Forza Horizon 6 review: Unbeatable

Why pivotal? Well, the Xbox division has new leadership. It’s been releasing games cross-platform. Horizon 5 sold about six billion copies, and the Forza Motorsport series seems to be on permanent hiatus. All the eggs are in the open-world basket.

Wait, is that another food reference? Sorry…

There have also been significant personnel changes in this game’s development team, with at least two all-new studios working on driving games led by Horizon series senior creators.

Setting this new addition in Japan has added further pressure. Trying to cram in such diverse typography into one game is a steep challenge.

We’re here to say, though, that those who were concerned about the sixth instalment didn’t have much to worry about. It may have many carry-over elements and quirks, but Forza Horizon 6 is… brilliant. Awe-inspiringly, mind-bendingly, brilliant.

Yet, not perfect.

Following our hands-on preview with a sparse work-in-progress build last month, we still think the central Tokyo city environment lacks pizzazz, even though now it’s filled with fellow players and challenges.

Compromises have been made to road width and presumably to keep the game’s performance in check. We think it could be denser, more traffic-filled and feature greater accuracy. The shops and side streets that are included are at least detailed.

Traffic map-wide is too light for our tastes as it happens and while a smattering of authentic Toyota taxis is welcome, there’s a propensity for Mercedes-Benz G-Wagens to be used as traffic NPCs, which seem incongruous in this setting. So too does racing against US-spec Acura NSXs (which would be badged as Hondas in Japan).

As we’re on a roll about cars, the roster still has varying model quality – although improved thanks to remakes for the likes of Nissan Silvias and Mitsubishi Evo 6s. Perhaps more concerning is a dearth of new-to-Forza Japan-only esoterica, for now. There are some, but perhaps not as many as we expected.

We wouldn’t bet against this evolving, especially through the live-service Festival Playlist feature, which wasn’t active at the time of testing.

On the subject of grips, there’s a refreshed single-player progression structure, which is very much welcome – although now, it can be easy to overlook the story-arc-based missions. These were previously (especially in Horizon 4 and 5) the bedrock of the campaign experience.

Now, they are a side show, as you grind your way through race event, after race event, for between 15 and 20 hours to unlock festival wristbands, before finally opening up part of the map called Legend Island.

This returning system from earlier instalments provides a welcome and much-requested structure, but we wish these story elements also helped towards advancement here for further variety.

Instead, they help towards stamps in a journal. More on that later, as it’s a separate system.

One progression-related element that hasn’t changed dramatically is the shower of supercars within the first five seconds. An exaggeration, but in relative terms, you’ll have access to quick cars very quickly, especially so if you have one of the premium game editions.

An attempt to stymie this has been made by reducing the frequency of Wheelspins and Super Wheelspins. Their continued inclusion means those who enjoy the sheer quantity of cars will be appeased, but those looking for a more considered vehicle collection process will still be disappointed.

Familiar feeling

That’s about it, though. Nitpicking aside, Forza Horizon 6 is a triumph.

The location is the star of the show, and apart from the aforementioned trivialities, this is a lucious, varied, map that is up there with the franchise’s best. Maybe an element of this praise comes in comparison to Horizon 5, which was largely bland. Here, 20 hours in, you’re still finding distinct microcosms, or unique bridges, or blue seas or snowy hairpin-riddled mountain roads.

Rock-strewn valleys are uncannily realistic, the snow fluffy and the highways lengthy. When combined with the robust weather systems, the effects can be spectacular. The snow walls during inclement months, for instance, or take a later Horizon Rush event at night, in the fog, while a rocket takes off.

It must be said, too, that what we consider average PC specs can run on high graphics settings, looking sharp and hitting 60 frames per second without a sweat. As ever, your personal equipment may differ.

