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Back in 2005, Forza Motorsport screeched onto Xbox with one goal: to be the king of driving sims. It was all tight corners, white-knuckle precision, and the kind of seriousness that made you sweat over every gear shift. Fast forward to 2012, and suddenly Forza Horizon bursts onto the scene, tossing the rulebook out the window and blazing its own wild trail.

I still get flashbacks to Test Drive Unlimited. I miss my Bugatti Veyron.

Over the next fourteen years, the Horizon series evolved from Colorado hillside racing to a globe-trotting celebration of car culture, each entry layering on seasons, stories, and social cues while never forgetting the pure, grin-inducing joy of flooring it through an ever-changing landscape.

Now, with Forza Horizon 6, Playground Games has taken its wheels to Japan and delivered what feels like the franchise’s most confident, culturally immersive chapter yet.

From the neon pulse of Tokyo to mist-shrouded mountside grounds, Forza Horizon 6 doesn’t rewrite history, but layers perfection on top of perfection to make the latest entry the most polished experience to date.

Forza Horizon 6: The landscape of Japan

A lifetime ago, or at least it feels that way, I took a trip to Tokyo and fell head over heels for the place. I talk about it so much that anytime Japan comes up, my wife hits me with her classic, "Oh, you’ve been to Japan? News to me!" sarcasm. She’s heard it all before, but I can’t help myself.

I’m not about to start swinging a katana around or anything, but I like to think I know a thing or two about Japan. So when I fired up the new Horizon, I was hit with that same jaw-dropping awe I felt the first time I wandered Tokyo’s streets.

From the blinding lights of downtown to the peaceful hush of the countryside, Horizon 6 bottles up Japan’s spirit and pours it into every fence post and skyscraper. The game’s DNA is now part neon, part street racer, and all heart.

Forget just hunting down XP boards; now you’re on the lookout for adorable mascots scattered everywhere. Every region’s got its own little critter begging to be flattened by your V8, and the squeaks they make when you do? Chef’s kiss.

Street races are now their own beast, totally separate from the main Horizon grind. These unsponsored, underground events feel like you’ve stumbled into Tokyo’s secret racing underbelly, and I’m here for it. However, I was caught off guard by two things. They’re not huge, but still something worth mentioning.

When I visited Tokyo, one of the things that struck me was the size of it. From the Tokyo Skytree, a 2080-foot-tall building, no matter where I looked, I failed to find the limit of the never-ending cityscape. Forza Horizon 6 fails to capture that scale, but for a game that’s looking to capture the essence of the entire country, I forgive them for not capturing that massive city nature.

One of the areas I thought we’d visit for sure was Mt Fuji, how could we not? I was surprised to find out we don’t get to visit the great mountain in the background of every older Godzilla movie.

But fret not, for I have a very sneaky suspicion that’ll end up being one of the DLC packs we’ll get for the game in the future. My last, and very real complaint, is the fact that there were no 7-Eleven gas stations. If you've been to Tokyo, you know this is a Japanese cultural staple!

Forza Horizon 6: Racing never felt better

Let’s face it, if you’re playing Forza Horizon, you’re not looking for the greatest simulation game on the planet. What you’re looking for is something to poke around in and have a blast doing. Forza Motorsport, iRacing, Assetto Corsa, and other like-minded titles are there for those who want something in a more realistic form.

For those of us who long for something between that and Need For Speed, Forza Horizon is what we play. And boy am I here to tell you does Forza Horizon 6 ever play, and it plays hard.

That fun feel is back and better than ever with what feels like a near-never-ending list of vehicles to choose from. Clocking in at over 600 vehicles at release, nearly 100 more than Forza Horizon 5 launched with, I’m still digging away at unlocking or paying for the best and coolest looking vehicles available in the game.

Progression no longer feels like you’re just going from race to race. Instead of throwing the entire kitchen sink at you, Forza Horizon 6 locks much of the higher-end vehicle races to later stages.

As you progress through Horizon Events, the races that unlock will go from your D and C vehicle levels to B, A, and eventually S and the new ranking, R. Rather than picking your favorite McLaren from the start, players will be building toward those levels throughout the game's campaign, which gives that authentic career-building feel I felt was missing from the latest iteration.

The tone of a circuit race changes if you’re just picking some high-end track star every single time. Forcing players to stay within a specific class isn’t a step back, but an attempt to teach players that progression is meant to be meaningful and rewarding.

Not only are all event types back, but so are many more that players will be picking at for hours with friends. While I know most reviewers and creators haven’t been spending a ton of time in the event builder, some of the early ones I’ve seen are showcasing just how promising the feature from Forza Horizon 5 can be. What’s more, it can be done in multiplayer now.

In a session that feels more like a private match of Halo Forge, up to 12 players can co-create Lab Events in Forza Horizon now. Friends can now create together to make something amazing, awful, or hilarious to drive through.

Without tunes to choose from, I was forced to learn how to tune vehicles. From drag racing to grip machines, I learned the ins and outs (or at least, at a surface level) of what it means to make your vehicle the best it can be.

If you peek at the gallery below, you’ll see I spent way too much time battling other reviewers and creators. Sure, my scores will get demolished once the game goes public, but seeing familiar names below mine? That’s a flex I’ll cherish while it lasts. Don't worry, I'll share my tunes and vehicles in some upcoming guides!

