Forza Horizon 6 review - a near-complete package, tuned to perfection

20 years ago, Need For Speed Carbon opened my eyes to the thrills of downhill sprints and heavy drifts. Zooming down canyons in my tricked-out Toyota Trueno, like anime series Initial D's Takumi Fujiwara, was unforgettable, and it's a high I've been chasing ever since. When Playground Games revealed Forza Horizon 6 would bring the Horizon Festival to Japan, I felt my dopamine receptors begin to fire. Forza Horizon 5 had failed to capture my interest for long with its lack of real progression, but Playground has more than rectified its missteps in the Land of the Rising Sun. Forza Horizon 6 is very much 'more Forza Horizon' in many ways, but its refinements elevate it above its predecessor.

Forza Horizon 6 hasn't simply crammed a load of new features in, though there's plenty to talk about there. For the most part, Playground Games has crafted a deeper experience through introspection and, ostensibly, plenty of community feedback. Rather than spawning in as a superstar driver, you're starting at the bottom of the barrel this time. Taking a leaf out of the original Forza Horizon's book, entry to the Horizon Festival is earned, and you'll only be able to access events for progressively higher-tier vehicles by accruing colored wristbands. Reaching the coveted gold wristband grants access to Legend Island, unlocking some rather special events. It's a simple-enough system, but it pushes you to explore every nook and cranny for collectibles and other goodies to rack up extra points that racing alone can't provide.

You won't only be treated to a strip of lurid plastic for reaching each progression milestone. Showcase Events have often been a bit meh, with these scripted races typically having foregone conclusions. In Horizon 6, though, you're on your own as you saunter through some incredibly cinematic setpieces, including one spectacular matchup, scored to Japanese icon Ado's 'New Genesis', that I won't forget in a hurry. At certain breakpoints, you'll instead be challenged to the new Horizon Rush obstacle courses, which sport plenty of tight sections to drift around if that's your thing.

For much of Horizon 6's loop, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' applies. You'll still be taking part in the standard mixture of road, dirt, and cross country races as part of the Horizon Festival, with the odd time attack and drag meet thrown in for good measure. The routes are decently varied, and cater to every style of driving, but the events themselves are fairly pedestrian.

If anything, it was the less official 'Discover Japan' events outside of the festival that really had me hooked. Street racing through Tokyo, city pop blaring, is a whole vibe - Playground's curated playlists showcase some immaculate taste, though I do wish space was made for a couple of Eurobeat bangers. Meanwhile, the mountain-based touge races saw me send my freshly-wrapped Trueno straight down Mt. Haruna as I'd carved up canyons all those years ago. Dopamine achieved.

At one point, I became a tarmac-tearing delivery driver, nipping across Tokyo City while breaking every speeding law to ensure my customers received a piping hot meal. Having successfully completed a hard day's graft, I had AI assistant Anna take the wheel using the new auto drive feature, and kicked back as I undertook a guided tour of the area. If anything, going hands-off only made me appreciate how hard the studio's cooked with its map.

Playground's fictional rearrangement of Japan is, quite simply, stunning. If you're after geographical accuracy, then you'll be disappointed, but this 'greatest hits' approach to design has allowed the studio to showcase some of the country's most iconic POI's. Mt. Fuji is very much the map's North Star, and it's incredibly picturesque watching the sun set over it.

A frozen region punctuates the northern quadrant, offering a different kind of terrain that you'll have to take care to navigate. The roads themselves are interspersed with rolling plains, dense forests, and rice paddies, with plenty of verticality across the board. The open world is expertly crafted, and a pleasure to cruise around - whether that's taking a beach-side holiday in the summer, or whipping up a flurry of cherry blossoms in the spring. You can only fast travel to roads and places you've explored, but why would you want to hop from event to event when the scenery looks this good?

