Forza Horizon 6 is a stunning game that delivers immersion and polish in nearly every way, except for one critical aspect: the driving itself. Playground Games' open-world racer comes tantalizingly close to being the ultimate petrolhead dream, but its handling physics and wheel support hold it back from true greatness.
Beauty and a Beat
Let's start with the graphics. This game is absolutely, relentlessly gorgeous. Whether it's the 550-plus cars, each recreated with immense detail inside and out, or the natural beauty of Japan's cities, mountains, and scenic environments, there is something stunning to behold everywhere you go. Even on a modest PC with an NVIDIA RTX 3070, running at Ultra settings with DLSS upscaling, the game runs as good as it looks. Without path tracing or ray tracing, it remains one of the most graphically impressive titles I've played. It is also insanely polished, something that cannot be taken for granted in modern gaming.
The sound design has also seen significant improvement. Forza Horizon 5 did a decent job with car audio, but Forza Horizon 6 sounds markedly better across a wide range of vehicles and engines. The sweet engine notes have never sounded sweeter, and the radio stations are solid too.
Then there is Japan. Mexico was an excellent setting in the previous game, but Japan is truly the perfect place for an open-world driving game, combining natural beauty with a genuine car culture deeply ingrained in society. Playground Games has done an excellent job showcasing Japan's diverse environments, from long, winding countryside roads to steep snow rally stages in the mountains and iconic city locations. It is a pleasure to drive around. The map is huge, offering plenty to discover: barn finds, mascots, treasure cars, and newly introduced houses and estates.
The new houses in Forza Horizon 6 will likely be wildly popular with the community, adding replayability and customisation that players will love. The estates offer a deeper, larger customisation experience that takes it up a gear. I spent over an hour deleting trees and bushes before giving up, placing a T. rex in the middle of the garage. While this feature isn't for everyone, I can see it being very well received, with the potential to recreate iconic tracks between garage metropolises. The options are limitless.
Progression has been refined. Success in events like Horizon Qualifiers and Invitationals earns new wristbands, unlocking better car events, Showcase Events, and Horizon Rush obstacle challenges. After collecting all seven wristbands, you access Legend Island and the longest Goliath race in the franchise. This clear path to higher-level cars is an improvement, and the variety of events—Road, Dirt, Cross Country, Time Attack Circuits, Drag Meets, PR Stunts, and Bonus Boards—has been enhanced.
Driving Up the Wall
Unfortunately, the driving experience itself is where the game falls short. While Forza Horizon 6 is primarily aimed at casual racing players, the handling physics and car feel lack realism, breaking immersion significantly. Wheel support is technically present, but using a racing wheel, such as the Fanatec Podium wheelbase, feels disconnected and numb. There is also a severe FPS drop issue when using a wheel, flagged as a known problem that hopefully will be fixed at launch. Even so, players seeking a realistic driving experience will likely be disappointed.
Most players probably won't care about this and will have tons of fun blasting around Japan with a controller, where detailed car feedback is less noticeable. But given that Playground Games developed Forza Motorsport, which offers a decent driving experience, I expected more.
That said, if I can turn off the hardcore sim racer part of my brain, Forza Horizon 6 is a superb open-world game. It offers endless customisation, tons of replayability, lots of exploration, and hundreds of stunning cars to drive through one of the most breathtaking game worlds I have ever seen. If the driving were better—even just adequate—this could be the best racing game ever made. As it stands, Playground Games will have to settle for creating the best Forza Horizon game yet, and that is still an astounding achievement.
Forza Horizon 6 review score: 4/5
