Forza Horizon 6 Review: Japan's Open World Racing Paradise

Playground Games have been making some of the best open world racing games on the planet, taking us from Colorado to Australia, but this is the first time we get to visit Asia, and they certainly picked the perfect destination for it. It’s astonishing it took this long to finally get to Japan, but here we are with Forza Horizon 6.

Considering how prominent the car culture is across the Pacific, a racing game set in Japan only made sense, and especially so for an open world game such as this. Players are able to drift around Tokyo with neon lights glowing in their rear-view mirror, or traverse grand snowy mountains or find a scenic room through a field of cherry blossom trees. It’s a setting ripe for exploration.

The Horizon Festival Heads East

The progress of the Horizon Festival isn’t too far off from what we’ve had in the past. Players will obtain a wristband that allows them to participate in certain activities, and the more events they tick off their checklist, the closer they get to a showcase to rank them up. These showcases are huge spectacles that revolve around traditional Japanese culture and pop culture. For example, players will be able to race a giant Gundam-like robot while other events will have them appreciating the views of the cherry blossoms.

The events themselves are pretty par for the course for Forza Horizon, with Road, Dirt and Cross Country races being the primary offerings. With that said, in between these events, players will be able to participate in various PR stunts, such as speed traps and zones, drift zones and massive jumps. There’s quite a bit of variety, especially when it comes to exploring the open world.

Speaking of which, Playground Games has crafted an amazing interpretation of Japan. Of course, it’s not a 1:1 recreation of the real thing, as Tokyo is a small portion of the map and players even go to Kyoto destinations, but they do hit some of the major landmarks in Japan. This includes the Shibuya Crosswalk, Kinkaku-ji Temple, the Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge and so much more. Playground Games certainly hit all the iconic spots in the country (or at least from east of Osaka, outside of Ine).

On top of that, there are other ways to explore Japan in Forza Horizon 6 with the new Discover Japan feature. These include story-based events where players will get information and tidbits on various locations around Japan, all while driving unique vehicles. It’s a fun way to learn more about the history of Japan, especially the extensive car culture. They aren’t particularly memorable, but they shed some light on certain areas and there are a couple of fun interactions.

Rev up Your Engines

This wouldn’t be a racing game without cars and Forza Horizon 6 certainly has a massive catalog to choose from. Players will begin the campaign with starter vehicles, but the more events they win, the more credits they accumulate. There are a staggering number of cars in the autoshow, with around eighty different car manufacturers, not to mention an auction house to acquire from fellow players, but there’s also various aftermarket vehicles spread across Japan to find.

Each vehicle comes with their own skill-tree type system where Skill Points can be used to upgrade their efficiency of wracking up even more Skill Score in certain areas in the game. This includes performing stunts on the road, destroying the environment or reckless driving.

Speaking of which, we absolutely love how destructive the world has become. This is something the games have been going more towards, with Forza Horizon 6 feeling more arcadey than ever before. Players will be able to drive through entire forests without anything stopping them in their tracks. The only things that aren’t destructible are structures such as buildings or landmarks, and the obvious concrete walls. Outside of that, cars can force their way through almost anything.

...Playground Games has crafted an amazing interpretation of Japan.

The handling of cars is also expertly done, especially with all the weather conditions. There’s the standard slickness of rain, but there’s also the subtle visual difference, yet drastic handling, between packed snow and loose snow, ensuring players will be spinning out more often than they’re prepared for. Granted, all of this isn’t on the same level as a true racing simulator, as this is aimed more at an arcade feel, especially when taking into consideration the amount of airtime cars can get on jumps, but Playground has been able to find a good middle ground between both worlds.

Accessibility for Everyone

Accessibility is a massive component to Forza Horizon, and the sixth iteration is no different. There are so many different options to choose from to better enhance the player’s experience and difficulty. Difficulty is entirely determined by the various options, be it the different types of braking options, traction control, automatic shifting, the iconic driving line or the rewind feature, among other things. The only real incentive to adjust this is for personal achievement outside online play, as the amount of extra credit obtained is minuscule in comparison.

Then there’s the general accessibility options that allow anyone to customize their racing experience to their needs. This includes standard subtitle size and opacity, and the screen reader’s voice, just to name a couple. Then there are far more advanced options, such as Deuteranopia, Protanopia and Tritanopia Color Filters. There’s even a High Contrast Mode to help identify key elements on screen, such as checkpoint coloring, highlights on other cars and PR stunts around the world. There’s a huge array to dig through.

Experiencing Japan Like Never Before

Visually, Forza Horizon 6 looks absolutely gorgeous. Playing this on a PC with full ray tracing on, ultrawide support and the settings completely maxed out made every sight breathtaking. Because this is an open world game, there are some drawbacks, and it won’t look near photo realistic as some of the more contained racing games out there, but what Playground Games has been able to accomplish is outstanding. Japan is known for their scenic and picturesque environments, and Forza Horizon 6 nails them perfectly.

With that said, Tokyo City itself is probably the least interesting aspect of the racing game from a visual standpoint. It is known to be a bit of a concrete jungle with a lot of white and grey, and it’s no different here. It looks a lot better at night, but driving through the streets during the day is lackluster. It’s everything outside of this, the rural areas, colorful fields and the mountaintops that really shine the brightest.

The developers have captured the cars perfectly, not only from a visual perspective, but in terms of their audio, as well. Hearing the engines rev up on something that’s fully supped up, or the quietness of an electric vehicle ensures players will want to get the best sound system or headset available to experience this. This is on top of a well curated soundtrack full of Japanese songs, ranging from rock to pop.

Closing Comments:

Forza Horizon 6 is magnificent. It’s everything we could have hoped for, finally bringing the open world racing experience of Forza Horizon to the Asian setting. Japan is the perfect environment for this, as it features a huge array of biomes to explore, from the neon-lit streets to the snowy mountaintops. This isn’t some revolution for the sub-franchise, but it takes what Playground Games has done and is iterated upon it in a sufficient manner. The driving feels good, the audio sounds great and the visuals are something to admire. Forza Horizon 6 is one of the best racing games on the market as players will be absorbed in the tremendous number of things to see and do during this Horizon Festival.