose to do among the game’s hundreds of activities, it all continually fuels your progress, either within the competitive Festival or the Discover Japan activities. This results in a constant drip of rewards, unlocks, and upgrades — from the 550-plus cars and customisation options to garages, houses, and even estates where you can build your own tracks – that significantly elevate the progression path beyond just simple character growth.
Forza Horizon 6 is the best entry in an already stellar series, retaining — but refining and polishing — what’s worked in previous instalments, while also significantly building on the franchise’s rock-solid foundation with a ton of fresh inclusions. A must-play for racing game fans, as well as complete newcomers seeking an accessible entry point into the genre, Playground Games’ latest lap is a rubber-burning blast.
