THE JAPAN TRIP IS LEAVING THE GROUP CHAT! KIND OF

Playground Games has the secret sauce when it comes to making racing games. With their sixth iteration in the series, there is no lack of proof for how well they have mastered their blend
of arcade and simulation elements together in racing games. This year we get their biggest, most anticipated game yet: Forza Horizon 6!

Set in the far Eastern island country of Japan,
a location that fans have long been waiting
for. It has everything going in its favour to become a massive success for both the series and Xbox Game Studios. But after five entries
in the series, can they still engage their fans with content worth returning for?

GAME INFO

GENRE

Racing Games

PLATFORM

XBOX X/S, PC

DEVELOPER

Playground Games

RELEASE DATE

19 May, 2026

RATINGS

GAMEPLAY

PERFORMANCE

VISUALS

SOUNDTRACK

Reviewed By: Sabber & Aziz

Published On: 12 June 2026

ALWAYS A GRANDENTERANCE

The wristband system returns in Forza Horizon 6. Per tradition with the Forza Horizon series,
the game starts you off in an exciting prologue full of spectacular stunts and automotive works of art. Straight after that, things slow down.
You get three cars at the start of the game
to get yourself started. Progression in Forza Horizon 6 feels like it has a level of deliberation to it. Wealth accumulates at a steady pace.

You will not be struggling to afford new tunes for your cars, but you will not be getting all
the supercars right from the get-go either. However, by completing events and missions you can quickly expand your car collection, which you can now display in your very own customisable garages! The newest feature in the Horizon series that’s been long
anticipated by fans.

MADE ME START TO REMINISCE

The last entry in the series I played was Forza Horizon 4, and I do not feel a significant change when it comes to playing Forza Horizon 6.
Of course, not much is supposed to change anyway, it is still a racing game at the end of the day. However, and this might be just me remembering it better than it actually was, driving felt marginally better in Forza Horizon
4 than in Forza Horizon 6. And that marginal feeling also surfaces in other aspects of
the game. Forza Horizon 6 is really well-made and stable in terms of performance, but it feels like it could’ve used a bit more polish.

One thing that caused friction for me with
the game, was getting the final wristband
and becoming a Forza Festival Legend.
You have to not only finish all the available
races that reward FH festival points,
but also complete a number of the smaller activities, such as speed zones and stunt
jumps. For an unlock that did not feel
rewarding enough.

THERE'S MUCH KEEPING YOU BUSY

That made my later hours in the game start feeling more like a grind, rather than organic exploration, though in Forza Horizon 6,
you practically always have something to do.
There are races, of course, which span many categories. There are the smaller activities,
like drift zones and the like.

Alternatively, you can download builds from
the community. How much value does it add to the game? Well, that’s difficult to gauge, as it is more of a feature that’s there for players who seek it out, and out of the way for players who otherwise do not care.

The returning signboards scattered around to smash through, alongside region-specific mascots, time zones, story adventures, barn finds, car meets and more. Another new feature is the estate. A large piece of land you can purchase and build on freely, then share it
with the community if you want.

IT REALLY IS THE PERFECT SETTING

Location is arguably the biggest reason to get
a new Forza Horizon game. While the gameplay is basically the same for all the Horizon games, the location is the main event of a Forza Horizon. It is a festival that takes place in a new location each time it happens. And Japan was
a long-anticipated locations. One that is very scenic and has rich car culture, a perfect setting for a presentation-heavy racing game.

Being set in Japan also means that we get to see more Japanese cars in the garage,
and the collection is great. Especially some
of the more unique and lesser-known JDMs
in the game’s Eclectic Domestics category like the Nissan Pao and Figaro. I am a massive Kei truck fan, so such cars are perfect for my taste.

NISSAN
SILVIA

A DISH THAT NEEDEDA HINT MORE SALT

The map looks great, with locations like Tokyo
and the smaller towns being very detailed.
Scenic spots, like the cherry blossom road,
are a spectacle to drive through. But for some reason, I personally feel like there’s a missing factor. While the map is big, it doesn’t do much to convey its scale. I felt that Forza Horizon 4 had a more impactful map. Different parts of that map felt distinct and large. It gave a good sense of biodiversity that you get when you travel long distances in real life.

The map in Ghost of Tsushima, I think is a good example of the greater biodiversity, I at least, was expecting from a Japan setting map. Fortunately, what they do have looks really great. The graphics are really impressive.
The soundtrack is another part that, while
great, could have offered a little more.
While playing with a friend he pointed
out the missed opportunity of not adding
a Eurobeat radio channel, given Japan’s car culture.

TOKYO
CITY

THE INTENT OF COMMUNITY FEATURES

Forza Horizon is a long-standing series by now, with this being its sixth entry in the franchise.
A personal issue I have with it, is the amount
of loading screens. Even if load times are fast, on our setup, but the sheer number of loading screens you have to go through adds up.

I really hope they can figure something out where it feels more like playing a locally installed game and less like navigating
a website. The newly added features
for the estate and garages don’t feel
that well-integrated.

For community features, you have to go out of your way through menus and load screens to access other players’ estates and garages.
This strongly discourages the use of those features, making them take a backseat.

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

Also, not being able to have more than four
cars in your garage at a time is a big miss. Players want to show off entire collections, something more like the garages in GTA
Online. So while the features are interesting,
the method of implementation is not ideal!
And that’s where the lack of polish shows.
In Forza Horizon 4 they had great game
modes you could play, like infected zombie
tag, which had you working with other
players as teams in exhilarating matches.

In this game they have a battle royale mode
that is only just okay, and a more exciting
Hide & Seek mode where a team of five
players seeks out a single player. And I just
do not find myself excited about it as I was
with Forza Horizon 4’s special game modes.
The photo mode needs improvement.
It can produce great shots, but once you
start playing with the settings, it just breaks sometimes. They can learn from the photo mode in Stellar Blade, for example.

IT'S THE HORIZONFESTIVAL IN JAPAN

Forza Horizon 6 is a great racing game that has the well mastered Playground Games recipe, mixing arcade and simulation racing together. For players who have not played a Horizon game before, or have not played since Horizon
3 I think it is a decent choice for them to play. As for returning players from more recent games, they’re essentially getting more of
the same on a new map. And while the coat
of polish could have been made thicker,
players who have been wanting Japan can finally get a decent bite.

Expectations for it were high, and maybe that’s the biggest risk to any new game. I don’t think Forza Horizon 6 is going to be a game that will be talked about for the next few years, but it is part of today’s conversation. Though players of more recent Horizon games might want to wait for a discount rather than pay the full
70 USD wallet hit.