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In the spirit of competition, Forza Horizon 6 is also adding drag-racing events to multiplayer. In the past, players always lined up to race against one another and played on an honor system. Now, there’s a full-blown method of playing together with a scoreboard, disqualification for starting early, and everything else players need in a drag-racing event.

You can even moonlight as a food delivery driver. Yep, one of the side gigs has you zipping around, picking up takeout, and dropping it off to hungry NPCs. It’s not huge, but there are nine promotion ranks, and some even unlock new delivery rides. Who knew Forza would scratch my DoorDash itch?

Not everything’s a slam dunk, though. My biggest gripe? Some of the main Horizon Events. Sure, there are a few wild, super-Japanese races, but a couple of them just didn’t have that wow factor I was hoping for.

Too often, I was stuck racing against the same types of planes or on tracks that felt like déjà vu. Some set pieces were pure joy. One had me grinning like an idiot, but others? Not so much.

Another thing that might be seen as a positive, and forgive me if this was in a previous entry, but you can now rewind during skill events. I didn’t even realize this until I accidentally hit Y while shifting gears up a drift section, only to rewind back to a previous spot, where I retained the score I had at that moment.

So yeah, you can fix your mistakes mid-drift without restarting. Some folks will love it, but for leaderboard junkies like me, it feels a little cheap when you’re chasing bragging rights with your friends.

Forza Horizon 6: Building is now a thing

Got a lot of extra cash that you haven’t spent on a hundred cars? Time to pimp out your garage, or better yet, your own personal Estate. You get your own Playground to build whatever your heart dreams up. Stunt tracks? Go wild. Anime murals? Why not. Ultimate drift zone? Absolutely.

While some of the builds I came across have been rather lacking, as you can only do so much during a review before you have to move on and test the next feature, what I’ve seen so far has shown that the building tools are going to make Forza Horizon 6 extra special.

One build I stumbled into was a neon playground with giant ramps, bowling pins, and a volleyball the size of a bus. I can already see these features getting pushed to the edge of insanity, and I can’t wait to see what the community cooks up after launch.

Your Estate means your garage gets a makeover, too. I found a Halo Forerunner garage that looked incredible, until I loaded in and every prop did a super jump in the ceiling. Rest in peace, Master Chief.

Hopefully, things like this get sorted out over time, because I want more Forge in my Xbox games wherever I can get it. That, and the actual building tools feel a little fussy, especially in the garage. Unless I missed it, I couldn't snap walls in place to other walls — which, if it is there, means the scheme isn't very intuitive. If they aren't, how is it not there?

Forza Horizon 6: Stunning to feel, watch, and listen to

I know there’s this ongoing joke with the internet that graphics haven’t gotten any better with time. The worst example of this is people who keep posting gameplay videos of Battlefield 3, as if it holds a candle to Battlefield 6. Spoilers: It doesn’t.

I even recently saw a video on social media where players were comparing all the entries in the Forza Horizon series, including 6 to one another.

What especially caught me off guard was people saying none of them looked any better than Forza Horizon 3. I got a hell of a kick from that. Either those people have never touched a Forza Horizon game, or nostalgia’s got them in a chokehold.

The difference is night and day when looking at the surrounding areas. Not only that, but with every title, more of the environments have become destructive. In the newest game, I found myself plowing through entire forests without hitting any trees that couldn’t be toppled.

On Xbox Series X or PC, this is hands-down one of the best-looking racers I’ve ever played. Vibrant colors, real-time ray tracing, crowds that are steps above Madden fans (just don’t look too close in photo mode), the works.

The truth that graphics in general have started to flatline a bit is true. Diminishing returns is a thing as you get closer to photo realism, which is why we’re seeing companies like Nvidia push their latest lighting techniques. Forza Horizon 6 is not an exception to this rule, but that doesn’t mean there haven’t been a nice array of improvements.

In years past, I always felt like performance was a major trade-off in terms of visuals. This time, I couldn’t tell whether I enjoyed playing on my Xbox Series X with a Vizio OLED or my RTX 5080 build on my 4K ASUS OLED gaming monitor. Sure, there were differences, but nothing substantial in the heat of the moment when all chaos is breaking loose while racing against.

On Extreme RT settings, I was reaching 90 FPS with Nvidia DLSS set to Quality at 4K resolution. On Xbox, I didn’t test the framerate with any "standard" methodology, but I didn’t notice any frame rate dips while playing in Performance mode. The entire experience, whether Xbox or PC, felt incredibly smooth.

Forza Horizon 6: Should you buy it?

If you’ve ever enjoyed a Forza Horizon, you already know the answer: yes, this is an easy buy.

Forza Horizon 6 is the series at its most confident, most refined, and most fun. Everything that made the earlier games iconic is back, but with a slicker sheen and events that pop.

Is it more of the same? Absolutely, but when "the same" is already this good, there’s zero shame in doubling down. Forza Horizon’s magic is alive and well, and the new additions just keep the party going without losing that signature vibe.

CoLabs and The Estate are unexpected standouts, adding a ton of replay value and giving even long-time fans something new to chase. This isn’t just content for content’s sake. It all fits and feels right at home in the world Playground Games has built.

I love that with the throwback progression, you don’t just jump right into the fastest cars. Working your way up makes every win feel earned, and every new race a real step forward. Not every Horizon Event will knock your socks off, although the thrill is still there.

So here’s the deal: if you love racing and want an open-world experience that’s equal parts heart and horsepower, Forza Horizon 6 is a no-brainer. It’s the top dog for a reason, and this chapter just cements it.

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