Now, let's talk cars. Beginning your journey as a tourist means you won't be spoonfed a shiny new 2020 Corvette or GR Supra to kick things off, and Horizon 6 is all the better for it. Layered progression is a major proponent of any great racing game, and the way it's handled here lets you better appreciate the brutish lines of the 1970 Datsun 510 and JDM's heritage through the always-smiling 1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata, before you start tearing up the track in modern spacemobiles like the 2022 Acura NSX Type S. The credits required to snap up better cars are still accrued far too quickly for my liking, though, and with the usual suite of events, gacha-style Wheelspin pulls, and general exploration, it doesn't take long to acquire a pricey fleet.

The starter cars this time around are all solid enough. The Nissan Silvia and Toyota Celica are JDM all-timers, so no surprises there. In the 4×4 department, you have the Jimmy, though for some strange reason Playground has opted for the American, GMC one, not Suzuki's. This oddity aside, Horizon 6's vehicular line-up is a petrolhead's paradise. From the classic Mini Cooper to the ferocious-looking Lotus Evija, you will not be disappointed with the over 550 motors available - that is, unless you're James May, as the Dacia Sandero didn't quite make the cut.

Naturally, you'll also find a strong selection of local finery. The Mazda RX-8 R3 is a beauty, and there are more Mitsubishi Evos than you can shake a gearstick at. I was quite surprised to see a lack of R33 and R34 Skylines on the list, but the 1995 Nismo GT-R should give you a sufficient Fast and Furious fix - you know, the good ones when the series was actually about racing. Playground's also included some left-field options, including the Autozam AZ-1, the adorable Nissan S-Cargo, and the Honda Acty; ambling about in a kei truck is rather good fun.

Playground has done a cracking job of injecting personality into its catalog, aided by audio system upgrades that make them sound more true-to-life. Some vehicles certainly have more character than others, though whether that's a good thing or not varies. I came into possession of a cleverly-transformed off-road Dodge Viper, which looked like it'd get the job done on more rugged terrain. I hated it. At even the suggestion of turning, the unwieldy beast would spin out; I'd rather have driven the Sandero. Instead, I opted for the next best thing: a UNSC Warthog. While it didn't quite have the same oomph as the Dodge, despite its eight-liter twin-turbo V8 engine chugging away, I didn't have to fight for my life to keep the iconic Halo bulwark in-check - it was awesome, though it had become apparent that my cornering chops needed work.

Most of my formative racing game experience came from Need For Speed, which translates to Horizon about as well as I can understand Japanese. Sure, Horizon is still decently arcade-y, especially compared to full-fledged sims like F1 and Forza Motorsport, but going from a brake-to-drift system to Horizon's will certainly take some adjusting to if you're new to the series. I still can't throw myself around bends like I did back in my Carbon heyday, but Horizon's system quickly becomes familiar, and it's incredibly enjoyable to master. I'm no Keiichi Tsuchiya, but with a bit of practice after not touching Forza for a couple of years, I started to feel like a drift king again.

As I made my way through each event, I gradually started to notice small instances of rubber-banding. It was nothing massively egregious, and I know the devs have progressively shifted away from it as Playground's AI Drivatar tech has improved. That being said, Drivatars would occasionally take racing lines that seemed… unnatural, to pip my position. An issue that became glaringly apparent, though, was that as soon as I would establish a decent lead, most of the pack would seemingly give up, which was quite disappointing. Perhaps this changes at the apex difficulties, but I never managed to get ahead when I did try to test this - I'm a games journalist, not Lando Norris.

Racing games are at their best when you have to actively plan your approach and utilize your vehicle's strengths. Horizon 6 facilitates this very well. A personal highlight was an AWD race which shifted between vertical off-road slopes and tighter, road-based sections. My nemesis was an Evo VI that managed to stay ahead for most of the race, hoovering up seconds in the corners as my Ford pickup had all the poise of a rhino renditioning Swan Lake. However, it also had the grunt uphill that the Mitsubishi lacked, which I leveraged to my advantage as I finally passed it in the final lap. With a few more credits now burning a hole in my pocket, it was time to treat my triumphant whip to some fresh trim.