Aside from the pretty visuals and varied terrain, the linchpin of the experience is once again collecting. Be that items such as barn find vehicles, treasure cars, bonus boards, mascots or experience points. And even more experience points. And yet more experience points…

Notably, there are some significant differences this time around. Gone are accolades, whereby achieving set tasks earned rewards. Although they do still exist, really, just imagine them reorganised, of a higher importance and split into two buckets: Horizon Festival wristbands and a Discover Japan journal.

The former is how you make progress through the central single-player spine. Essentially, finishing races and PR stunts (speed cameras, jumps and the like) earns XP, and XP unlocks wristbands, with seven to work your way through.

The Journal, however, runs a separate XP tranche running in parallel. It uses a similar structure. Instead of wristbands, each level is a stamp, with seven stamps. Here is where finding hidden items or completing side stories will see you move forward.

It’s a lot more defined and rewarding than any other recent Horizon game, especially considering there’s a carrot at the end of the stick in the form of the unlockable island area.

Cars, meanwhile, remain just as plentiful as before, perhaps being too easy to obtain. Now, some can be purchased from locations on driveways around the map. Although, unlike barn finds, these aren’t fixed collectables, but rather set spots with rotating inventory. On the road, you’ll notice raspier engine sounds from some cars, and naturally, there is a bewildering list of customisation and tuning options larger than an IKEA catalogue.

When driving and not managing your rewards, there’s a genre-leading raft of assists and accessibility options, although we preferred switching the steering to the ‘simulation’ mode. It’s an ambitious name that the experience can’t live up to, but at least in this setting, it doesn’t overly auto-correct a slide, causing a tank-slapper.

There’s also, at last, proper wheel animations for cockpit driving fans, which means wheel use is now more befiting. Drifting around onramps in this series has never been more satisfying. The vehicle dynamics have a familiar, benign sensation aimed at a mass audience, which ideally suits the type of experience.

Showcase snub

Perhaps controversially, the signature Showcase events have been watered down. This is where, a handful of times throughout a Horizon game, you drive a heavily scripted mission against something like a fighter jet or train. There are only two in this most recent game, one against a mech and another in a Porsche 911 against stunt planes. These are interspersed by the Horizon Rush events, which are more compact, less showy (for the most part) and against the clock.

Curious. It really reminded us of DIRT 5’s level creation Playgrounds mode, not something we were expecting to say when testing a game like this. So too do the building options, which really came on strong in Horizon 5 through EventLab, and are expanded upon here.

The Estate promises an expanse of customisable land to show off to friends, but it requires a separate loading time and, at this juncture, before general release, lacks any real appeal. Maybe this will change over time.

Elsewhere, the same recognisable multiplayer modes return, such as Hide and Seek and the battle royale option, The Eliminator, all working similarly. Spec races (everyone in the same car) and Japan-appropriate Togue Battle are new, but otherwise, join the slick convoy system with friends and explore.

It’s here where the new Time Attack mode improves upon its initial showing. During our solo preview with the game, this seemed like a pointless frippery. But, at least when in a convoy, there’s a greater sense of competition, even if car specs will vary wildly.

Oh, go on then

Forza Horizon 6 couldn’t have been bad, could it? With such solid foundations, taking the most recent series entry and then placing it within Japan would have been good enough. That has happened, but with some welcome changes too.

If you’ve recently played its direct predecessor, then several core gameplay mechanics are hackneyed – in particular, the unrelenting payouts for simply driving forwards, let alone achieving something.

Yet, there is just so much here and not just quantity, but quality too. A rare feat.

Solid, refined and built upon over the years, it doesn’t really matter if many elements are carry-overs from prior editions. Playing through this ginormous experience, 15-20 hours for the main events alone, is rewarding and smile-inducing. It could even be the series acme. And oh, the location, this is the apogee of open-world driving experiences.

We haven’t grown tired of the formula just yet.

Traxion Score: 9/10

“Familiar gameplay within stunning surroundings”

For more on Forza Horizon 6, check out our Barn Finds and Treasure Cars guides.