A huge thank you to the guys over at the Pendulum Tuning Garage for helping us out with the pictures for this Forza Horizon 6 review. Every shot used in this review has been taken by one of the group (there are no PR shots here.)
The group features some of the best painters, tuners and photographers within the Forza scene and odds are you’ll already have one of their creations in your garage right now. To find out more about what they do search @ptgforza on all social media or head over to ptgforza.com.
Playground Games have built an unbelievable legacy with the Horizon series over the years, taking arcade racing to places few others can even dream of. Even going as far as to leave its older SIM-focused brother, Forza Motorsport, in the dust.
Read More: Forza Motorsport review – Access Above All – TechStomper
From the sun-soaked roads of Australia to the rolling hills of Scotland and the vibrant landscapes of Mexico, each road trip has somehow managed to raise the bar again and again.
Now Playground Games is back once again with Forza Horizon 6, and they have finally given fans what they have been crying out for years for, as the premier Microsoft racer heads to the Land of the Rising Sun at long last.
Land of Heart’s Desire
Right off the bat, I am a Forza, but more so a Horizon, super fan. There are few games I can say I have spent over 500 hours playing, and the past three Horizon games are part of that club for me. So, to say personally my hopes were sky-high for Forza Horizon 6 is an understatement.
To the point I was one of those fans crying out for it to head to Japan over and over and, God love Ralph Fulton, the series director on the past titles, as I asked him every time I saw him, from the Gamescom show floor to glitzy PR events at McLaren’s HQ… no wonder he moved over to working on the new Fable game.
Read More: The Crew Motorfest review – Hawaiian Horizon’s Near Miss
But at long last the Horizon Festival heads to Japan. From the neon-drenched streets of Tokyo to winding mountain roads deep in the countryside, Forza Horizon 6 feels like yet another perfect love letter to car culture in every possible way.
From street racing through the city at midnight while rain bounces off the road, to drifting around tight mountain corners as cherry blossom leaves fly in all directions, Playground have created a world that feels truly magic.
Homecoming of Sorts
A huge part of the games is its setting, often giving you a sandbox of biomes to play in, from snow-topped mountains to sandy beaches. There is often a bit of everything in the mix, but Japan is easily the most diverse the series has seen yet, as you’ll race through busy urban highways, sleepy countryside villages, industrial docks, volcanic regions and twisting roads which, most impressively, all blend together seamlessly.
Every corner of Forza Horizon 6‘s map feels handcrafted to deliver a different style of racing while also rewarding you for daring to explore off the beaten track.
Read More: Forza Customs Restore Cars review – Mobile Mildness
But this is also a Horizon game, and it is not as much about where you drive, it’s about how you drive. The handling model has seen a fair bit of work, with cars feeling weightier and more responsive without losing that fun arcade edge we all know and love.
Drifting, for example, in the past could be a bit like Marmite – you love it or you hate it – but now it feels smoother than ever, while off-road racing now has a real sense of “chaos” thanks to improved terrain physics and dynamic weather adding a bit of spice to things.
Access East Asia
It does what Playground do best, nailing accessibility so everyone young or old can have fun while still having depth and room to master if you want to get lost in the game.
The seasonal system also returns but has been polished. Now rain will lash down, while fog in the mountains adds to the atmosphere. Even smaller details like puddles forming during heavy rain or leaves building up on roads make races feel more natural.
The progression system has also had a bit of a shake-up. Rather than simply having to grind race after race, Horizon 6 pushes you to engage with every aspect of car culture. One minute you might be tuning a drift monster for a thrilling mountain run, and the next taking photos at a packed car meet or helping run underground street races through one of the story-driven missions.
Those story sections are some of the best the series has had to date, building on the strong foundation of those in Horizon 5. But instead of feeling like optional distractions, they now play a much bigger role in the world, introducing returning Horizon legends and some genuinely memorable moments.
Linear Open-World
Though core progression reverts back to earning festival bands, which can be a bit more linear than the more free-flowing system of Horizon 5, this is a hyper nitpick if I am being honest.
But in a way it fits with the tale as you are a tourist who becomes a racing legend and not a legend in a new region. This means you feel like you earn the right to race bigger and better cars in wilder and more epic races.
But a huge part of Horizon is the community around it. From painters, tuners, racers and photographers, the game has a truly rich following of incredibly talented people. So, the online side of things is maybe more important than the single-player side to some.
It’s also seen improvement, with car meets and large-scale community events finally feeling like the living social spaces Playground envisioned. Whether you’re teaming up with mates for huge drifting competitions or highway sprint races through Tokyo, everything just hits right.
Road Roster
As for your garage, this time around it is as massive as normal, with 550 real-world cars to get behind the wheel of out of the box, but that will jump to over 600 with DLC when all is said and done. From classic Japanese icons like Supras, Skylines and RX-7s to outrageous hypercars and off-road beasts, there is a car for every mood, event and occasion.
Customisation has also gone up a level, with deeper body modifications, improved interior options (you can now put stickers on windows) and more detailed tuning systems than ever before, which will put a smile on the faces of those who like to spend more time under the hood or in the spray booth. All of which can be uploaded and shared with the community once again when you craft your ultimate magnum opus.
There is also a really deep customisation system built around your house… well, garage, which seems like a time sink if you are so taken. Though looking between the lines this may be a feature we’ll see more fittingly in Fable later this year.
Graphically the game is simply stunning. Regardless of where you are in the game and what time of day it is, though for me it truly shines during nighttime races, which are truly jaw-dropping.
Sound of Horizon
It wouldn’t be a Horizon title without a killer soundtrack to frame your epic moments, and Horizon 6 delivers on that front too.
There are eight radio stations, like Horizon Bass Arena featuring dance icons Confidence Man, Ninajirachi and Calvin Harris, or the Block Party station pumping out floor-fillers from Little Simz and Public Enemy. Then there is Horizon XS for all the moshers out there, with tracks from Babymetal, A Day To Remember and Spiritbox. These are just a few examples of what the game has to offer on the music front.
Read More: Forza Horizon 5: Rally Adventure review – Dirt Lover
Forza Horizon 6 takes everything Playground Games have learned over the years and combines it into one incredible package.
It’s bigger, bolder and more stylish than ever before. This is arcade racing at its absolute peak and another must-buy for Xbox owners, being not just one of the greatest racers of all time but one of the greatest games.