Customization, or the lack thereof, has long been one of Forza Horizon's weaknesses, and it remains the area that lets it down. Yes, there are now more livery options than ever and you can stick decals on your windows. Yes, the swan-necked Forza rear wing has had a light redesign. Unfortunately, the wing is still ugly, and remains the only one that provides downforce tuning for a slew of cars. Body kits, meanwhile, are still limited for the most part. A major proponent of JDM culture is taking the unremarkable and making it unrecognizable. Playground had a golden opportunity to reflect that in its customization tools, but you still can't even change the exhaust.

At the very least, the studio's scattered some deliciously decked-out aftermarket cars around the map, which won't make much of a dent in your bank balance. These are incredibly detailed, highly-custom builds that somewhat make-up for the lack of garage diversity. It's not a perfect solution, but I'm glad to see that tradition's being honored in some capacity.

Lackluster vehicle customization aside, Playground is doing the most to channel your creativity elsewhere. Your garage is now completely modular, providing a suite of decorations that will fit your aesthetic vibe. Ultra-minimalist Marie Kondo types can set it up like a professional showroom, while agents of chaos like myself can delve into the off-piste decor. It's a fabulous addition, and something I look forward to spending many more hours perfecting.

Houses are back, and while you can't buy up premium property, you can at least secure several abandoned lodgings (known as 'akiya'), alongside a tidy little estate stashed away in the forest. It's in the latter where you'll be able to fully flex your vision of utopia, propping up massive skyscrapers, stunt ramps, and more that you can invite your mates over to marvel at. There's a whole section dedicated to dinosaurs, which made me very happy. Playground's upsettingly omitted the noble diplodocus - the best dinosaur - but the life-size brachiosaurus sitting out on my forecourt is a fine alternative.

Speaking of spending time with your pals, Playground has not only pushed social play to new heights off the track, but on it, too. In a multiplayer session, Playground lead game designer Dave Orton took us through several ways you and the homies can get some quality time in, including car meets, synchronized drag races, and drop-in time attacks. Car meets serve as the ultimate way to flex your designs, prompting many ooo's, ahh's, and a solid photo mode session. If your buddy's car has taken your fancy, but you don't own it yet, you can quickly select it and buy a stock version. You can also save their customizations as a preset, because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and all that.

The aforementioned races, meanwhile, come with their own leaderboards, so you can either choose to compete with your convoy, or casually yap away as you move. Perhaps my favorite event was Spec Racing, which has all of you take part in a mini-tournament while all using the same car. It is, categorically, the best way to decide who's the best of the bunch, and my competitive spirit certainly outweighed my results. More is not necessarily better sometimes, but I feel like Playground's onto a winner with these additions. Small lobbies and inconsistent matchmaking were big problems with Horizon 5, so I hope the extra impetus to connect works as a natural salve.

On the performance front, I have zero crashes to report outside of me awkwardly slamming into half of the local woodland in front of Orton. The game runs buttery smooth on my Ryzen 5 3600 / RTX 4070ti system, though I will say I did encounter some pesky stuttering at points. During longer sessions, I also noticed loading times occasionally began to drag on, but that's nothing a quick restart (or a future patch) can't fix. For the most part, it's smoother than a Rolls-Royce on fresh tarmac.

Forza Horizon 6 wonderfully showcases Playground Games' passion for racing. Its new additions, iterative upgrades, and all-round showroom polish elevate it above its predecessor. It's let down by stagnant vehicle customization, though it manages to offset this through aftermarket JDM finds that, alongside the rest of its vehicular line-up, spark joy with every burst of acceleration and corner drifted. It's an exquisite racing game, and one its new multiplayer bells and whistles will hopefully ensure you'll be playing for a long time.